Heinrich Kroll
Encyclopedia
Oberleutnant Henrich Claudius Kroll (3 November 1894–21 February 1930) Pour le Merite
, Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Saxony's Albert Order
Knight Second Class with Swords, Iron Cross
First and Second Class, was a World War I fighter ace credited with 33 victories.
, Germany, the son of a school teacher. Kroll the younger also aspired to become a teacher. He passed his examinations at Kiel and was being credentialed as a teacher when World War I started. He was also active in athletics as a member of the Kiel sports club.
He volunteered for service in the "Queen Augusta Victoria" infantry regiment, Fusilier Regiment No. 86, in Flensburg, on 6 August 1914. From there he transferred into Reserve Regiment No. 92. He was in heavy fighting around Hartmannswillerkopf in Alsace, the battle for which began on 31 December 1914. He earned an Iron Cross
Second Class, and was commissioned an officer in May 1915.
He then applied for a transfer to the Air Service in January 1916.
. He was the only officer pilot in FA 17; commonly, in these early days of aviation reconnaissance the observer was an officer and the pilot a non-commissioned "chauffeur". Following this practice, Kroll's observer was Lieutenant Holzhausen.
In October, 1916, two new Albatros fighters were assigned to the unit, and Kroll started flying one occasionally. The unit was reorganized into Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 9, operating Fokker E.III
s.
In November 1916 he was posted to Jasta 9. On 12 February 1917, Kroll was awarded the Iron Cross First Class. It was about this time that Kroll wrote about the difficulty of confirming victories: "It is difficult to get confirmation of a victory–especially the first one! It must be confirmed by our own ground troops...this is even more difficult if hazy conditions prevail."
After being shot down and forced to land by a Caudron
in November 1916, Kroll's first victory was on 1 May 1917, over a Spad
. He downed four more Spads in May, his fifth victory being one of the most significant victories; on 25 May 1917, he shot down and killed the man who was then the second highest scoring ace in the French Air Force, René Dorme
. As Kroll's diary related, the two pilots had locked in a circling dogfight beginning at 5300 meters (about 17,400 feet) and devolving down to 800 meters (about 2600 feet). Dorme's Spad suddenly nosed over and barreled straight into the ground, bursting into flames upon impact. Dorme's body was so disfigured it could only be identified by his watch.
This victory was influential in Kroll being appointed commanding officer of Royal Saxon Jasta 24 on 1 July 1917. He would command this unit, with brief interregnums, until just before the end of the war.
He would score once in July, on the 20th.
On 27 July he was shot down in flames by Captain Clive W. Warman
of No 23 Squadron, but escaped uninjured. Warman's machine gun fire set Kroll's airplane's carburettor on fire, but Kroll killed the engine to starve the flames, tore off his oily goggles so he could still see, and landed dead stick, trailing telephone wires.
On 27 September 1917 with his score at 12, he received the first Pfalz D.III
assigned to his Jasta. The Pfalz would almost end his life. Kroll apparently still used his Albatros D.V
, marked with a taijitu
on a tan background. Kroll considered the Pfalz to be the Albatros's inferior in performance; He thought the Pfalz the slower of the two planes, climbed no better, but could be faster in a dive. Whichever aircraft he used, he rounded off 1917 by scoring his 15th victory on 4 December.
On 25 January 1918, after he shot down a Bristol F.2b Fighter for number 17, the rear spar of the Pfalz he was flying broke, and the left aileron tore badly, almost separating from the plane. It took all Kroll's skill to land safely. His complaint to higher authorities gained him a promise of three Fokker Dr.I
s for his Jasta, but nothing else. He and his Jasta would have to suffer with Pfalzes until the new Fokker D.VII
arrived on 28 May.
His 20th victory on 18 February brought an award of the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern and made him eligible for the Pour le Merite
. The "Blue Max" duly arrived on 29 March 1918.
On 25 May, his Jasta finally received Fokker D.VII
s. At about this time, Kroll also became the commander of Jagdgruppe 12 , which consisted of his Jasta 24, and Jastas 44 and 79b. Kroll continued as Jasta 24's leading ace, steadily racking up his score, mostly against enemy fighters. An SE-5a fell on 9 August 1918 to finish his tally at 33.
On 14 August 1918 he was so seriously wounded in the left shoulder that he never flew in action again.
The 28 victories he scored with Jasta 24 made up almost a third of its 90 claims; he and Friedrich Altemeier
combined for over half the squadron wins. Despite being handicapped by the poorly built Pfalz, the Jasta under Kroll's leadership had suffered only 15 casualties. Most striking of all, only four of Kroll's victims had been two seater reconnaissance aircraft. Kroll shot down about as many enemy fighters as his more famous compatriot, Manfred von Richthofen
.
