'' Vizefeldwebel'' Sebastian Festner (30 June 1894 – 25 April 1917) was an air ace of the

Luftstreitkräfte The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Combat Forces)known before October 1916 as (The Imperial German Air Service, lit. "The flying troops of the German Kaiser’s Reich")was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-langu ...

(German Air Force) during World War I, with 12 victories. He was only the second awardee of the Member's Cross of the

House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of 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 versions of the order were crosses an ...

Early life and service

Festner was born in Holzkirchen,

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

, on 30 June 1894. He originally served with, and was wounded with, the infantry before switching to aviation.The Aerodrome website's page on Festner http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/festner.php Retrieved on 15 April 2010. He was a mechanic with ''Flieger Abtleilung Nr. 1'' in October 1914. Posted to ''Flieger Abtleilung Nr. 7b'' in February 1915 as a

Gefreiter Gefreiter (, abbr. Gefr.; plural ''Gefreite'') is a military rank used in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria since the 16th century. It is typically the second rank or grade to which an Enlisted rank, enlisted soldier, airman, or sailor can be prom ...

, Festner learned to fly unofficially, and then underwent training with ''Fliegerersatz-Abteilung 2b'' and ''Fliegerersatz-Abteilung 5b''.Franks et al 1993, pp. 105–106. He served briefly with two seater units ''Flieger-Abteilung'' 18 and ''Flieger-Abteilung'' 5b, arriving at FA 18 on 10 September 1916 and FA 5b five days later. His next posting was to '' Jagdstaffel 11'' on 10 November 1916. Under the command of

Manfred von Richthofen Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (; 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of th ...

, Festner quickly claimed 2 victories in February 1917 (A BE-2 on 5 February and a FE-8 of No.40 Squadron on 16 February) before claiming another 10 during '

Bloody April Bloody April was the (largely successful) British air support operation during the Battle of Arras (1917), Battle of Arras in April 1917, during which particularly heavy casualties were suffered by the Royal Flying Corps at the hands of the Germ ...

'Bloody April'

A combat with No. 57 Squadron RFC Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2d's over Neuville on 2 April 1917 resulted in Festner claiming a FE-2d (Lt. H.P. Sworder, KIA and 2/Lt. A.H. Margoliouth, POW). On 5 April, during a combat between five Jasta 11 aircraft and six aircraft of No. 48 Squadron RFC, he forced down in captivity the Bristol F.2 Fighter of Captain

Leefe Robinson William Leefe Robinson Victoria Cross, VC (14 July 1895 – 31 December 1918) was the first British pilot to shoot down a German airship over Britain during the World War I, First World War. For this, he was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC), ...

, a

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

holder, holing his engine: his observer, 2/Lt. E.D. Warburton, was also captured. A

Nieuport 17 The Nieuport 17 C.1 (or Nieuport XVII C.1 in contemporary sources) is a French sesquiplane fighter aircraft, fighter designed and manufactured by the Nieuport company during World War I. An improvement over the Nieuport 11, it was a little large ...

of No. 60 Squadron was also claimed, but not credited, on 5 April (possibly Lt. E.J.D. Townsend, POW ). A 'Sopwith' was claimed on 7 April (actually a Bristol Fighter of No. 48 Sqn which force-landed with a dead observer) while on 8 April Festner himself force-landed his Albatros D.II (serial 223/16) with a cracked wing spar, which occurred while in combat with

s of No. 60 Squadron RFC, including future ace Lt. William 'Billy' Bishop.McCaffery 1988, p. 94. Von Richthofen had the damaged fighter written off strength. Festner shot down a BE-2d of 13 Sqn. RFC, ( Lt. E.R. Gunner, WIA and Lt. C. Curtiss) on 11 April, while on 13 April Jasta 11, Festner included, shot down an entire six-aircraft flight of Royal Aircraft Factory RE.8s from No. 59 Squadron RFC, Festner accounting for the RE-8 of Lt. A. Watson and 2/Lt. E.P. Law (both POW). He later claimed a FE-2b of No. 25 Squadron (Sgt. J. Dempsey KIA and 2/Lt. W.H. Green, POW). A

of No. 60 Squadron was claimed both on 14 April (2/Lt. L.C. Chapman KIA) and 16 April 1917 (Lt. T. Langwill KIA). On 23 April 1917, having previously won both classes of the

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 ...

, Sebastian Festner became only the second recipient of the Member's Cross with Swords of the

Death in action

Flying Albatros D.III (serial 2251/17), Festner was killed in action on 25 April 1917, near Oppy. Exact details are unknown; he was either struck by ground fire, suffered a broken propeller, or shot down attacking a Sopwith 1½ Strutter crewed by Lt. C. R. O'Brien & gunner 2/Lt. J. L. Dickson of No. 43 Squadron RFC, who claimed a red Albatros as their 3rd and 2nd victories respectively. Festner crashed behind the British lines, between Gavrelle and Bailleul. With the area under German artillery fire, there was no attempt to recover either plane or body. Festner was therefore declared

missing in action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty (person), casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoner of war, prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been ...

with no known grave.

References

* Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank W.; Guest, Russell. ''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918''. Grub Street, 1993. , . * Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank W.; Guest, Russell. ''Bloody April–Black September''. Grub Street, 1995. , 9781898697084. * McCaffery, Dan, ''Billy Bishop, Canadian Hero''. J. Lorimer & Co., 1988. , 9781550280951.

Endnotes

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Festner, Sebastian 1917 deaths 1894 births Aerial disappearances of military personnel in action German military personnel killed in World War I German World War I flying aces Military personnel of Bavaria Missing in action of World War I Missing person cases in France People from Miesbach (district) Military personnel from the Kingdom of Bavaria Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class