Leutnant Hans Hoyer was a German World War I soldier who was decorated as an artilleryman before turning to aviation. As a flyer, he became an ace

Flying ace

A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...

 credited with eight confirmed and three unconfirmed aerial victories before being killed in action

Killed in action

Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...

 while fighting for his nation.

Early life and service

Hans Hoyer was born in Rostock

Rostock

Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...

 on 20 September 1890; however he was Saxon. He performed his required military service in 1911, joining the First Field Artillery Regiment of the German Army

German Army

The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...

. He rejoined for World War I, this time in the Kingdom of Saxony

Kingdom of Saxony

The Kingdom of Saxony , lasting between 1806 and 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. From 1871 it was part of the German Empire. It became a Free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War...

's Twelfth Field Artillery Regiment.

World War I

Hoyer's valor while serving in field artillery won him the prestigious Knight's Cross

Knight's Cross

Knight's Cross refers to a distinguishing grade or level of various orders that denotes bravery and leadership on the battlefield....

 of the Military Order of Saint Henry, awarded him on 30 November 1915.

He transferred to the Luftstreitkräfte

Luftstreitkräfte

The Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte , known before October 1916 as Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches , or simply Die Fliegertruppen, was the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I...

in April 1916. By May 1916, he was operational with a two-seater unit, Flieger Abteilung 10, and stayed with them through their transition into Feldflieger Abteilung

Feldflieger Abteilung

Feldflieger Abteilung or Field Flying Companies were the pioneering field aviation units of the Luftstreitkräfte in World War I.-Composition:...

 270. In May 1917, he left the unit to attend Jastaschule. After being trained there as a fighter pilot, he joined Jasta 36 in late July under command of Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp

Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp

Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp , Pour le Merite, Military Order of Saint Henry, Iron Cross was a German fighter ace from an aristocratic family who was credited with 28 victories.- Early life :...

. Hoyer would serve as acting Staffelführer

Staffelführer

Staffelführer was one of the first paramilitary ranks used by the German Schutzstaffel in the early years of that group’s existence...

from 4 August to 21 August 1917.

Flying against the Royal Flying Corps

Royal Flying Corps

The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...

, Hoyer staked his first combat claim on 22 August 1917. By the time Bülow-Bothkamp took leave

Leave (military)

In military, leave is a permission to be away from one's unit, either for a specified or unspecified period of time.The term AWOL, standing for absent without leave, is a term for desertion used in armed forces of many English speaking countries....

 on 29 October, Hoyer's victory total stood at six confirmed and two unconfirmed. Bulow returned to command on 7 November, and Hoyer scored his eighth accredited victory the following day.

On 15 November 1917, Hoyer was on patrol flying an Albatros D.V

Albatros D.V

|-See also:-Bibliography:*Bennett, Leon. Gunning for the Red Baron. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 2006. ISBN 1-58544-507-X....

. He was reported to have downed a Spad before being shot down and killed 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) northeast of Tenbrielen, Belgium at 1215 hours. It is uncertain whether he fell to a Spad, or under the guns of Philip Fullard.

List of aerial victories

See also Aerial victory standards of World War I

Aerial victory standards of World War I

During World War I, the national air services involved developed their own methods of assessing and assigning credit for aerial victories.The victory scores of the pilots represented at List of World War I flying aces often cannot be definitive, but are based on itemized lists that are the best...

Confirmed victories are numbered and listed chronologically. Unconfirmed victories are denoted by "u/c" and may or may not be listed by date.