. He then joined the Hamburg Police
as a captain. While there he witnessed the attempted Kapp Putsch
against the Weimar government. In its aftermath he recovered the body of fellow fighter ace Rudolf Berthold, who had been murdered by German communists.
There followed a quiet period during which he was a clerk.
He joined the Hamburg Flying Club in 1928 and reclaimed his pilot's license. He flew pioneer commercial aviation routes to Berlin and to the northern islands. He also used a Junkers F 13, which was the first all-metal civil aviation craft, for sightseeing flights over Hamburg.
He died of pneumonia
on 21 February 1930 and was buried in Ohlsdorf Cemetery
in Hamburg.
The Luft Hansa later named one of its Junkers 52/3m transports HEINRICH KROLL (D-AHUS,W.Nr.4049) to honour him.
Pour le Mérite
The Pour le Mérite, known informally as the Blue Max , was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order for German soldiers until the end of World War I....
, Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Saxony's Albert Order
Albert Order
The Albert Order was created 31 December 1850 by King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony to commemorate Albert III, Duke of Saxony and was to be awarded to anyone who had served the state well, for civil virtue, science and art....
Knight Second Class with Swords, 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....
First and Second Class, was a World War I fighter ace credited with 33 victories.
Early life
Kroll was born in the village of Flatzby near FlensburgFlensburg
Flensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig...
, Germany, the son of a school teacher. Kroll the younger also aspired to become a teacher. He passed his examinations at Kiel and was being credentialed as a teacher when World War I started. He was also active in athletics as a member of the Kiel sports club.
He volunteered for service in the "Queen Augusta Victoria" infantry regiment, Fusilier Regiment No. 86, in Flensburg, on 6 August 1914. From there he transferred into Reserve Regiment No. 92. He was in heavy fighting around Hartmannswillerkopf in Alsace, the battle for which began on 31 December 1914. He earned an 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 Class, and was commissioned an officer in May 1915.
He then applied for a transfer to the Air Service in January 1916.
Aerial Service
Kroll trained with Replacement Division 3 at Gotha. From there he went to FA 17 based at Rethel, France, to fly the Rumpler C.IRumpler C.I
-See also:- References :* Munson, Kenneth - Bombers, Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft 1914 - 1919 ISBN 0 7537 0918 X* Munson, Kenneth - Fighters, Attack and Training Aircraft 1914 - 1919 ISBN 0 7537 0916 3...
. He was the only officer pilot in FA 17; commonly, in these early days of aviation reconnaissance the observer was an officer and the pilot a non-commissioned "chauffeur". Following this practice, Kroll's observer was Lieutenant Holzhausen.
In October, 1916, two new Albatros fighters were assigned to the unit, and Kroll started flying one occasionally. The unit was reorganized into Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 9, operating Fokker E.III
Fokker E.III
|-See also:...
s.
In November 1916 he was posted to Jasta 9. On 12 February 1917, Kroll was awarded the Iron Cross First Class. It was about this time that Kroll wrote about the difficulty of confirming victories: "It is difficult to get confirmation of a victory–especially the first one! It must be confirmed by our own ground troops...this is even more difficult if hazy conditions prevail."
After being shot down and forced to land by a Caudron
Caudron
The Caudron Airplane Company was a French aircraft company founded in 1909 by brothers Gaston Caudron and René Caudron . It was one of the earliest aircraft manufacturers in France and produced planes for the military in both World War I and World War II...
in November 1916, Kroll's first victory was on 1 May 1917, over a 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:...
. He downed four more Spads in May, his fifth victory being one of the most significant victories; on 25 May 1917, he shot down and killed the man who was then the second highest scoring ace in the French Air Force, René Dorme
René Dorme
Sous Lieutenant Rene Pierre Marie Dorme , Legion d'Honneur, Medaille Militaire, Croix de Guerre was a French World War I fighter ace credited with 23 victories....
. As Kroll's diary related, the two pilots had locked in a circling dogfight beginning at 5300 meters (about 17,400 feet) and devolving down to 800 meters (about 2600 feet). Dorme's Spad suddenly nosed over and barreled straight into the ground, bursting into flames upon impact. Dorme's body was so disfigured it could only be identified by his watch.
This victory was influential in Kroll being appointed commanding officer of Royal Saxon Jasta 24 on 1 July 1917. He would command this unit, with brief interregnums, until just before the end of the war.
He would score once in July, on the 20th.
On 27 July he was shot down in flames by Captain Clive W. Warman
Clive W. Warman
Captain Clive Wilson Warman was a World War I flying ace credited with twelve aerial victories. He was the sole American winner of the British Distinguished Service Order.-World War I:...
of No 23 Squadron, but escaped uninjured. Warman's machine gun fire set Kroll's airplane's carburettor on fire, but Kroll killed the engine to starve the flames, tore off his oily goggles so he could still see, and landed dead stick, trailing telephone wires.
