There was a pilot in WWI who was one of Germany’s youngest aces of the war and still shot down three Allied aces in the same week. Born on October 9, 1898, in Rokietnice, Kingdom of Prussia (now Poland), Georg von Hantelmann joined the army in 1916, serving with a Hussar cavalry regiment before transferring to the German Air Service. Hantelmann started his pilot training on September 20, 1917. After completing basic aviation training, he learned to fly a fighter plane and, upon graduating from fighter pilot training, was assigned to Jagdstaffel 18 on February 6, 1918. On March 18, 1918, Georg Von Hantelmann joined Jagdstaffel 15. Initially, he flew an Albatros D.V, but all his victories came while flying a Fokker D.VII. He painted the death’s-head insignia of his former regiment on the fuselage of each aircraft.
Ace Journey of Georg Von Hantelmann
His first official victory came on June 6, 1918, when Georg Von Hantelmann shot down a D.H.4. After scoring three more victories in the same month, he shot down a Bréguet 14 on June 26 to officially become an ace. He was just 19 when he became an ace. He further claimed one victory in August and 12 in September. In September, Hantlemann shot down American pilot David Putnam, who flew a SPAD S.XIII and was a top ace of the early US Army Air Service with 13 victories. Just four days later, Georg Von Hantelmann achieved an even bigger feat by shooting down French ace Maurice Boyau, who had a record of 21 balloon wins and 14 airplane victories. Two days later, Hantelmann scored his 16th victory by shooting down American ace Joseph Wehner, who was Frank Luke’s wingman. Further, he shot down six aircraft in October and one in November, to end his WWI at a score of 25. On October 21, 1918, Hantelmann was awarded the Iron Cross First Class and the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern.
Legacy and Death
Georg Von Hantelmann had surpassed the 20 victories needed to be eligible for Germany’s highest award for bravery, the Pour le Mérite. Hantelmann was recommended for the Blue Max on November 3, 1918, but the defeat of the German Empire prevented him from receiving it. All his confirmed victories were on the Fokker D.VII, making him one of the most successful pilots flying that aircraft. Of his 25 victories, 18 were SPAD aircraft, four were D.H.4s, and one each was Sopwith Camel, D.H.9, and Bréguet 14. After the war, Hantelmann lived on a farm in Charcice, Prussia. On September 7, 1924, Polish poachers crossed the border and killed Hantelmann when Georg Von Hantelmann found them trespassing on his property. Later, his son, Wolf-Dietrich von Hantelmann, who was born in 1923, went missing on the Eastern Front in the spring of 1945. In the Aces series, Georg von Hantelmann was a brave pilot with incredible skills that helped him claim 25 aerial victories and five unconfirmed victories in just six months. Flying the Fokker D.VII, Hantelmann shot down three Allied aces in just one week, which was also proof that he was a gifted pilot. If he hadn’t been murdered, he might have had a better legacy. Read stories of other Aces HERE.
