Oberleutnant Erich Rüdiger von Wedel (1892–1954) was a German World War I

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

credited with thirteen aerial victories. Additionally, he spent most of the time from 2 May 1918 until the war's end on 11 November 1918 as commander of Jagdstaffel 11.

Aerial service

Wedel joined Jagdstaffel 11 on 23 April 1918. On 2 May, he took temporary command of the squadron. He shot down eight enemy fighters between 10 May and 21 July. On the latter date, he gave up command of the squadron for a few days. He reassumed command on 27 July and held it until 13 August. On 31 August, he took command for the final time, until war's end. By the time that occurred, he had won the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern and

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

First Class on 29 September, and wrapped up his victory tally with his thirteenth win on 5 November 1918.

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. , . 1892 births 1954 deaths People from Choszczno County Military personnel from the Province of Brandenburg German World War I flying aces Luftstreitkräfte personnel Prussian Army personnel Wedel family Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class {{germany-mil-bio-stub