Lieutenant Rudolf Stark (11 February 1897 – after 1933) was a 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 eleven confirmed and five unconfirmed aerial victories. Fokker D

World War I military service

Stark originally served heroically in the 2nd Royal Bavarian Uhlans, winning his native Bavaria's Military Merit Order on 29 September 1915 and the Second Class

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 11 June 1916. He switched to aviation; his first assignment was to FAA 296, a reconnaissance unit, on 15 November 1917. Stark requested a transfer to fighter duty, was sent to Jastachule II, and was transferred to

Jagdstaffel 34 Royal Bavarian ''Jagdstaffel'' 34, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 34, was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The unit would score 89 confirmed aerial ...

on 18 January 1918. He was notably one of the eyewitnesses to the landing of the famous German flying ace

Manfred von Richthofen Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (; 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of ...

, the Red Baron; he witnessed Richthofen make a smooth landing after his final fight, in a field on a hill near the Bray-Corbie road, just north of

Vaux-sur-Somme Vaux-sur-Somme (, literally ''Vaux on Somme''; pcd, Veux-su-Sonme) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Vaux-sur-Somme is notable as the place where famous flying ace Manfred von Richthofen, ...

.''Dogfight - The Mystery of the Red Baron''
Channel 4, ''

Secret History A secret history (or shadow history) is a revisionist interpretation of either fictional or real history which is claimed to have been deliberately suppressed, forgotten, or ignored by established scholars. "Secret history" is also used to desc ...

'', 22 December 2003. US broadcast a
"Who Killed the Red Baron? Explore Competing Theories."
''Pbs.org'', (Public Broadcasting Service) ''

Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

, 7 October 2003. By the time he was promoted to acting commander of

Jagdstaffel 77 Royal Bavarian Jagdstaffel 77, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 77, was a "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The squadron would score over 28 aerial victo ...

, on 24 May 1918, he was an ace, with five victories confirmed and one unconfirmed claim. He had only one of three victory claims approved while he led 77. On 7 June, he received command of

Jagdstaffel 35 Royal Bavarian Jagdstaffel 35 was a World War I "hunting group" (i.e., fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. The unit would score 44 aerial victories during the war, at the expen ...

. Beginning 1 July, he shot down five more enemy planes, using a

Fokker Dr.I The Fokker Dr.I (''Dreidecker'', "triplane" in German), often known simply as the Fokker Triplane, was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918. It became famous as the ...

designated by a lilac engine cowling and lilac band around its fuselage. He was wounded in action on 16 September, but carried on right up to his final victory two days before the Armistice.

Post World War I

Stark wrote ''Wings of War: an Airman's Diary of the Last Year of World War One'' in 1933.

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 L. R. Franks, et al. Grub Street, 1993. , . {{DEFAULTSORT:Stark, Rudolf German Army personnel of World War I 1897 births Year of death missing People from Neuburg an der Donau Luftstreitkräfte personnel Military personnel from Bavaria German World War I flying aces German autobiographers

World War I military service

Post World War I

Further reading

End notes

References