On 27 September 1917 with his score at 12, he received the first Pfalz D.III
Pfalz D.III
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gray, Peter and Owen Thetford. German Aircraft of the First World War. London: Putnam, 1962. ISBN 0-93385-271-1.* Grosz, Peter M. Pfalz D.IIIa . Berkhamsted, Herts, UK: Albatros Publications, 1995. ISBN 0-94841-425-1.* Guttman, Jon. Balloon-Busting Aces of World War 1 ...
assigned to his Jasta. The Pfalz would almost end his life. Kroll apparently still used his 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....
, marked with a taijitu
Taijitu
Taijitu is a term which refers to a Chinese symbol for the concept of yin and yang...
on a tan background. Kroll considered the Pfalz to be the Albatros's inferior in performance; He thought the Pfalz the slower of the two planes, climbed no better, but could be faster in a dive. Whichever aircraft he used, he rounded off 1917 by scoring his 15th victory on 4 December.
On 25 January 1918, after he shot down a Bristol F.2b Fighter for number 17, the rear spar of the Pfalz he was flying broke, and the left aileron tore badly, almost separating from the plane. It took all Kroll's skill to land safely. His complaint to higher authorities gained him a promise of three Fokker Dr.I
Fokker Dr.I
The Fokker Dr.I Dreidecker was a World War I fighter aircraft built by Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. The Dr.I saw widespread service in the spring of 1918...
s for his Jasta, but nothing else. He and his Jasta would have to suffer with Pfalzes until the new Fokker D.VII
Fokker D.VII
The Fokker D.VII was 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 summer and autumn of 1918. In service, the D.VII quickly proved itself to be a formidable aircraft...
arrived on 28 May.
His 20th victory on 18 February brought an award of the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern and made him eligible for the Pour le Merite
Pour le Mérite
The Pour le Mérite, known informally as the Blue Max , was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order for German soldiers until the end of World War I....
. The "Blue Max" duly arrived on 29 March 1918.
On 25 May, his Jasta finally received Fokker D.VII
Fokker D.VII
The Fokker D.VII was 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 summer and autumn of 1918. In service, the D.VII quickly proved itself to be a formidable aircraft...
s. At about this time, Kroll also became the commander of Jagdgruppe 12 , which consisted of his Jasta 24, and Jastas 44 and 79b. Kroll continued as Jasta 24's leading ace, steadily racking up his score, mostly against enemy fighters. An SE-5a fell on 9 August 1918 to finish his tally at 33.
On 14 August 1918 he was so seriously wounded in the left shoulder that he never flew in action again.
The 28 victories he scored with Jasta 24 made up almost a third of its 90 claims; he and Friedrich Altemeier
Friedrich Altemeier
Friedrich Altemeier was a World War I fighter ace credited with 21 victories...
combined for over half the squadron wins. Despite being handicapped by the poorly built Pfalz, the Jasta under Kroll's leadership had suffered only 15 casualties. Most striking of all, only four of Kroll's victims had been two seater reconnaissance aircraft. Kroll shot down about as many enemy fighters as his more famous compatriot, Manfred von Richthofen
Manfred von Richthofen
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen , also widely known as the Red Baron, was a German fighter pilot with the Imperial German Army Air Service during World War I...
.
Post war
The end of the war saw him an OberleutnantOberleutnant
Oberleutnant is a junior officer rank in the militaries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Translated as "Senior Lieutenant", the rank is typically bestowed upon commissioned officers after five to six years of active duty...
. He then joined the Hamburg Police
Hamburg Police
The Hamburg Police is the German Landespolizei force for the city-state of Hamburg. Law enforcement in Germany is divided between federal and state agencies...
as a captain. While there he witnessed the attempted Kapp Putsch
Kapp Putsch
The Kapp Putsch — or more accurately the Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch — was a 1920 coup attempt during the German Revolution of 1918–1919 aimed at overthrowing the Weimar Republic...
against the Weimar government. In its aftermath he recovered the body of fellow fighter ace Rudolf Berthold, who had been murdered by German communists.
There followed a quiet period during which he was a clerk.
He joined the Hamburg Flying Club in 1928 and reclaimed his pilot's license. He flew pioneer commercial aviation routes to Berlin and to the northern islands. He also used a Junkers F 13, which was the first all-metal civil aviation craft, for sightseeing flights over Hamburg.
He died of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
on 21 February 1930 and was buried in Ohlsdorf Cemetery
Ohlsdorf Cemetery
-External links:* *...
in Hamburg.
The Luft Hansa later named one of its Junkers 52/3m transports HEINRICH KROLL (D-AHUS,W.Nr.4049) to honour him.