Leutnant Karl Thom (19 May 1893 – 3 March 1945), was a German

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 ...

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 27 victories. He was decorated with both his nation's highest decorations for valor, the Military Merit Cross as an enlisted soldier, and the

Pour le Mérite The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by Frederick the Great, King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Or ...

after he was commissioned as an officer. He was one of only four German aces of World War I to achieve this double award.

Early life

Karl Thom was born the son of a field hand. He began his military service by enlisting in 1911 with Hussar Regiment Number 5. He was serving with Mounted Rifle Regiment Number 10 when

began. He was wounded for the first time in November 1914.''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918'', p. 215

Reconnaissance service

Upon his recovery, Thom transferred to the Air Service. His first assignment after training was piloting a two-seater reconnaissance plane for FFA 216. He patrolled in the vicinity of Vosges until he was injured in a crash in May 1916. Upon recovery, he was reassigned to FFA 48. He was captured there when forced down. He was awarded 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 ...

First Class for his subsequent escape. He returned to duty for a brief tour with FFA 234 before transferring again.

Fighter service

Despite being a Prussian, he was assigned to a Saxon fighter unit,

Jagdstaffel 21 Royal Saxon Jagdstaffel 21 was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. As one of the original German fighter squadrons, the unit would score 148 verified a ...

, in May 1917. He joined his new squadron at approximately the same time as its new leader,

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 ...

Eduard Ritter von Schleich Eduard-Maria Joseph Ritter von Schleich (9 August 1888 – 15 November 1947), born Schleich, was a high scoring Bavarian flying ace of the First World War. He was credited with 35 aerial victories at the end of the war. During the Second World ...

, who took charge on 26 May. He marked his Albatros airplane's fuselage with a large black capital block 'T' with pronounced serifs to identify himself in the air. The 'T' was in addition to the customary squadron marking of a vertical black stripe and a vertical white stripe just aft of the cockpit; the 'T' itself was on the outside wall of the cockpit. Thom reeled off a string of 11 victories, including a triple win on 18 September, and doubles on 19 and 22 September. October brought changes, as

Jasta 21 Royal Saxon Jagdstaffel 21 was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. As one of the original German fighter squadrons, the unit would score 148 verified a ...

received

Oskar Freiherr von Boenigk Oskar Freiherr von Boenigk (25 August 1893 – 30 January 1946) was a German Generalmajor, he began his military career during World War I as a fighter ace credited with 26 victories. He survived the war, served in the post-war revolution, and eve ...

as the new commanding officer and

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 qui ...

s as new airplanes to replace the

Albatros D.V The Albatros D.V is a fighter aircraft built by the Albatros Flugzeugwerke and used by the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Air Service) during World War I. The D.V was the final development of the Albatros D.I family and the last Albatro ...

s that had been the squadron's craft. On 11 October, Thom was awarded the Military Merit Cross, Prussia's and Germany's highest decoration for valorous enlisted men. He had previously been awarded the Member's

Royal 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 ...

. Thom scored only once that month, on 29 October. November was a blank. He next scored on 1 December, with one confirmed and one unconfirmed victory. On 23 December, Thom was wounded in action. He took a bullet in the leg while undertaking the usually hazardous duty of attacking an observation balloon. He was not successful in his assault, or would he ever shoot down one of the gasbags. Thom's return to the victory rolls roughly coincided with Jasta 21's adoption of

s, replacing its

s. Thom shot down five enemy aircraft in June, beginning with his 15th win overall on 11 June. July saw him victorious six more times, Including the youngest son of President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

Quentin Roosevelt Quentin Roosevelt I (November 19, 1897 – July 14, 1918) was the youngest son of President Theodore Roosevelt and First Lady Edith Roosevelt. Inspired by his father and siblings, he joined the United States Army Air Service where he became a pu ...

Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the (; "French National Celebration"); legally it is known as (; "t ...

, 14 July 1918. He capped his career with a triumph each on 1 and 4 August. With 27 victories confirmed, he became the leading ace for Jasta 21. All but four of his victories were against the French. On 11 August, he was severely wounded in the hip and remanded to hospital. He was also commissioned on 11 August 1918. On 1 November, while he was still in the hospital, he was awarded the

, Germany's highest award for commissioned officers. On 6 November, he rejoined Jasta 21. Three days later, he crashed, suffering multiple fractures. Two days after that, the Armistice ended

Post World War I

Karl Thom returned to 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 ...

to serve during

World War II 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 opposin ...

. He was Fliegerhorst-Kommandantur A (o) 4/I from July 1944- September 1944 and then Fliegerhorst-Kommandantur E (v) 217/I until October 1944. His death is uncertain. He disappeared under obscure circumstances, on 3 March 1945 in Pillau, East Prussia.

Inline citations

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. , . * ''Albatros Aces of World War 1''. Norman Franks. Osprey Publishing, 2000. , . * ''Fokker D VII Aces of World War I''. Norman Franks, Greg VanWyngarden. Osprey Publishing, 2003. , . {{DEFAULTSORT:Thom, Karl 1893 births 1945 deaths People from Iława County People from West Prussia German World War I flying aces Prussian Army personnel Luftstreitkräfte personnel Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Luftwaffe personnel of World War II German military personnel killed in World War II Missing in action of World War II