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Kurt Wolff (aviator)
Encyclopedia
Oberleutnant
Kurt Wolff (February 6, 1895 – September 15, 1917) was one of Imperial Germany's highest scoring fighter aces during World War I
. After achieving 33 confirmed victories, he was killed in action at the age of 22.
, Pomerania
. He was orphaned as a child and was raised by relatives in Memel
, East Prussia
.
Wolff enlisted in the army in 1912 at the age of 17, joining a transport unit, Railway Regiment Nr.4. He received a commission on 17 April 1915, and he transferred to the air service in July.
On 12 October 1916 he was posted to the then undistinguished Jasta 11
. For months, Wolff, like most of his Jasta comrades, had no success in the air. That changed when command was given to Manfred von Richthofen
. Under the Red Baron's leadership, Jasta 11 thrived and Wolff became an excellent scout pilot. Like his commanding officer, Wolff soon became an avid collector of souvenirs from the aircraft he shot down. His room at his airfield soon became decorated with serial numbers, parts and guns from his victims.
He first claimed on 6 March 1917, a Royal Aircraft Factory BE-2d of No. 16 Squadron RFC
. Four more followed during March, and he scored 22 victories during what the RFC termed 'Bloody April
', with 4 victories on 13 April 1917, and 3 victories on 29 April 1917, including Major H.D. Harvey-Kelly
- commander of No. 19 Squadron.
Like the rest of the Jasta, Wolff's Albatros DIII was painted red, though he added individual markings by painting his elevators and tailplane green.
Wolff's youthful looks and frail physical stature masked his deadly skills as a combat pilot. Karl Bodenschatz
, in his Jagd in Flanders Himmel ("War in the Flanders Skies"), said of him:
"Jasta 11: Leutnant Kurt Wolff. At first glance, you could only say 'delicate little flower'. A slender, thin little figure, a very young face, whose entire manner is one of extreme shyness. He looks as if you could tip him backwards with one harsh word. But below this friendly schoolboy's face dangles the order Pour le Merite
. And so far, these modest looking eyes have taken 30 enemy airplanes from the sky over the sights of his machine guns, set them afire, and made them smash to pieces on the ground. This slender youth is already one of the best men of the old Richthofen Staffel 11."
Wolff was awarded the coveted Pour Le Merite on 4 May and on 6 May was assigned to command Jasta 29, replacing Lt. von Dornheim who had recently been killed. He shot down a French SPAD on 13 May and an No. 60 Squadron Nieuport 17 on 27 June before he returned to command Jasta 11 in July 1917, replacing Leut.Karl Allmenroeder, who had fallen in combat.
An RE-8 of 4 Sqdn and a Sopwith Triplane of No. 1 Naval Squadron were downed in early July before on 11 July Wolff was shot through the left hand by gunfire from a Sopwith Triplane
flown by future ace Flight Sub-Lieutenant H.V. Rowley of No. 1 Naval Squadron RNAS
. Wolff crash landed his aircraft on the Courtrai railway line. The crash ripped off the undrcarriage and flipped the aircraft over.
On 11 September 1917 Wolff returned to Jasta 11 from leave to recuperate from his injuries.
.
Meanwhile, eight Sopwith Camel
s of No. 10 squadron Royal Naval Air Service
, led by Flight Lieutenant Fitzgibbon, were escorting a number of DH-4 bombers back to Allied lines. Somewhere in the vicinity of Moorslede
, Belgium
, Fitzgibbon spotted a flight of German Albatrosses below them and led half of his men to attack. The remaining Camels stayed with the bombers and were attacked by Wolff and Schoenebeck. The dog fight was intense though brief, and in the confusion the British pilots mistakenly thought that five Albatrosses and four triplanes were involved. As Wolff singled out a Camel, he was suddenly fired on from behind by Flight Sub-Lieutenant Norman MacGregor. MacGregor fired a quick burst, then had to zoom to avoid colliding with the Fokker.
MacGregor reported: "I got into a good position very close on one triplane - within 25 yards - and fired a good burst. I saw my tracers entering his machine. I next saw him going down in a vertical dive, apparently out of control." MacGregor would eventually claim some seven air kills and be awarded the DSC.
