Leutnant Hans von Freden 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 20 aerial victories.
Early life and service
Hans von Freden was born on 18 March 1892 in Berlin. As World War I broke out, he volunteered to serve in
Field Artillery
Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement.
Until the early 20t ...
Regiment No. 18 of the German army. On 19 October 1914, he went into battle. In March 1915, he was promoted to Vizewachmeister (a
non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...
). He was promoted to Leutnant on 30 July 1915. Beginning in January 1916, he commanded two anti-aircraft batteries, one after another, until transferring to aviation duty.
[Franks et al 1993, p. 109.]
Aerial service
Later in 1916, Freden began training as an
aerial observer
Aerial may refer to:
Music
* ''Aerial'' (album), by Kate Bush
* ''Aerials'' (song), from the album ''Toxicity'' by System of a Down
Bands
*Aerial (Canadian band)
* Aerial (Scottish band)
* Aerial (Swedish band)
Performance art
* Aerial sil ...
with FFA 48 (subsequently redubbed as FA 10 on 2 August 1916). While serving with them, he was wounded on 24 August 1916.
[
Freden went for pilot's training in June 1917. After graduation, he was posted to Italy to join Royal Prussian ]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 ...
on 27 November 1917. He began his string of aerial victories while assigned to them, when he shot down an observation balloon at Spresiano
Spresiano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Treviso in the Italian region Veneto, located about north of Venice and about north of Treviso. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 10,155 and an area of .All demographics and ...
on 29 January 1918. He furthered his career as a 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 ...
by downing two more, on 31 January and 5 February respectively. On 18 March, he was transferred to 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 ...
to fly with Jagdstaffel 72. On 25 March, Jasta 1 was shifted to the Western Front, and Freden rejoined them the following day. He rounded out his career with Jasta 1 with his fourth win, over a Spad fighter, on 9 June 1918.[
Beginning 11 June 1918,][ he assumed command of Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 50.]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 ...
, which he emblazoned with his family coat of arms.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 20 September Freden was awarded the Knight's Cross with Swords of 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 ...
. He scored his 20th and last victory, the one that qualified him for 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 ...
recommendation,[Note: Freden was one of a number of aces deprived of the Blue Max by Kaiser Wilhelm's abdication at war's end.] on November 10, the day before the war ended. His final tally was nine observation balloons and eleven enemy airplanes downed.
Postwar
Freden did not long survive the war. He died of influenza less than a year later, on 30 October 1919,[ at ]Stettin
Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin language, Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Po ...
.[
]
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:Freden, Hans Von
1892 births
1919 deaths
German World War I flying aces
Luftstreitkräfte personnel
Military personnel from Berlin
People from the Province of Brandenburg
Deaths from influenza