Oberleutnant Hans Kummetz (29 April 1890 – 11 January 1918) 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 seven aerial victories.

Biography

Hans Kummetz was born on 29 April 1890 in Illowo, then part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

but now in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. His early military career is unknown, including any pilot training or early aviation service.Franks et al 1993, p. 152. However, he became the ''

Staffelführer ''Staffelführer'' was one of the first paramilitary ranks used by the German ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) in the early years of that group's existence. The later SS rank of ''Staffelführer'' traces its origins to the First World War, where the tit ...

'' of one of the German air service's original

fighter squadron A squadron in air force, army aviation, or naval aviation is a unit comprising a number of military aircraft and their aircrews, usually of the same type, typically with 12 to 24 aircraft, sometimes divided into three or four flights, dependi ...

s, ''

Jagdstaffel 1 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 1 (commonly abbreviated as Jasta 1) was a fighter squadron of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. Jasta 1 was founded on 22 August 1916, using single seat fighters drawn ...

'' soon after its foundation, on 18 November 1916.The Aerodrome website's page on Jasta 1 (Retrieved 20 May 2013
/ref> The newly formed unit went into action in France on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

. Kummetz would shoot down five enemy aircraft and a French

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 ...

, beginning 4 March 1917, with his sixth victory coming on 17 August 1917. He was then posted to ''Jastaschule II'' (Fighter School 2) on 12 September 1917. It is unknown whether he was an instructor or a pupil, with the former being probable. On 12 November, he returned to ''Jasta 1'', which had been repositioned in Italy. On 20 November 1917, he reassumed command, which he would hold until his death. He shot down 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 ...

over Villamata for his seventh victory. On 1 January 1918, Kummetz claimed another Sopwith Camel, but the claim was unconfirmed. On 11 January 1918, Hans Kummetz clashed with Camels from

No. 66 Squadron RAF No. 66 Squadron was a Royal Flying Corps and eventually Royal Air Force aircraft squadron. History World War I It was first formed at Filton on 30 June 1916 as a training squadron equipped with Royal Aircraft Factory BE2, BE12s and the Avro 50 ...

over

Conegliano Conegliano (; Venetian: ''Conejan'') is a town and ''comune'' of the Veneto region, Italy, in the province of Treviso, about north by rail from the town of Treviso. The population of the city is of people. The remains of a 10th-century castle ar ...

, Italy. He was downed and killed in action; his most likely killer was Lieutenant H. T. Thompson. During his military career, he had won both the Second and First Class

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 ...

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. , . 1890 births 1918 deaths German World War I flying aces Prussian Army personnel Luftstreitkräfte personnel German military personnel killed in World War I Aviators killed by being shot down People from Działdowo County People from East Prussia {{germany-airforce-bio-stub