Hermann Vallendor (13 April 1894 – 15 November 1974) was a German

World War I flying ace The following are lists of World War I flying aces. Historically, a flying ace was defined as a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The term was first used by French newspapers, describ ...

Early life

Hermann Vallendor was born in

Offenburg Offenburg ("open borough" - coat of arms showing open gates; Low Alemmanic: ''Offäburg'') is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With nearly 60,000 inhabitants (2019), it is the largest city and the administrative capital ...

, the Grand Duchy of Baden on 13 April 1894. He was an engineering student in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...

before World War I began.''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918'', p. 222.''Jagdstaffel 2 Boelcke: Von Richthofen's Mentor: Volume 26 of Aviation Elite Units: Volume 26 of Osprey Aviation Elite'', p. 51.

Service in World War I

Vallendor joined the 114th Infantry Regiment of the German Army on 16 October 1914. He was promoted to

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 ...

on 19 May 1915. He was awarded 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 es ...

Second Class on 29 July 1915. A promotion 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, occup ...

followed on 5 December 1915. He then was raised from the enlisted ranks, being commissioned as a

leutnant () is the lowest Junior officer rank in the armed forces the German-speaking of Germany (Bundeswehr), Austrian Armed Forces, and military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High Ge ...

in the reserves on 24 December 1915.''Der Fliegeralbum'' websit

Retrieved 14 February 2012. He transferred to aviation duty and began pilot's training with FEA 5 on 16 October 1916. When he completed pilot's school, he exited training for Armee Flugpark 2 on 19 February 1917. In May 1917, he went to FA 23 to fly two-seaters. He soon left that detachment, to begin attending fighter pilot's school on 24 June 1917. He was then posted to a fighter unit,

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 5 July 1917. As was customary in German military aviation of the time, Vallendor had his aircraft emblazoned in his personal insignia. In his case, the marking was a huge white "V" on the fuselage. When he used a Fokker Triplane, he also had the "V" painted on its top wing. Vallendor received the

Order of the Zähringer Lion The Order of the Zähringer Lion was instituted on 26 December 1812 by Karl, Grand Duke of Baden , house = Zähringen , father = Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden , mother = Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt ...

from his native Baden on 14 December 1917. He achieved his first aerial victory on 3 February 1918. He was awarded the Iron Cross First Class on 7 March 1918 and went on to score five more victories before war's end.

List of aerial victories

Post World War I

After war's end, Vallendor moved to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, Argentina in 1920 to work for

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...

. He went on to

Montevideo, Uruguay Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern c ...

in 1921; there he founded a still existent family wholesale optical concern. Ge died on 15 November 1974 in Montevideo.

Early life

Service in World War I

List of aerial victories

Post World War I

References

Further reading