Leutnant Walter Höhndorf (1892-1917) was a pioneer aviator, test pilot, airplane designer and constructor, and

fighter 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 ...

during World War I. He was credited with twelve aerial victories while flying for the

Imperial German Air Service Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

. Only one of his victories was achieved with a fighter squadron; the rest were scored while he flew for artillery direction and reconnaissance units.

Early life

Walter Höhndorf was a schoolteacher's sonThe Aerodrome website http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/hohndorf.php Retrieved on 15 April 2010. who was fascinated with engineering and motors. He learned to fly in Paris in 1913. Upon his return, he qualified for pilot's certificate No. 582 on 3 November at

Johannisthal Air Field The Johannisthal Air Field, located southeast of central Berlin, between Johannisthal and Adlershof, was Germany's first commercial airfield. It opened on 26 September 1909, a few weeks after the world's first airfield at Rheims, France. Ov ...

. He became famous as an early pioneer of aerobatics in his native Germany. He also helped design and produce airplanes at

Teltow Teltow [] is a town in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. Geography Teltow is part of the agglomeration of Berlin. The distance to the Berlin city centre is , while the distance to Potsdam is . The Teltow Canal links the ...

's Union Flugzeugwerke.

World War I

Höhndorf volunteered for aviation upon the outbreak of war. He was commissioned on 15 March 1915. He served most of that year as a test pilot for

Siemens-Schuckert Siemens-Schuckert (or Siemens-Schuckertwerke) was a German electrical engineering company headquartered in Berlin, Erlangen and Nuremberg that was incorporated into the Siemens AG in 1966. Siemens Schuckert was founded in 1903 when Siemens & Ha ...

. In late 1915, he was assigned to ''Flieger-Abteilung'' (Flier Detachment) 12 to fly a single-seater; he shot down two

Voisin Voisin (French for "neighbour") may refer to: Companies *Avions Voisin, the French automobile company :*Voisin Laboratoire, a car manufactured by Avions Voisin *Voisin (aircraft), the French aircraft manufacturer * Voisin, a Lyon-based chocolat ...

s a week apart, on 12 and 19 January 1916. After service with ''Flieger-Abteilung'' (Flier Detachment) 67, he moved on to ''Kampfeinsitzerkommando Vaux'' (Combat Single-Seater Command, Vaux) in April 1916. Between 10 April and 19 July, he shot down seven more French airplanes. He received the ''

Pour le Merite Pour may refer to these people: * Kour Pour (born 1987), British artist of part-Iranian descent * Mehdi Niyayesh Pour (born 1992), Iranian footballer * Mojtaba Mobini Pour (born 1991), Iranian footballer * Pouya Jalili Pour (born 1976), Irania ...

'' on 20 July 1916. He scored twice more in July, bringing his total to eleven. On 23 August, he was forwarded to ''

Jagdstaffel 1 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 1 (commonly abbreviated as Jasta 1) was a fighter squadron of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. Jasta 1 was founded on 22 August 1916, using single seat fighters drawn ...

'' (Fighter Squadron 1). He scored his final victory with them, on 17 September 1916. AEG D

After an assignment with ''

Jagdstaffel 4 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 4, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 4, 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 192 confirmed victories; ...

'', Höhndorf returned to test pilot duties, as well as instructing at

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

. On 15 August 1917, he was selected to command ''

Jagdstaffel 14 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 14 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 57 aerial v ...

''. He died in a flying accident on 5 September 1917 while testing one of his own designs, the

AEG D.I The AEG D.I was a biplane fighter of World War I. Three prototypes were ordered, but after the first two were involved in serious crashes, one of which killed flying ace Walter Höhndorf on September 5, 1917, development was cancelled. A triplan ...

Sources of information

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. , . * ''Early German Aces of World War I.'' Greg VanWyngarden, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2006. , . {{DEFAULTSORT:Hohndorf, Walter 1892 births 1917 deaths Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents German military personnel killed in World War I Luftstreitkräfte personnel People from Potsdam-Mittelmark People from the Province of Brandenburg Prussian Army personnel Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)