Leutnant () is the lowest Junior officer rank in the armed forces the German-speaking of Germany (Bundeswehr), Austrian Armed Forces, and military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High Germa ...

'' Paul Strähle was a German World War I

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

credited with 15 aerial victories.The Aerodrome website page on Strähl

Retrieved 27 January 2010.

Early life and infantry service

Paul Strähle was born on 20 May 1893 in

Schorndorf Schorndorf is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located approximately 26 km east of Stuttgart. Its train station is the terminus of the S2 line of the Stuttgart S-Bahn. The town is also sometimes referred to as ' (''The Daimler Tow ...

, Kingdom of Wurttemberg''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918'', pp. 212-213 He originally served in the infantry after joining the German army on 1 October 1913. He transferred to aviation and was appointed to pilot training in 1915. He first flew in an artillery cooperation unit, being posted to ''Flieger-Abteilung (Artillerie) 213'' on 15 July 1916. Beginning 5 September, he trained on fighters.

Service as a fighter pilot

He was then assigned to ''

Jagdstaffel 18 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 18 was a "hunting squadron" (fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. History The Jasta was formed on 30 October 1916, at Halluin under 4th Armee auspic ...

'' on 27 October 1916. He scored his first aerial victory on 14 February 1917, shooting down a

Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2 Between 1911 and 1914, the Royal Aircraft Factory used the F.E.2 (Farman Experimental 2) designation for three quite different aircraft that shared only a common "Farman" pusher biplane layout. The third "F.E.2" type was operated as a day and n ...

b; his victim is believed to have been Harold Hartney. He continued his victory streak, flying an Albatros D.V in the squadron colors of blue and scarlet with his personal album of a white battle axe painted on its side. He flew with ''Jagdstaffel 18'' until 26 May 1917, when he won his seventh victory. The

Royal House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of Hohenzollern (german: Hausorden von Hohenzollern or ') was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various ...

was awarded to him on 9 August 1917.

In command

Strähle was then appointed to command a new squadron just forming; '' Jagdstaffel 57'' was founded at Koenisberg on 6 January 1918, and moved to the Sixth Army front on the 24th. He took his Albatros fighter with him from Jasta 18, along with two experienced pilots to lead his crew of greenhorns. After a lapse of almost a year, he won again on 17 April 1918. This streak of eight more triumphs ended with a double victory on 29 August 1918. He was wounded in action on 27 September 1918, and did not score after that.

After the war

Strähle stayed in aviation after the war. He acquired at least one Halberstadt CL.IV rigged for aerial photography and ran an aerial photography business venture from 1919. By 14 July 1921, he was reported to be running a pioneering air mail service between Stuttgart and Constance, using three of the Halberstadts, one of which could also carry passengers, under the name Luftverkehr Strähle.

Legacy

His archive of 40,000 aerial photos still exists today.Strähle Luftbild websit

Retrieved 30 January 2010. One of his Halberstadts is restored and on display in the U.S. Air Force Museum. It is a rarity, being a combat veteran, and one of the few built by L.F.G Roland.

References

Citations Bibliography * * * * ''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918''.

Norman Franks Norman Leslie Robert Franks (born 1940) is an English militaria writer who specialises in aviation topics. He focuses on the pilots and squadrons of World Wars I and II. Biography He published his first book in 1976. He was an Organisation ...

, Frank W. Bailey, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1993. , . {{DEFAULTSORT:Strahle, Paul 1893 births 1985 deaths German World War I flying aces People from Schorndorf People from the Kingdom of Württemberg Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Military personnel from Baden-Württemberg German photographers Aerial photographers German military personnel of World War II