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 ...
Kurt Küppers was a
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 six aerial victories.The Aerodrome websit Retrieved 11 January 2018.
Biography
Early life
Kurt Küppers was born in 1894, birthplace unknown. An early interest in aviation led him to gain pilot's license No. 492, granted on 22 August 1913.Franks et al 1993, p. 152.
Service in military aviation
Küppers was serving in 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, alt ...
'' when World War I began. However, his first known assignment was as a pilot of two-seater
reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities.
Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
aircraft in the vicinity of
Dunkirk
Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Eastern Front with ''Flieger-Abteilung'' (Flier Detachment) 45, a recon unit. Although it goes unmentioned in records, he must have undergone fighter pilot's training, because his next posting was to a
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 ...
, ''
Jagdstaffel 6
Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 6 was one of the original units of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I.
History
The ''Jasta'' was founded on 25 August 1916 from Fokkerstaffel Sivry, itself an early at ...
'' ''(Jasta 6)'', in March 1917. Between 16 March and 12 July 1917, he scored four aerial victories.
However, in August 1917, Küppers transferred to ''Kampfstaffel'' (Tactical Bomber Squadron) 14 as a bomber pilot; there he flew a
Gotha
Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...
bomber to convey his friend Fritz Lorenz on several raids on England. Küppers returned to ''Jasta 6'' in October. He scored his fifth credited aerial victory on 23 November 1917.
On 16 December 1917, he was tasked to form and command a new fighter squadron, '' Jagdstaffel 48'' ''(Jasta 48)''. On 6 March 1918, he scored his sixth and final victory. He remained in command of ''Jasta'' 48 until he was relieved from combat on 23 August 1918.
Later life
Having 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 est ...
First Class,German regulations mandated award of the Second Class before the First Class Iron Cross. Kurt Küppers survived World War I to slip into obscurity. He is known to have died on 24 June 1971.