Leutnant Walter Göttsch

HoH Water () is a polar inorganic compound that is at room temperature a tasteless and odorless liquid, which is nearly colorless apart from an inherent hint of blue. It is by far the most studied chemical compound and is described as the "univer ...

, IC (10 June 1896—10 April 1918) was a German

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

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 20 aerial victories. His final combat assignment was commanding ''

Jagdstaffel 19 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 19 was a World War I "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. As one of the original German fighter squadrons, the unit would scor ...

'' in ''

Jagdgeschwader II ''Jagdgeschwader II (Fighter Wing II, or JG II)'' was the Imperial German Air Service's second fighter wing. Established because of the great success of Manfred von Richthofen's preceding '' Jagdgeschwader I'' wing, ''Jagdgeschwader II'' and ''Ja ...

.''

Early life and service

Walter Göttsch was born in Altour, Germany on 10 June 1896. He volunteered for the German army on 1 July 1915. He was originally assigned to ''Flieger-Abteilung 33'' to fly artillery cooperation missions in Flanders as a

Vizefeldwebel ''Feldwebel '' (Fw or F, ) is a non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in several countries. The rank originated in Germany, and is also used in Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, and Estonia. The rank has also been used in Russia, Austria-Hungary, occupi ...

.Franks et al 1993, p. 118

Service as a fighter pilot

After training as a fighter pilot, Göttsch was assigned to Royal Prussian ''

Jagdstaffel 8 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 8 was a fighter squadron of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. Although the ''Jasta'' went out of existence along with its parent units shortly after the Armistice endi ...

'' on 10 September 1916. On 4 November 1916, he destroyed a Belgian observation balloon for his first victory. He then scored twice more before winning a momentous dogfight on 7 January 1917; his opponent that day was

Thomas Mottershead Thomas Mottershead VC, DCM (17 January 1892 – 12 January 1917) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth ...

, who won a posthumous

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

. Göttsch won a double victory on 1 February, but then was shot down and wounded in action for the first time two days later. Because of his wounding, he would not score again until 6 April 1917. By 5 May, he had doubled his victory total to twelve. He was once again downed, probably by the observer of

Harry G. E. Luchford Captain Harry George Ernest Luchford (28 October 1894 – 2 December 1917) was an English World War I pilot credited with 24 victories. He was notable for scoring his first 11 victories in three months while piloting an obsolete double-seated ...

Royal Aircraft Factory FE.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 ...

d on 29 June. After this wounding, he did not win again until 17 July 1917. By 16 September, he had pushed his tally to 17, downing a

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the b ...

that day. On 25 September, he fell under the guns of a

Bristol F.2 Fighter The Bristol F.2 Fighter is a British First World War two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft developed by Frank Barnwell at the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter, ''"Brisfit"'' or ''"Biff"'' ...

, wounded once again in the same combat that saw

Rudolf Wendelmuth Leutnant Rudolf Wendelmuth was a World War I German flying ace credited with 14 aerial victories. Early life Rudolf Wendelmuth was born on 28 July 1890 in Gotha, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the German Empire. World War I service In the Levant At ...

's downing. Göttsch returned to duty, but had no luck, being wounded for the fourth time on 25 November 1917 by

James Dennis Payne Captain James Dennis Payne was a World War I flying ace credited with fourteen aerial victories.Shores, et al., p. 299. Early life Payne was born in Leamington Spa on 22 July 1896, the son of Edward Dennis and Annie Payne, his father was a poli ...

.Shores et al, p. 299.

Command and death

Göttsch would not return to action until January 1918. On 14 February, he was given command of Royal Prussian ''

''. The new

Staffelführer ''Staffelführer'' was one of the first paramilitary ranks used by the German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) in the early years of that group's existence. The later SS rank of ''Staffelführer'' traces its origins to the First World War, where the tit ...

would score only twice before his end, with back to back triumphs on 31 March and 1 April. Göttsch was killed in action on 10 April 1918 over

Gentelles Gentelles () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. It is part of the arrondissement of Amiens and the canton of Amiens-4.

, apparently by return fire from the observer of an RE-8 (his final victim), although German accounts also claim he was hit by ground fire. His

Fokker Dr.I The Fokker Dr.I (''Dreidecker'', "triplane" in German), often known simply as the Fokker Triplane, was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918. It became famous as the ...

triplane,Franks, VanWyngarden 2001, p. 80. marked with a white swastika, fell behind British lines and was salvaged. Walter Göttsch's 20 victories included seven from 20 Squadron RAF; the score of victories would also have qualified him for a

Blue Max Blue Max is an informal name of ''Pour le Mérite'', a German military decoration from 1740 until the end of World War I. Blue Max may also refer to: * Blue Max (video game), ''Blue Max'' (video game) (1983) and its sequel ''Blue Max 2001'' * Blue ...

had he survived.

Honors and awards

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia est ...

Second and First Class * Knight's Cross with Swords of the

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 ...

: 23 August 1917

Notes

References

* Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank W.; Guest, Russell. ''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918''. Grub Street, 1993. , . * * Shores, Christopher; Franks, Norman; Guest, Russell. ''Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915–1920''. Grub Street, 1990. , . {{DEFAULTSORT:Gottsch, Walter 1896 births 1918 deaths Aviators killed by being shot down German military personnel killed in World War I German World War I flying aces Luftstreitkräfte personnel People from Altona, Hamburg People from the Province of Schleswig-Holstein Prussian Army personnel Military personnel from Hamburg