Franz Xaver Danhuber (often wrongly spelled ''Xavier'' and ''Dannhuber''; 27 January 1891 – 4 October 1960) was a German World War I

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 eleven aerial victories.

War service

Danhuber was first assigned to ''Kampfgeschwader'' 6 and later to ''Schutzstaffel'' 25. His next assignment, which was on 1 July 1917, was to fly a fighter for ''

Jagdstaffel 26 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 26 was a "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 score 177 verifie ...

''. He shot down an

observation balloon An observation balloon is a type of balloon that is employed as an aerial platform for intelligence gathering and artillery spotting. Use of observation balloons began during the French Revolutionary Wars, reaching their zenith during World War ...

near Vlamertinghe on 12 August 1917 to start his victory string. Five days later he shot down Canadian ace Harold Joslyn and the same day got a second win. On the 21 August, he won the third time and eventually became an ace on 27 September 1917. On 1 October 1917, he had another victory in which he killed ace Robert Slolely and eight days later he shot down William Rooper. He scored on each of the two next days, and again on 14 October 1917, to bring his count to ten. On the 18 October Danhuber took a bullet through his upper arm while being shot down, probably by Andre de Meulemeester, which removed Danhuber from action until 7 November on which date he returned to action in a different squadron, ''

Jasta 79 Royal Bavarian Jagdstaffel 79, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 79, was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The squadron would score over 28 aerial victo ...

''. Danhuber ended 1917 by taking command of the ''jasta'' in December. He crashed on 11 February 1918 and was severely wounded. He could resume his command on 9 October 1918 taking over ''Jagdstaffel 79''. Five days later, exactly one year since his last victory, he scored his final triumph by shutting down a new British

Sopwith Dolphin The Sopwith 5F.1 Dolphin was a British fighter aircraft manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It was used by the Royal Flying Corps and its successor, the Royal Air Force, during the World War I, First World War. The Dolphin entered se ...

Awards

* Military Pilot Flying Badge (Bavaria) *

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 ...

(1914), 2nd and 1st Class * Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords *

Wound Badge The Wound Badge (german: Verwundetenabzeichen) was a German military decoration first promulgated by Wilhelm II, German Emperor on 3 March 1918, which was first awarded to soldiers of the German Army who were wounded during World War I. Between th ...

(1918) in Black * The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with swords

Citations

References

*''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps 1914 - 1918'' Norman L. R. Franks, et al. Grub Street, 1993. , . {{DEFAULTSORT:Danhuber, Franz Xaver German World War I flying aces Luftstreitkräfte personnel 1891 births 1980 deaths Military personnel from Bavaria People from Mühldorf (district) Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class