Leutnant Friedrich Friedrichs (21 February 1895 – 15 July 1918) was a

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 ...

fighter 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 21 confirmed victories. Undaunted by an early invaliding by infantry combat during early World War I, Friedrichs switched to aviation. After serving reconnaissance duty, he moved to being a

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

with Jagdstaffel 10. He shot down 11 enemy

observation balloons 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 I ...

, making him a top

balloon buster Balloon busters were military pilots known for destroying enemy observation balloons. These pilots were noted for their fearlessness, as balloons were stationary targets able to receive heavy defenses, from the ground and the air. Seventy-seven fl ...

; he also shot down 10 enemy airplanes. He was killed in action on 15 July 1918 when his

Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII was 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 qu ...

burst into flames in midair.

Early life and military service

Friedrich "Fritz" Friedrichs was born in Spork, Westphalia, in western Germany, on 21 February 1895. His father was a customs official. Friedrichs attended Hermann-Tast Gymnasium. He received his diploma in 1914.Der Logbuch websit

/ref> He was interested in a medical career. He volunteered for service in the German Army (German Empire), German Imperial Army's Infantry Regiment No. 85 on 14 August 1914. On 9 October, he went to the front. He served with them until seconded to officer training in Munich. Upon graduation on 23 September 1915, he was commissioned a lieutenant in the reserves and posted to Infantry Regiment No. 32. During its campaign in Serbia, he was hit by shellfire and wounded so seriously that he was declared unfit for further duty because of permanent damage to his left leg.

Aerial service

Friedrichs then transferred to the ''

Luftstreitkräfte The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Force)—known before October 1916 as (Flyer Troops)—was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-language sources it is usually referred to as the Imperial German Air Service, alt ...

''. He underwent training from 1 October 1916 through 20 February 1917. He undertook aviation training at

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

and

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and ''Born'', an old German term for t ...

before learning artillery observation at

Jüterbog Jüterbog () is a historic town in north-eastern Germany, in the Teltow-Fläming district of Brandenburg. It is on the Nuthe river at the northern slope of the Fläming hill range, about southwest of Berlin. History The Slavic settlement of ' ...

. In June, having trained as both observer and pilot, he was posted to FA(A) 264, an artillery observation squadron. While serving with them, he won both classes of the

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 ...

. On 4 January 1918, he began a week's fighter training at ''Jastashule''. Upon completion, he moved up to Royal Prussian '' Jagdstaffel 10'', a part of '' Jagdgeschwader 1'', to fly a Pfalz D.III. His first claim, on 18 March 1918, went unconfirmed. Three days later, he became a

, blasting one of the floating observation posts at Ruyalcourt, France, in the vicinity of the Somme. He scored once more in March, downing a SE.5a on the 27th. Friedrichs had no successes in April. He shot down a D.H.9 on 3 May, and 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 ...

on the 15th. Three days later, he began a string of six consecutive victories over observation balloons that ended on 8 June 1918. This brought his count to ten. He ran off nine more triumphs that month, including four more balloons. He had one confirmed win, over a

Nieuport 28 The Nieuport 28 C.1, a French biplane fighter aircraft flown during World War I, was built by Nieuport and designed by Gustave Delage. Owing its lineage to the successful line of sesquiplane fighters that included the Nieuport 17, the Nieu ...

on 2 July, and an unconfirmed claim on 8 July.

Killed in action

On 15 July, an unexpected hazard caught up with Friedrichs. His aircraft caught fire in midair. It seems most probable that the incendiary bullets loaded on his airplane spontaneously ignited and set his

on fire. Friedrichs parachuted out of the conflagration, but the parachute's harness and lines entangled in the plane's tail and Friedrichs fell to his death. Friedrich Friedrichs had already been awarded the Knight's Cross with Swords of the

Hohenzollern House Order 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 v ...

. He had also been recommended for the

Pour le Merite Pour may refer to these people: * Kour Pour (born 1987), British artist of part-Iranian descent * Mehdi Niyayesh Pour (born 1992), Iranian footballer * Mojtaba Mobini Pour (born 1991), Iranian footballer * Pouya Jalili Pour (born 1976), Iranian si ...

. Reportedly, it was awarded on 20 July, five days after his death. However, the rolls of the order do not list him as a recipient.The Pour le Merite website http://www.pourlemerite.org/ Retrieved 2 February 2013. Note: Also contrary to German army regulations was the posthumous award of the Pour le Merite.

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. , . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Friedrichs, Friedrich 1895 births 1918 deaths People from the Province of Westphalia German World War I flying aces Prussian Army personnel Luftstreitkräfte personnel Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in France German military personnel killed in World War I