Leutnant Ludwig Hanstein was a World War I flying 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 16 aerial victories.

Early service

He scored his first triumph while flying artillery cooperation missions with FA 6. On 12 October 1916, he used a Fokker D.II to force down a RNAS Sopwith 1½ Strutter

Sopwith 1½ Strutter

The Sopwith 1½ Strutter was a British one or two-seat biplane multi-role aircraft of the First World War. It is significant as the first British-designed two seater tractor fighter, and the first British aircraft to enter service with a synchronised machine gun...

 onto Freiburg

Freiburg

Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...

 Airfield by wounding its pilot through the neck.

Jasta 16 service

After a transfer to Royal Bavarian Jasta 16, whose theater of operations was generally the French sector of the Western Front

Western Front (World War I)

Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...

  Hanstein scored again on 17 March 1917; by 25 September, he had added nine more to his tally to become Jasta 16's first ace.

Jasta 35 service: killed in action

He then transferred to Royal Bavarian Jasta 35, which usually operated against the British, and was given command effective 24 September 1917. He scored his thirteenth victory on 12 November 1917, and scored twice more in January 1918. He relinquished command to Bruno Justinius on 20 January. Hanstein also received the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern on the 20th. Hanstein succeeded again to command of the jasta on 4 March 1918, after Justinius was killed in action and his successor transferred. About ten minutes after scoring his final victory on 21 March 1918, he was killed in action by Herbert Sellars

Herbert Sellars

Lieutenant Herbert Whiteley Sellars was a World War I flying ace credited with eight aerial victories.-Reference:...

. Sellars' combat report stated, "I did a sharp turn to the left, my observer firing at 75 yards range into the nearest enemy aircraft, which burst into flames and was seen to crash north of Morchies.

Reference

• Albatros Aces of World War 1: Part 1 of Albatros aces of World War I. Norman L. R. Franks. Osprey Publishing, 2000. ISBN 1855329603, 9781855329607.
• Early German Aces of World War I. Greg VanWyngarden, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2006. ISBN 1841769975, 9781841769974.
• Bristol F2 Fighter Aces of World War I. Jon Guttman, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2007. ISBN 1846032016, 9781846032011.