Leutnant Viktor Schobinger 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 eight confirmed victories. Victory number two was confirmed over

Charles Dawson Booker Major Charles Dawson Booker (sometimes hyphenated into Dawson-Booker) (21 April 1897 – 13 August 1918) was an English World War I fighter ace credited with 29 victories. He was promoted to high rank while relatively young as a result of his g ...

Biography

See also

Aerial victory standards of World War I 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 ...

Viktor Schobinger was born in

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

, Alb-Donau district,Franks et al 1993, p. 204. the

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which exist ...

, in the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

on 30 April 1893. His original military service was in a machine gun company. However, he reported to ''Fliegerersatz-Abteilung'' (Replacement Detachment) 10 at

Böblingen Böblingen (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Beblenga'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, seat of Böblingen (district), Böblingen District. Sindelfingen and Böblingen are Geographic contiguity, contiguous. History Böblingen was found ...

for pilot's training on 19 October 1916. He soloed in an

LVG Luftverkehrsgesellschaft m.b.H. (L.V.G. or LVG) was a German aircraft manufacturer based in Berlin- Johannisthal, which began constructing aircraft in 1912, building Farman-type aircraft. The company constructed many reconnaissance and light bombe ...

before being transferred to ''Armee-Flug-Park'' (Army Flight Park) 6 on 15 March 1917. About a month later, he was posted to combat duty with ''Flieger-Abteilung'' (Flier Detachment) 12. After gaining experience there, he was forwarded to fighter conversion training at ''Jastaschule'' (Fighter Training). Once trained, he joined 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 12 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 12 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. As one of the original German fighter squadrons, the unit would scor ...

''. His first success with them came when he downed

Bristol F.2 Fighter The Bristol F.2 Fighter is a British First World War two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft developed by Frank Barnwell at the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter, ''"Brisfit"'' or ''"Biff"'' ...

number A7114 over

Feuchy Feuchy () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. It is a small village, with a little more than 1000 inhabitants, and had only about 500 inhabitants in 1914. It is situated two kilometers east of A ...

at 2100 hours on 9 August 1917. However, Schobinger's most notable triumph came two days later. British

Triplane A triplane is a fixed-wing aircraft equipped with three vertically stacked wing planes. Tailplanes and canard foreplanes are not normally included in this count, although they occasionally are. Design principles The triplane arrangement may ...

ace

shot down and severely wounded Schobinger's ''

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 ...

'', Adolf von Tutschek. In turn, Schobinger saved Tutschek by sending Booker unhurt down behind British lines, but destroying his machine. The hospitalized Tutschek passed temporary command of his ''jasta'' to Schobinger. The latter would lead ''Jasta 12'' for nine weeks without suffering losses. While in command, he would have a personal insignia of a light blue ovoid painted stretching down the side of his

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 fuselage. Schobinger continued to score until 31 October 1917, when he tallied his eighth victory. On 15 November 1917, Schobinger suffered a serious wound to his foot while in combat. The wound removed him from combat. Schobinger would finish out the war on instruction duty.Franks 2000, p. 37. Schobinger had been awarded both classes of 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 ...

; during 1918, he was also 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 ...

. Viktor Schobinger would return to battle during World War II, commanding a bomber squadron in 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 ...

''. He died on 24 May 1989.

Sources of information

References

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. ''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. , . * Norman Franks. ''Albatros Aces of World War 1: Volume 32 of Aircraft of the Aces: Part 1 of Albatros Aces of World War I.'' Osprey Publishing, 2000. , 9781855329607. * Greg VanWyngarden. ''Albatros Aces of World War 1: Aircraft of the Aces: Part 2 of Albatros Aces of World War I.'' Osprey Publishing, 2007. , 9781846031793. * Greg VanWyngarden. ''JAGDGESCHWADER, Issue 2: Volume 19 of Aviation Elite Units: Volume 19 of Osprey Aviation Elite.'' Osprey Publishing, 2005. , 9781841767277. {{DEFAULTSORT:Schobinger, Viktor 1893 births 1989 deaths German World War I flying aces Luftstreitkräfte personnel Military personnel from Ulm People from the Kingdom of Württemberg Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Luftwaffe personnel of World War II