'' Offizierstellvertreter'' Wilhelm Hippert IC was a World War I

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 ...

credited with eight confirmed aerial victories.The Aerodrome website page on Hippert http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/hippert.php Retrieved 22 February 2013.

World War I aerial service

Wilhelm "Willi" Hippert was originally assigned as a two-seater aircraft pilot with ''

Feldflieger Abteilung Feldflieger Abteilung (''FFA'', Field Flying Detachment) was the title of the pioneering field aviation units of (The Air Forces of the German Empire) formed in 1912, which became the ( German air service) on 8 October 1916, during the First World ...

'' (Field Flier Detachment) 227. He and his observer were credited with an aerial victory on 17 March 1917, when they shot down a

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 a ...

d from No. 20 Squadron RFC over

Lomme Lomme (; ) was a commune in the Nord ''département'' of northern France. It was absorbed as a '' commune associée'' by the city of Lille in 2000. At the 1999 census its population was 27,940 inhabitants. Its population was 28,165 in 2022. ...

.Franks et al 1993, p. 130 Hippert was transferred to a fighter squadron, ''

Jagdstaffel 39 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 39, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 39, was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The unit would score 68 aerial victories duri ...

'' later in 1917 as a ''

Vizefeldwebel '' '' (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, occupied Serbia ...

'', and thus ended up flying combat over the

Battle of Caporetto The Battle of Kobarid (also known as the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, the Battle of Caporetto or the Battle of Karfreit) took place on the Italian front of World War I. The battle was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Central P ...

in northern Italy in a

Fokker D.V The Fokker D.V (Fokker designation M.22) was a biplane fighter designed by the Fokker Aircraft Company () during the First World War for the Imperial German Army's () Imperial German Air Service () and the Imperial German Navy's () Naval Air Ser ...

a he dubbed "Mimmi". On 2 October 1917, he scored his second aerial victory, downing an Italian Savoia Pomilio at 1510 hours. After additional victories on 25 October and 30 November, he became an ace on 8 December 1917. He would tally one more victory with ''Jasta 39'', on 11 January 1918. On 5 March 1918, Hippert was transferred back to the Western Front. He joined a night fighter squadron, '' Jagdstaffel 74''. In mid 1918, he was promoted to '' Offizierstellvertreter''. By this time, Hippert was flying a

Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII is a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the '' Fokker-Flugzeugwerke''. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII ...

with a black and white checkerboard pattern on the

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

, a blue nose, and the name "Mimmi" emblazoned on the top wing. On 7 June 1918, he shot down a Dorand AR2 over

Beaumont-sur-Vesle Beaumont-sur-Vesle (, literally ''Beaumont on Vesle'') is a commune in the Marne department in northeastern France. Population Champagne The village's vineyards are located in the Montagne de Reims subregion of Champagne, and are classified ...

for his seventh victory. On 22 August, he claimed two French bombers, a Caudron R.11 and a

Breguet 14 The Breguet XIV (in contemporary practice) or Breguet 14 is a French biplane bomber and reconnaissance aircraft of World War I. It was built in very large numbers and production continued for many years after the end of the war. The Breguet 14 w ...

, though he was only credited with the former. At some point during the war, Wilhelm Hippert won the

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 ...

Sources of information

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. , . Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914) German World War I flying aces Luftstreitkräfte personnel {{Germany-mil-bio-stub