No.	Date/time	Aircraft	Foe	Result	Location	Notes
u/c	22 August 1917	Albatros D.III Albatros D.III The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service and the Austro-Hungarian Air Service during World War I. The D.III was flown by many top German aces, including Manfred von Richthofen, Ernst Udet, Erich Löwenhardt, Kurt Wolff, and Karl Emil Schäfer...	Sopwith		Houthulst Houthulst Houthulst is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Houthulst proper, Jonkershove, Klerken and Merkem. On January 1, 2006 Houthulst had a total population of 9,051...  Forest, Belgium
1	23 August 1917 @ 0835 hours	Albatros D.III	Bristol F.2 Fighter Bristol F.2 Fighter The Bristol F.2 Fighter was a British two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War flown by the Royal Flying Corps. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter or popularly the "Brisfit" or "Biff". Despite being a two-seater, the F.2B proved to be an agile aircraft...	Destroyed	Northeast of Zillebeke Zillebeke Zillebeke is a village in the Flemish province of West-Vlaanderen in Belgium. The former municipality is now part of Ypres.-History:On March 3, 1914 the then municipality was granted the arms are those of the last Lords of Zillebeke, the Canton family, Viscounts of Winnezeele, which had in 1740...  Lake, Belgium	Victim was from No. 22 Squadron RFC No. 22 Squadron RAF No. 22 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operates the Sea King HAR.3 and HAR.3A at three stations in the southern United Kingdom. The squadron was originally formed in 1915 as an aerial reconnaissance unit of the Royal Flying Corps serving on the Western Front during First World War...
2	3 September 1917 @ 1040 hours	Albatros D.III	Royal Aircraft Factory RE.8	Destroyed	West of Tenbrielen, Belgium	Victim was from No. 4 Squadron RFC
3	11 October 1917 @ 0830 hours	Albatros D.III	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a	Destroyed	Between Koelberg and Gheluvelt, Belgium	Victim was from No. 56 Squadron RFC No. 56 Squadron RAF Number 56 Squadron is one of the oldest and most successful squadrons of the Royal Air Force, with battle honours from many of the significant air campaigns of both World War I and World War II...
4	12 October 1917 @ 1215 hours	Albatros D.III	Sopwith Pup Sopwith Pup The Sopwith Pup was a British single seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characteristics and good maneuverability, the aircraft proved very...  serial number B1830	Destroyed	Westrozebeke Westrozebeke Westrozebeke is a village in the Belgian province of West-Flanders. It is part of the municipality of Staden. It is located 6 miles west of Roeselare and 9.5 miles north-east of Ypres. It's a typical agricultural village with lots of farms.... , Belgium	Victim was from No. 66 Squadron RFC No. 66 Squadron RAF No. 66 Squadron was a Royal Flying Corps and eventually Royal Air Force aircraft squadron.-In World War I:It was first formed at Filton on 30 June 1916 as a Training Squadron equipped with BE2c,d & e, BE12 and Avroe 504A machines. The squadron received its first Sopwith Pup on 3 February 1917,...
5	15 October 1917 @ 1510 hours	Albatros D.III	Bristol F.2b Fighter	Destroyed	Becelaere	Victim was from No. 20 Squadron RFC No. 20 Squadron RAF No. 20 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was until March 2010, the OCU for the BAE Harrier GR9, and T12, operating from RAF Wittering...
u/c	18 October 1917	Albatros D.III	Bristol F.2b Fighter		Moorslede Moorslede Moorslede is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Dadizele and Moorslede proper. On 1 January 2006, Moorslede had a total population of 10,618... , Belgium
6	24 October 1917 @ 1427 hours	Albatros D.III	Spad Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés SPAD was a French aircraft manufacturer between 1911 and 1921. Its SPAD S.XIII biplane was the most popular French fighter airplane in World War I.-Deperdussin:...	Destroyed	South of Westroosebeke, Belgium	Victim was from No. 23 Squadron RFC No. 23 Squadron RAF No. 23 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. Until October 2009, it operated the Boeing Sentry AEW1 Airborne Warning And Control System aircraft from RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire.-First World War:...
7	31 October 1917 @ 1610 hours	Albatros D.III	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a	Destroyed	Ketzelberg	Victim was from No. 84 Squadron RFC No. 84 Squadron RAF No. 84 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is at present a Search and Rescue Squadron based at RAF Akrotiri, it uses the Bell Griffin HAR.2 helicopter. It is currently part of the RAF's Search and Rescue Force-History:...
8	8 November 1917 @ 1510 hours	Albatros	Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a	Destroyed	Between Roeselare Roeselare Roeselare is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke....  and Moorslede, Belgium	Victim was from No. 84 Squadron RFC
u/c	15 November 1917	Albatros	Spad		Zandvoorde, Belgium

Reference

• 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 Franks
  Norman Leslie Robert Franks is an English writer who specialises in aviation books on the pilots and squadrons of World Wars I and II.-Biography:...
  
  , Frank W. Bailey, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1993. ISBN 0948817739, 9780948817731.
• Albatros Aces of World War 1: Volume 32 of Aircraft of the Aces: Volume 32 of Osprey Aviation Series: Volume 32 of Osprey Aircraft of the Aces. Norman Franks. Osprey Publishing, 2000. ISBN 1855329603, 9781855329607.

Awards and decorations

• Knight's Cross
  Knight's Cross
  Knight's Cross refers to a distinguishing grade or level of various orders that denotes bravery and leadership on the battlefield....
  
   of Military Order of Saint Henry

• 1914 Iron Cross
  Iron Cross
  The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
  
  , Second and First Class

Endnotes

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