Walter Kuno Reinhold Gustav von Bülow-Bothkamp (alternate spelling Bothcamp) (24 April 1894 – 6 January 1918), Pour le Merite, Military Order of Saint Henry,

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 ...

was a German fighter ace from an aristocratic family who was credited with 28 victories. After entering World War I as a

hussar A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely ...

, he transferred to 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 ...

. Although flying a reconnaissance airplane, he managed to down two enemy planes in France in October 1915. He was then transferred to

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

for 1916; he scored two more victories there. He returned to the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

to join '' Jagdstaffel 18'', 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 ...

. After shooting down nine more enemy planes, he was transferred to command '' Jagdstaffel 36''. He would run his score to 25 enemy airplanes shot down and three

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 destroyed by 2 December 1917. He received Germany's highest award for valor, the '' Pour le Merite'', on 8 October 1917. He was also transferred to a more prestigious command, ''

Jagdstaffel 2 Jasta 2 (Jagdstaffel Zwei in full and also known as ''Jasta Boelcke'') was one of the best-known German Luftstreitkräfte Squadrons in World War I. Its first commanding officer was the great aerial tactician Oswald Boelcke, and it was the incubator ...

'', on 13 December 1917. On 6 January 1918, he was killed in action.

Early life

Walter

von Bülow The term ''von'' () is used in German language surnames either as a nobiliary particle indicating a noble patrilineality, or as a simple preposition used by commoners that means ''of'' or ''from''. Nobility directories like the ''Almanach de Go ...

-Bothkamp was born at Borby, now a part of

Eckernförde Eckernförde ( da, Egernførde, sometimes also , nds, Eckernför, sometimes also ) () is a German town in Schleswig-Holstein, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, on the coast of the Baltic Sea approximately 30 km north-west of Kiel. The population is ...

in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.The Aerodrome website page on Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/bulow-bothkamp2.php He was the second eldest son in his family; there would be two younger brothers. All four of them would serve their country during

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 ...

, with three of them dying in service. Friedrich and Walter were killed in action; Conrad died in a flying accident; only Harry survived the war, to become a

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

general in latter years.''frontflieger'' website page on Bülow-Bothkamp http://www.frontflieger.de/3buelow0t.html Walter Bülow-Bothkamp graduated from the Baccalaureate High School in Plon, Schleswig-Holstein in 1912. He then traveled for six months in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. After his ''wanderjahr'' he settled in to study law at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

. He also joined a student corps there. In August 1914, he and his younger brother Conrad joined Braunschweige Hussars Regiment 17 (the Deaths Head Hussars). In January 1915, he accompanied his unit to the front in southern Alsace.

Early Flying Service

Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp was commissioned as a leutnant (lieutenant) in April 1915 and applied for pilot's training in the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' (German air service). Along with his brother Conrad, he trained in Replacement Division 5 in Hanover through 15 September 1915. Bülow-Bothkamp was originally posted to ''Feldflieger Abteilung 22'', which was an aviation squadron organized for aerial reconnaissance, observation, and direction of artillery on the

. Although flying an

AEG G.II The AEG G.II was a German biplane bomber aircraft of 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 Rus ...

two-seated observation plane, he managed to down enemy two seaters on consecutive days, 10 and 11 October 1915. After an award of the Iron Cross First ClassNote: German policy called for award of the Second Class as a prerequisite for the First Class award; therefore Bülow-Bothkamp had already won the Second Class Iron Cross. for his victories in October, his transfer to ''Flieger-Abteilung 300'' took him to the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

to continue his reconnaissance duties in support of a German ally, the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. He flew on the Palestinian front and was wounded on 13 June 1916. In a letter home from the hospital in Jerusalem, he joked about his shoulder wound being as inconsequential as a dueling scar suffered at university. After his discharge from hospital, he won twice more near

El Arish ʻArish or el-ʻArīsh ( ar, العريش ' , ''Hrinokorura'') is the capital and largest city (with 164,830 inhabitants ) of the North Sinai Governorate of Egypt, as well as the largest city on the entire Sinai Peninsula, lying on the Mediter ...

, with a fifth victory unconfirmed. He earned a transfer to piloting fighter planes. He left ''Flieger-Abteilung 300'' and joined a Prussian fighter squadron on the Western Front, '' Jagdstaffel 18''. Bülow-Bothkamp shot down two enemy aircraft on 23 January 1917 and another the following day, to start his and his squadron's victory roll. By 10 May, when he transferred out of ''Jagdstaffel 18'', his total stood at 13. He had been awarded both the

Royal 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 v ...

and 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 ...

's Military Order of Saint Henry while with the squadron.

Appointed to Leadership

He was then appointed Commanding Officer of '' Jagdstaffel 36''. He promptly shot down two French observation balloons at Bouvancourt on 21 May 1917. A hip wound kept him from scoring for a while, before he began a steady accumulation of triumphs that would extend from 6 July to 2 December. During this stretch, on 8 October, after 21 victories, he was awarded the highest decoration of both

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

and 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 ...

, the '' Pour le Merite''. On 29 October, he went on

leave Leave may refer to: * Permission (disambiguation) ** Permitted absence from work *** Leave of absence, a period of time that one is to be away from one's primary job while maintaining the status of employee *** Annual leave, allowance of time away ...

until 7 November, leaving Hans Hoyer in temporary command of the squadron. On 2 December, he killed Lieutenant

Harry G. E. Luchford Captain Harry George Ernest Luchford (28 October 1894 – 2 December 1917) was an English World War I pilot credited with 24 victories. He was notable for scoring his first 11 victories in three months while piloting an obsolete double-seated ...

No. 20 Squadron RAF ("Deeds not Words") , colors = , colors_label = , march = , mascot = , battles = , anniversaries = , decora ...

when he shot down his

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"'' ...

. This was Bülow-Bothkamp's 28th and final victory. On 13 December 1917, he was transferred to being Commanding Officer of a more prestigious unit, ''

'',

Oswald Boelcke Oswald Boelcke PlM (; 19 May 1891 – 28 October 1916) was a World War I German professional soldier and pioneering flying ace credited with 40 aerial victories. Boelcke is honored as the father of the German fighter air force, and of air ...

's old unit. On 6 January 1918, Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp led his wingmen into a dogfight against No. 23 and No. 70 Squadrons of the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

near

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...

. He did not survive. RFC aces Captain Frank G. Quigley and Captain William M. Fry are believed to be his conquerors. Walter was buried in his family chateau's cemetery. He joined his brother Friedrich, killed in action in 1914. Within the year, Conrad would join them.

Decorations and awards

of 1914, 1st class (October 1915) and 2nd class (April 1915) * Pour le Merite (8 October 1917) * Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Saint Henry

Endnotes

References

* *

External links

* http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/bulow-bothkamp2.php Accessed 18 October 2008. * http://www.frontflieger.de/3buelow0t.html Accessed 18 October 2008. * http://www.sero-papermodels.com/content.do?object=jasta.jasta18&page=page.jasta Accessed 18 October 2008. * http://www.pourlemerite.org/ Accessed 18 October 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bulow-Bothkamp, Walter 1894 births 1918 deaths Aviators killed by being shot down German military personnel killed in World War I German World War I flying aces Luftstreitkräfte personnel People from Eckernförde People from the Province of Schleswig-Holstein Prussian Army personnel Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)