Hans Joachim Rolfes 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 17 confirmed and two unconfirmed aerial victories. He scored his first confirmed victory while with Royal Bavarian ''

Jagdstaffel 32 Royal Bavarian Jagdstaffel 32, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 32, was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the German ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The unit would score 41 aerial victor ...

'', on 6 July 1917. His second and subsequent victories were while leading Royal Prussian '' Jagdstaffel 45'' during the first nine months of 1918.The Aerodrome websit

Retrieved 4 January 2010. On 29 September 1918, he was additionally given command of a four squadron wing. Rolfes died in an aviation accident on 12 August 1935.

Biography

Early life and cavalry service

On 18 April 1894, Hans Joachim Rolfes was born in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

, South Africa. His father was the German Consul there. Rolfes began his education in local schools before being sent to London to study.''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918'', pp. 190-191 In 1912, he went home to Germany to enlist in the 14th Dragoon Regiment. He was still with them when they moved to the front as the First World War began. On 24 December 1914, he was commissioned as a ''

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

''. Serving as such, he was badly wounded on 31 August 1915.

Aviation career

As he recovered, he requested transfer to aviation duty. After pilot training with ''Fliegerersatz-Abteilung 2'' (Replacement Detachment 2), he was posted to ''Kagohl 2'' (Tactical Bomber Wing 2) on 5 October 1915. As ''Kagohl 2'' was composed of several different squadrons based separately, Rolfes flew on both the

Eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

and Western Fronts. At some point, he transferred to ''Kampfstaffel 11'' (Tactical Bomber Squadron 11); there he claimed an unconfirmed victory over a French

Voisin Voisin (French for "neighbour") may refer to: Companies *Avions Voisin, the French automobile company :*Voisin Laboratoire, a car manufactured by Avions Voisin *Voisin (aircraft), the French aircraft manufacturer * Voisin, a Lyon-based chocolat ...

. On 20 February 1917, he was transferred to a fighter squadron, ''

''. He scored his first accredited aerial victory while flying with them, shooting down a

Farman Farman Aviation Works (french: Avions Farman) was a French aircraft company founded and run by the brothers Richard, Henri, and Maurice Farman. They designed and constructed aircraft and engines from 1908 until 1936; during the French national ...

over Moronvillers, France on 6 July 1917. Captured Fokker D

On 17 December 1917, he was appointed to form a new fighter squadron, '' Jagdstaffel 45''. He began scoring victories with them on 20 January 1918, running off a string of 16 more confirmed victories and an unconfirmed one. In July 1918 or early August, he was re-equipped with a

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 ...

.''Fokker D VII Aces of World War 1, Part 2'', p. 66 On 29 September 1918, he shot down his 17th and last confirmed victim. That was also the day the German High Command decided to combine his squadron with ''Jagdstaffeln 9, 21, and 66'' to form ''Jagdgruppe Ost''. Rolfes was given command of the ''Jagdgruppe'' in addition to commanding his own squadron. By war's end, he had been awarded the

House Order of Hohenzollern 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 ...

, as well as 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 ...

List of victories

Confirmed victories listed in date order. Unconfirmed claims are marked 'u/c'. Doubled lines in table indicate change of assignment.

Postwar

Hans Joachim Rolfes died in an aviation accident at

Johannisthal Air Field The Johannisthal Air Field, located southeast of central Berlin, between Johannisthal and Adlershof, was Germany's first commercial airfield. It opened on 26 September 1909, a few weeks after the world's first airfield at Rheims, France. Ov ...

, just outside Berlin, on 12 August 1935.

Sources of information

References

* ''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918''.

Norman Franks Norman Leslie Robert Franks (born 1940) is an English militaria writer who specialises in aviation topics. He focuses on the pilots and squadrons of World Wars I and II. Biography He published his first book in 1976. He was an Organisation a ...

, Frank W. Bailey, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1993. . *''Fokker D VII Aces of World War 1, Part 2'' Norman Franks, Greg VanWyngarden. Osprey Publishing, 2004. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rolfes, Hans 1894 births 1935 deaths People from Port Elizabeth