In an interview after the war, Schoenebeck gave his own account: "One day we flew both to the front. That was done often because a flight of 2 is harder to spot than a whole squadron. If one was smart enough to use the sun in one's back, the enemy could be easily surprised. Wolff was a smart leader and from the sun we attacked an enemy flight. Wolff was shooting brilliantly but got caught in a dogfight. I flew behind him, as suddenly another Englishman appeared behind me. I only was able to get rid of him with great difficulty. While I was busy shaking off the Englishman, another machine attacked Wolff from behind and before I could help I saw how Wolff was going down into a spin and hit the ground. So was Lt. Wolff, who had me for covering him and who had to protect myself, falling in front of my very eyes. I was deeply shocked. At his funeral I had to carry his cushion of decorations."
It seems probable that Wolff was killed by MacGregor's bullets and was already dead when his Fokker Dr.I
crashed and burst into flames north of Wervicq at 17.30 hours (German time). Wolff's remains were taken back to Memel for burial.
Oberleutnant
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...
Kurt Wolff (February 6, 1895 – September 15, 1917) was one of Imperial Germany's highest scoring fighter aces during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. After achieving 33 confirmed victories, he was killed in action at the age of 22.
Early life
Kurt Wolff was born in GreifswaldGreifswald
Greifswald , officially, the University and Hanseatic City of Greifswald is a town in northeastern Germany. It is situated in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, at an equal distance of about from Germany's two largest cities, Berlin and Hamburg. The town borders the Baltic Sea, and is crossed...
, Pomerania
Pomerania
Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...
. He was orphaned as a child and was raised by relatives in Memel
Klaipeda
Klaipėda is a city in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Nemunas River where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It is the third largest city in Lithuania and the capital of Klaipėda County....
, East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
.
Wolff enlisted in the army in 1912 at the age of 17, joining a transport unit, Railway Regiment Nr.4. He received a commission on 17 April 1915, and he transferred to the air service in July.
Fighter Pilot
Wolff's first flight was almost his last. The aeroplane crashed, dislocating Wolff's shoulder and killing his pilot instructor. Nevertheless, Wolff received his pilot's badge in late 1915 and was assigned to 2-seater unit Kasta 26 of Kagohl 5, followed by service with Kagohl 7 and KG 40.On 12 October 1916 he was posted to the then undistinguished Jasta 11
Jasta 11
Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 11 was founded on 28 September 1916 from elements of 4 armee's Keks 1, 2 and 3 and mobilized on 11 October as part of the German Air Service's expansion program, forming permanent specialised fighter squadrons, or "Jastas"...
. For months, Wolff, like most of his Jasta comrades, had no success in the air. That changed when command was given to 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...
. Under the Red Baron's leadership, Jasta 11 thrived and Wolff became an excellent scout pilot. Like his commanding officer, Wolff soon became an avid collector of souvenirs from the aircraft he shot down. His room at his airfield soon became decorated with serial numbers, parts and guns from his victims.
He first claimed on 6 March 1917, a Royal Aircraft Factory BE-2d of No. 16 Squadron RFC
No. 16 Squadron RAF
No. 16 Squadron is a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force. It formed in 1915 at Saint-Omer to carry out a mixture of offensive patrolling and reconnaissance and was disbanded in 1919 with the end of the First World War...
. Four more followed during March, and he scored 22 victories during what the RFC termed 'Bloody April
Bloody April
During the First World War, the month of April 1917 was known as Bloody April by the Royal Flying Corps . The RFC suffered particularly severe losses — about three times as many as the Imperial German Army Air Service over the same period — but continued its primary role in support of the ground...
', with 4 victories on 13 April 1917, and 3 victories on 29 April 1917, including Major H.D. Harvey-Kelly
H.D. Harvey-Kelly
Major Hubert Dunsterville Harvey-Kelly was a World War I pilot who was credited with being the first RFC pilot to land in France in the war, and of being the first RFC pilot to down an enemy aircraft....
- commander of No. 19 Squadron.
Like the rest of the Jasta, Wolff's Albatros DIII was painted red, though he added individual markings by painting his elevators and tailplane green.
Wolff's youthful looks and frail physical stature masked his deadly skills as a combat pilot. Karl Bodenschatz
Karl Bodenschatz
General Karl-Heinrich Bodenschatz was a German military officer who was the adjutant to Manfred von Richthofen in World War I and the liaison officer between Hermann Göring and Adolf Hitler in World War II....
