Oberleutnant (English: First Lieutenant) is a senior lieutenant Officer (armed forces), officer rank in the German (language), German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. In Austria, ''Oberle ...

'' Friedrich Ritter von Röth (29 September 1893 – 31 December 1918) was a German

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

fighter 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 ...

with 28 victories. He was the most successful German pilot at the extremely hazardous practice of shooting down enemy

observation balloon An observation balloon is a type of balloon that is employed as an aerial platform for gathering intelligence and spotting artillery. The use of observation balloons began during the French Revolutionary Wars, reaching their zenith during World ...

s, and destroyed 20 of them. Röth concentrated on observation balloons because they were large enough targets for him to see and hit with machine gun fire. Distressed by his nation's loss of the war, and by his religious compunctions against killing, he shot himself to death on 31 December 1918.

Early life

Friedrich Röth was born in

Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

, Germany on 29 September 1893. He was the son of a factory owner. He became known by the nickname of "Fritz". He was just graduating college when

broke out.''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918'', pp. 192-193

Early service

Friedrich Röth served originally in the 8th Bavarian Field Artillery Regiment.''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918'', p. 192 He was seriously wounded early in the war. Once he was again fit for duty, he was commissioned as a ''

Leutnant () is the lowest junior officer rank in the armed forces of Germany ( Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High German «locum ...

'' on 29 May 1915. He transferred to the aerial service, only to be severely injured in a crash and spend nearly another year in hospital. Because of his extended recuperation, he did not qualify as a pilot until early 1917. His initial assignment was to a Bavarian

artillery spotting An artillery observer, artillery spotter, or forward observer (FO) is a soldier responsible for directing artillery and mortar fire support onto a target. An artillery observer usually accompanies a tank or infantry unit. Spotters ensure that ...

unit, ''Flieger-Abteilung (Artillerie) 296''.''Fokker D.VII Aces of World War I Part 2'', p. 10 While with them, he was granted the Bavarian Military Merit Order with Swords on 11 June. Beginning 17 September 1917, he served in a fighter squadron, '' Jagdstaffel 34'', but did not down any enemies until he was assigned to ''

Jagdstaffel 23 Royal Bavarian Jagdstaffel 23 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 a minimum o ...

'' on 4 October. On 1 November, he was awarded the German

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.

Balloon busting ace

Röth was unsuccessful as a fighter pilot until he decided to concentrate his effort on

s. He was a poor shot who targeted balloons because they were so large.''Balloon Busting Aces of World War I'', p. 67 His decision meant he took upon himself one of the most hazardous duties of World War I fighter aviation. Because balloons flew at a known altitude, antiaircraft guns ringing them were extremely accurate. The balloons were low enough that an attacker was exposed to small arms fire as well. Protective fighters also lurked in the vicinity. The balloons were so well defended because they were an important part of the artillery fire direction systems of World War I.

Aerial observer Aerial may refer to: Music * ''Aerial'' (album), by Kate Bush, and that album's title track * "Aerials" (song), from the album ''Toxicity'' by System of a Down Bands * Aerial (Canadian band) * Aerial (Scottish band) * Aerial (Swedish band) ...

s in the balloons' gondolas called down accurate artillery fire on enemy soldiers.''Balloon Busting Aces of World War I'', pp. 7-9 On 25 January 1918, as a member of ''Jagdstaffel 23'', Röth scored his first victories, downing three balloons in eight minutes. He shot down a British observation plane on 26 February and downed another pair of balloons on 21 March. On 1 April, he single-handedly shot down four balloons in ten minutes.

Command

Röth was assigned to command '' Jagdstaffel 16'' on 8 April 1918, just four days after the previous ''

Staffelführer ''Staffelführer'' (, " Formation leader") 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 ...

'', Heinrich Geigl, died in a midair collision with a

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the b ...

