Reinhold Poss (11 September 1897 – 26 August 1933) was a German

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

and racing

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

. Poss enlisted with the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for ...

during World War I and scored eleven kills as a naval pilot. In May 1918 he took command of the ''Seefrontstaffel'' and in September 1918 of the ''IV. Marinefeldjasta'', which he led until 15 October, when he was shot down and captured. He spent the final month of the war in a

POW camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, an ...

. Following the war, Poss achieved further fame as a pilot, completing, with

Hermann Köhl Hermann Köhl (15 April 1888 – 7 October 1938) was a German aviation pioneer and pilot of the first transatlantic flight by a fixed-wing aircraft from east to west. Biography Köhl was born in Neu-Ulm, Bavaria, as one of eight children. At ...

, the first night-time flight between

Warnemünde (, literally ''Mouth of the Warnow'') is a seaside resort and a district of the city of Rostock in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Mecklenburg, Germany. It is located on the Baltic Sea and, as the name implies, at the estuary of the river Warnow (river ...

and

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden. Poss competed in three

Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The World Air Sports Federation (; FAI) is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintains worl ...

air races,

Challenge 1929 The Challenge 1929 was the first FAI International Tourist Plane Contest (), that took place between August 4 and August 16, 1929 in Paris, France. Four Challenges, from 1929 to 1934, were major aviation events in pre-war Europe. Overview The co ...

(finishing 15/16th overall),

Challenge 1930 The International Touring Competition in 1930 () was the second FAI international touring aircraft contest, that took place between July 18 and August 8, 1930 in Berlin, Germany. Four Challenges, from 1929 to 1934, were major aviation events in pr ...

(2nd overall), and

Challenge 1932 The Challenge 1932 was the third Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, FAI International Tourist Plane Competition (), that took place between 12 and August 28, 1932, in Berlin, Germany. The four Challenges, from 1929 to 1934, were major aviat ...

(tying Fritz Morzik for 2/3rd). On 26 August 1933, Poss and his copilot, Paul Weirich, crashed after striking a church tower while flying near

Neuruppin Neuruppin (, , in contrast to ":de:Alt Ruppin, Old Ruppin"; ; North Brandenburgisch dialect, Brandenburgisch: ''Reppin'') is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, the administrative seat of Ostprignitz-Ruppin district. It is the birthplace of the noveli ...

. Neither survived. Poss is buried in the Parkfriedhof of

Berlin-Lichterfelde Lichterfelde () is a locality in the Boroughs of Berlin, borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf in Berlin, Germany. Until 2001 it was part of the former borough of Steglitz, along with Steglitz and Lankwitz. Lichterfelde is home to institutions like the Be ...

External links

Reinhold Poss
(German)
Reinhold Poss at The Aerodrome
Includes a detailed kill list. {{DEFAULTSORT:Poss, Reinhold 1897 births 1933 deaths German World War I flying aces German air racers Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1933 Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Germany

See also

External links