Karl Paul Schlegel (7 May 1893 – 27 October 1918) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

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 22 victories. Schlegel was shot down by French ace

Petar Marinovich Pierre Marinovitch ( sr, Petar Marinović; 1 August 1898 – 2 October 1919) was a French World War I flying ace credited with 21 confirmed and 3 probable aerial victories. He was the youngest French flying ace of the war, scoring his 5th vi ...

. He was the last German ace to be killed in World War I.

Prewar life

Karl Paul Schlegel was born in

Wechselburg Wechselburg () is a municipality in the district of Mittelsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. It is well known for its twelfth century Benedictine monastery, the Wechselburg Priory. The lordship and the castle were owned by the House of Schönburg from ...

, the

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was formed from the Electorate of Saxon ...

on 7 May 1893. He began attending military school in 1907. On 1 April 1912, he began active duty in the Royal Sachensburg Machine Gun Section #19 as a

Gefreiter Gefreiter (, abbr. Gefr.; plural ''Gefreite'') is a German, Swiss and Austrian military rank that has existed since the 16th century. It is usually the second rank or grade to which an enlisted soldier, airman or sailor could be promoted.Duden; D ...

. He would later be serving with the 8th Cavalry Division when World War I began.

World War I service

Schlegel served in both France and Russia as a cavalry sergeant in the early days of World War I. He won the Second Class Iron Cross during 1914. In April 1915, he was also awarded his native Saxony's Silver

Military Order of St. Henry The Military Order of St. Henry (''Militär-St. Heinrichs-Orden'') was a military order of the Kingdom of Saxony, a member state of the German Empire. The order was the oldest military order of the states of the German Empire. It was founded on O ...

. That summer, he was the first

noncommissioned 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 ...

in his division to win the First Class Iron Cross. However, he was tired of service in the trenches and volunteered for aerial service. In Spring 1917, he underwent pilot's training and was posted to a Saxon two-seater replacement unit, ''Fliegerersatz-Abteilung'' 6. He transferred to ''Flieger-Abteilung'' 39, but after being injured in an accident, returned to FEA 6 in January 1918. He passed through Kest 1 on his way to posting with a fighter squadron, Royal Prussian '' Jagdstaffel 45''. On 14 June 1918, he became 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 ...

for his first aerial victory. He downed two more enemy

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 ...

s in early July. On 15 July, he was both promoted to

vizefeldwebel ''Feldwebel '' (Fw or F, ) is a non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in several countries. The rank originated in Germany, and is also used in Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, and Estonia. The rank has also been used in Russia, Austria-Hungary, occupi ...

and became an ace by shooting down a pair of Spads. He would run his victory total to 12 by the end of the month, and add seven more victories in August. Three more balloons would fall to his guns in September, bring his total confirmed victories to 14 balloons and eight enemy airplanes. On 15 October, his exploits were rewarded with the Golden Military Merit Cross. On 27 October 1918, he fought twelve French planes near

Amifontaine Amifontaine () is a commune in the department of Aisne in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. Geography Amifontaine is located some 20 km southeast of Laon and 40 km northwest of Rheims. The Autoroute des Anglais (A26, E17) ...

, France, and lost.

was credited with victory over him. Schlegel's last victories, over a balloon and a

SPAD S.XI The SPAD S.XI or SPAD 11 was a French two-seat biplane reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War. The SPAD 11 was the work of Louis Béchereau, chief designer of the Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés (SPAD), who also designed the hig ...

, went unconfirmed. Schlegel died of his wounds on 28 October 1918.

End notes

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. , . {{DEFAULTSORT:Schlegel, Karl 1893 births 1918 deaths Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class German World War I flying aces People from the Kingdom of Saxony Luftstreitkräfte personnel People from Mittelsachsen Military personnel from Saxony German military personnel killed in World War I