Leutnant Fritz Thiede (21 January 1896 – 14 June 1981) was a 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 eight aerial victories. He became a personal pilot for

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was of the (Protection Squadron; SS), and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany. Himmler was one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany and a main architect of th ...

and

Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( ; ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a high-ranking German SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He was chief of the Reich Security Main Office (inclu ...

in the 1930s. He served in the

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...

during World War II.

Biography

Fritz Thiede was born in Lichterfelde, the German Empire on 21 January 1896. He joined the 2nd Fusilier Artillery Regiment on 1 October 1913. He was still serving with them when World War I began.Franks et al 1993, pp. 214-215. On 1 May 1915, he 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, alth ...

'' to start aviation training at ''Fliegerersatz-Abteilung'' (Replacement Detachment) 5 in

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, Germany. Once trained, Thiede was posted to ''

Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe duri ...

'' (Protection Squadron) 5 in February 1916. This squadron was attached to "Bombengeschwader der

Oberste Heeresleitung The ''Oberste Heeresleitung'' (, Supreme Army Command or OHL) was the highest echelon of command of the army (''Heer'') of the German Empire. In the latter part of World War I, the Third OHL assumed dictatorial powers and became the ''de facto'' ...

" 2; ''Bogohl'' 2 was directly subordinate to the German Supreme Command. ''Schutzstaffel'' 5 was a defensive fighter squadron. Thiede saw action over the Battle of the Somme. Fritz Thiede was commissioned as a ''

Leutnant () is the lowest Junior officer rank in the armed forces the German-speaking of Germany (Bundeswehr), Austrian Armed Forces, and military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High Ge ...

'' in October 1917. He went to ''Jastaschule'' (Fighter School) to upgrade to single-seat fighters. On 21 January 1918, he was sent to a single-seat fighter squadron, '' Jagdstaffel 24''. Thiede staked his first victory claim on 16 March 1918, but it went unconfirmed. On 22 March, he was brought down by anti-aircraft fire west of Le Fere, but was unscathed. On 21 April, he finally scored his first accredited victory, when he downed a SPAD over Tricot. Thiede received a personal letter of appreciation from

Kaiser Wilhelm II , house = Hohenzollern , father = Frederick III, German Emperor , mother = Victoria, Princess Royal , religion = Lutheranism (Prussian United) , signature = Wilhelm II, German Emperor Signature-.svg Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor ...

for a double victory on the night of 23 May 1918. He would continue to score throughout May and June, becoming an ace on 15 June 1918. On 23 June 1918, Thiede was reassigned, when he was given command of ''

Jagdstaffel 38 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 38, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 38, 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 17 aerial victories duri ...

'' in Macedonia. He scored three victories with them during September 1918, bringing his tally to eight confirmed wins. At some point during the war, he had won 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 es ...

First Class; this award presupposes prior award of the Second Class medal. First Thiede would go on to become the private pilot for

and

. In 1938, Thiede recommended a "below the tail" approach tactics for night fighters attacking enemy bombers, but it was rejected, only to be revived during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

.Boog et al 2006, p. 205. Thiede served in the ''

'' during World War II.

Endnotes

References

* Horst Boog; Gerhard Krebs; Detlef Vogel. ''Germany and the Second World War: Volume VII: The Strategic Air War in Europe and the War in the West and East Asia, 1943-1944/5: Volume 7 of Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg: Volume 7 of Germany & Second World War, Germany (Federal Republic). Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt.'' Oxford University Press, 2006. , 9780198228899. * Norman Franks, Frank W. Bailey, Russell Guest. ''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:Thiede, Fritz 1896 births 1981 deaths German World War I flying aces Luftstreitkräfte personnel Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class People from Lichterfelde (Berlin) Military personnel from Berlin Luftwaffe personnel of World War II