Leutnant Werner Preuss (21 September 1894 – 6 March 1919),

Royal House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of 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 versions of the order were crosses an ...

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

, was a

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

fighter 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 ...

credited with 22 victories.

Early life and military service

Werner Preuss was the son of a tax inspector. He graduated from high school in Rendsburg, Holstein on 6 August 1914. Eight days later, he volunteered for service with Infantry Regiment No. 85. On 15 May 1915, he attended an officer's training course. He returned to the front from this course as a sergeant. On 16 January 1916, he was commissioned an officer. On 25 May 1916, he was severely wounded. It would take him a year to recover from paralysis. Upon his recovery, he enlisted in the

Luftstreitkräfte The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Combat Forces)known before October 1916 as (The Imperial German Air Service, lit. "The flying troops of the German Kaiser’s Reich")was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-langu ...

. He was forwarded to pilots training in Poznan on 20 September 1917. He passed his first pilot's test on 7 October, and the second one on 15 October, setting a record. On the 26th, he was sent to the Western Front via a short stopover in

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, as an infantry cooperation pilot flying reconnaissance. He arrived on the front in December 1917. He began flying missions in January 1918. He also requested and received a transfer to the Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 66.

Career of aerial victories

Preuss won for the first time on 4 June 1918. He did not score again until 1 July. He then ran up a tally of seven for the month; win number eight came on 22 July. His next successful claim was against a Spad on 26 August. He was victorious three more times during the last few days of the month. His winning string continued into September with four more victims joining his list, the last on 14 September. By now, he had 16 accredited claims. He was awarded the

on the 19th. In October, he shot down six more enemy planes, to bring his total to 22. His victories were split evenly between fighters and reconnaissance planes. With his twentieth victory, he qualified for Germany's highest decoration for valor, the Prussian

Pour le Mérite The (; , ), also informally known as the ''Blue Max'' () after German WWI flying ace Max Immelmann, is an order of merit established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. Separated into two classes, each with their own designs, the was ...

. He was nominated in early November. One of the extant photographs, a formal portrait, shows him wearing a Blue Max. However, there is no surviving evidence of its award. A number of nominees lost out on their award when the Kaiser resigned on 9 November, but his name is not recorded among them. However, this is the most likely explanation for him not receiving the medal he earned.

List of victories

Confirmed victories in this list are numbered and listed chronologically, rather than in order of confirmation.

Post World War I

Upon the armistice ending the war, Preuss led his squadron to Lübeck. There he resigned his commission. On 13 February 1919, he joined the air component of the Schleswig-Holstein

Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European paramilitary volunteer units that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenaries or private military companies, rega ...

. On 6 March, he was killed in an air crash near the site of his alma mater, Rendsburg.

End notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Preuss, Werner 1894 births 1919 deaths 20th-century Freikorps personnel People from Gardelegen Military personnel from the Province of Saxony Prussian Army personnel German World War I flying aces Luftstreitkräfte personnel Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1919 Military personnel from Saxony-Anhalt Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Germany