.''Pfalz Scout Aces of World War I'', p. 48 By this time, he had begun scrupulous planning of his raids on balloons, spending hours studying potential target balloons through a telescope. He also loaded his guns to maximize effectiveness against balloons; his left-hand machine gun would be loaded with 80 percent incendiaries and 20 percent armor-piercing, and the right-hand gun vice versa. As his new unit used Pfalz D.IIIa fighters, Röth may have used one occasionally.''Balloon Busting Aces of World War I'', pp. 68-69 Deskau

At this time, Röth was known to fly an Albatros D.V marked with his personal livery overlaying the standard markings. It bore a white propeller spinner, yellow fuselage, and gray engine cowling, and wheel covers. Painted on the fuselage's side even with the trailing edge of the cockpit was a large disk divided into white and black halves. On 29 May 1918, Röth attacked the balloons he had been spying upon. Picking a time when there were no enemy fighters in sight and the wind was in his favor, Röth set five balloons afire in 15 minutes without assistance. Five other balloons were rapidly winched to ground to protect them. Röth had expended 220 rounds to burn the balloons, shooting down each in a single pass. He dodged enemy fighters and heavy antiaircraft fire to do it. Bristol F2B D8096 flying

Röth received a new

Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII is a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the '' Fokker-Flugzeugwerke''. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII ...

fighter in early August; he used this type airplane for his last 10 aerial victories. He went on to destroy three balloons each on 13 August and 10 October, along with seven enemy airplanes on various dates. On 30 July 1918 he shot down 16-victory Irish ace Sergeant John Cowell's 20 Squadron Bristol F.2b.''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918'', p. 193 Röth awarded Germany's highest decoration for valor, the ''

Pour le Mérite The (; , ), also informally known as the ''Blue Max'' () after German WWI flying ace Max Immelmann, is an order of merit established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. Separated into two classes, each with their own designs, the was ...

'', on 8 September 1918. Röth's last victory was on 14 October 1918; he was wounded in the foot during the fight. The cast on Röth's foot kept him out of combat for the duration of the war. On 11 November 1918, he was being piloted by a friend to observe the war's end against orders over the battlefield as the guns fell silent. Röth's final victory list credited him with destroying 20 enemy observation balloons and eight enemy airplanes.

Post-war death

On 31 December 1918, Röth shot himself to death. He was reportedly depressed by Germany's defeat and the subsequent ongoing revolution, as well as troubled by his killings during the war. In 1919, Röth was posthumously awarded the

Military Order of Max Joseph The Military Order of Max Joseph () was the highest military order (decoration), order of the Kingdom of Bavaria. It was founded on 1 January 1806 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, the first king of Bavaria. The order came in three classes: ...

. This award knighted him, thus posthumously changing his name to Friedrich Ritter von Röth. The award also entitled him to a lifelong pension.''Balloon Busting Aces of World War I'', p. 70

Inline citations

References

* ''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918''.

Norman Franks Norman Leslie Robert Franks (1940 – 21 May 2023) was an English militaria writer who specialised in aviation topics. He focused on the pilots and squadrons of World Wars I and II. Biography Franks published his first book in 1976. H ...

, Frank W. Bailey, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1993. . * ''Above the Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces, 1915-1920'', 1990. Christopher Shores, Norman Franks, Russell Guest. Fortress Publications. * ''Albatros Aces of World War 1''. Norman Franks. Osprey Publishing, 2000. . * ''Balloon-Busting Aces of World War 1''. Jon Guttman, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2005. . * ''Fokker D VII Aces of World War 1: Part 2''. Norman Franks, Greg VanWyngarden, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2004. . * ''Pfalz Scout Aces of World War 1''. Greg VanWyngarden. Osprey Publishing, 2006. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Roth, Friedrich 1893 births 1918 deaths German military personnel who died by suicide German World War I flying aces Knights of the Military Order of Max Joseph Luftstreitkräfte personnel Military personnel from Nuremberg Military personnel from the Kingdom of Bavaria Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Suicides by firearm in Germany 1918 suicides