, in his Jagd in Flanders Himmel ("War in the Flanders Skies"), said of him:
"Jasta 11: Leutnant Kurt Wolff. At first glance, you could only say 'delicate little flower'. A slender, thin little figure, a very young face, whose entire manner is one of extreme shyness. He looks as if you could tip him backwards with one harsh word. But below this friendly schoolboy's face dangles the order 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....
. And so far, these modest looking eyes have taken 30 enemy airplanes from the sky over the sights of his machine guns, set them afire, and made them smash to pieces on the ground. This slender youth is already one of the best men of the old Richthofen Staffel 11."
Wolff was awarded the coveted Pour Le Merite on 4 May and on 6 May was assigned to command Jasta 29, replacing Lt. von Dornheim who had recently been killed. He shot down a French SPAD on 13 May and an No. 60 Squadron Nieuport 17 on 27 June before he returned to command Jasta 11 in July 1917, replacing Leut.Karl Allmenroeder, who had fallen in combat.
An RE-8 of 4 Sqdn and a Sopwith Triplane of No. 1 Naval Squadron were downed in early July before on 11 July Wolff was shot through the left hand by gunfire from a Sopwith Triplane
Sopwith Triplane
The Sopwith Triplane was a British single seat fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War. Pilots nicknamed it the Tripehound or simply the Tripe. The Triplane became operational with the Royal Naval Air Service in early 1917 and was...
flown by future ace Flight Sub-Lieutenant H.V. Rowley of No. 1 Naval Squadron RNAS
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service or RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of the First World War, when it merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form a new service , the Royal Air Force...
. Wolff crash landed his aircraft on the Courtrai railway line. The crash ripped off the undrcarriage and flipped the aircraft over.
On 11 September 1917 Wolff returned to Jasta 11 from leave to recuperate from his injuries.
Final fight
The first two Fokker Triplane prototypes had been allocated to Jagdgeschwader 1. On his return, Wolff was eager to fly one the prototype in Richthofen's absence. Four days later, on 15 September he found his opportunity. Despite heavily overcast skies, he took off in Fokker Triplane #102/17, accompanied by Leutnant Carl von Schoenebeck flying an Albatros D.VAlbatros 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....
.
Meanwhile, eight Sopwith Camel
Sopwith Camel
The Sopwith Camel was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter introduced on the Western Front in 1917. Manufactured by Sopwith Aviation Company, it had a short-coupled fuselage, heavy, powerful rotary engine, and concentrated fire from twin synchronized machine guns. Though difficult...
s of No. 10 squadron Royal Naval Air Service
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service or RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of the First World War, when it merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form a new service , the Royal Air Force...
, led by Flight Lieutenant Fitzgibbon, were escorting a number of DH-4 bombers back to Allied lines. Somewhere in the vicinity of 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
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Fitzgibbon spotted a flight of German Albatrosses below them and led half of his men to attack. The remaining Camels stayed with the bombers and were attacked by Wolff and Schoenebeck. The dog fight was intense though brief, and in the confusion the British pilots mistakenly thought that five Albatrosses and four triplanes were involved. As Wolff singled out a Camel, he was suddenly fired on from behind by Flight Sub-Lieutenant Norman MacGregor. MacGregor fired a quick burst, then had to zoom to avoid colliding with the Fokker.
MacGregor reported: "I got into a good position very close on one triplane - within 25 yards - and fired a good burst. I saw my tracers entering his machine. I next saw him going down in a vertical dive, apparently out of control." MacGregor would eventually claim some seven air kills and be awarded the DSC.
In an interview after the war, Schoenebeck gave his own account: "One day we flew both to the front. That was done often because a flight of 2 is harder to spot than a whole squadron. If one was smart enough to use the sun in one's back, the enemy could be easily surprised. Wolff was a smart leader and from the sun we attacked an enemy flight. Wolff was shooting brilliantly but got caught in a dogfight. I flew behind him, as suddenly another Englishman appeared behind me. I only was able to get rid of him with great difficulty. While I was busy shaking off the Englishman, another machine attacked Wolff from behind and before I could help I saw how Wolff was going down into a spin and hit the ground. So was Lt. Wolff, who had me for covering him and who had to protect myself, falling in front of my very eyes. I was deeply shocked. At his funeral I had to carry his cushion of decorations."
It seems probable that Wolff was killed by MacGregor's bullets and was already dead when his 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...
crashed and burst into flames north of Wervicq at 17.30 hours (German time). Wolff's remains were taken back to Memel for burial.