Paul Billik
Encyclopedia
Paul Billik Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross
was a World War I fighter ace credited with 31 victories. He was killed in a flying accident while pioneering civil aviation.
) until 1910.
In 1911, he joined the 157th Infantry Regiment of the 12th Division
and was based in Brzeg. He was promoted up to the rank of corporal during the next two years. He was still in this regiment when World War I started, and he went into battle with it. In November 1915, he received a commission, apparently on the battlefield, which suggests uncommon courage and ability. In May 1916, he transferred to aviation training.
. He was assigned an Albatros fighter to fly, which he personalized with his good luck insignia of a pre-Nazi swastika
.
On 30 April, he downed a Sopwith Pup
for his first victory; his victim was Royal Naval Air Service
10-kill ace Flt.Sub Lt. John Joseph Malone
. Billik downed three more opposing fighters before being transferred, with number four being on 3 July 1917.
He was reassigned the following day.
His new unit was the Prussian Jasta 7
, commanded by Josef Jacobs
. With them, he flew a Fokker Dr.I
and scored once in August, twice in September, was wounded on 7 October, and claimed victory number eight on 12 December.
Billik's last change of unit led him to command of newly formed Prussian Jasta 52 on 9 January 1918. Although most of his pilots were recent graduates of aviation training, he brought with him four pilots from his old unit, along with an aircraft color scheme of black fuselages for the Jasta's Pfalz D.III
s. The Pfalz was an underperforming airplane, but Billik was shrewd enough to modify tactics to minimise its limitations.
Beginning on 9 March 1918, he began a five month accumulation of successes. Scoring one or two victories per day, without the four, five, or six plane multiples of some other aces, he ran up a tally of 23 with his Jasta, including successes over four British aces.
On 28 March, he shot down Captain John Lightfoot Trollope
of No.43 Squadron, who survived as a prisoner of war but had to have his left hand amputated.
On 19 May, in a dogfight where the Germans were outnumbered, he downed Canadian and 29-kill ace Major Albert Desbrisay Carter
of No.19 Squadron, who survived as a prisoner of war. Billik was slightly wounded in the encounter.
On 1 June, he shot the wing off of British ace Captain William Cairnes' Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a, plummeting it earthward in a high speed spin; 5-kill ace Cairnes (of No. 74 Squadron) did not survive.
On 8 July, Billik killed No. 32 Squadron's 7-kill ace Captain Arthur Claydon. It was about this time that Jasta 52 finally upgraded to Fokker D.VII
s and Dr.Is.
On 25 July, Billik was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern.
On 10 August 1918, in a swirling confused dogfight, Billik was shot down and taken prisoner. He had been recommended for a Pour le Merite
when his score sheet reached 20 victories. This award was Germany's highest decoration for valor, and one very seldom awarded to men from humble origin or from the non-commissioned ranks. His fall into captivity scotched the honor.
In evaluating Billik's achievements as a fighter ace, he triumphed over few opponents in inferior airplanes, and many in superior ones. An Albatros or a Pfalz was considered a poorer combat aircraft than the Sopwith Camel, SE5a or Dolphin, yet Billik shot down nine Camels, seven SE5a's and two Dolphins. Conversely, he shot down only six bombers among his 31 score; all modern well-armed craft.
, Berlin, while piloting one of the world's first passenger liners, the Junkers F.13
. The location of his grave is no longer known.
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....
was a World War I fighter ace credited with 31 victories. He was killed in a flying accident while pioneering civil aviation.
His Life Before Aviation
Paul Billik was born in Haatsch in the Silesian region of what was then Germany, and is currently Czech Republic. His father Franz was a Jewish farmer. He attended school in Ratibor (RacibórzRacibórz
Racibórz is a town in southern Poland with 60,218 inhabitants situated in the Silesian Voivodeship , previously in Katowice Voivodeship...
) until 1910.
In 1911, he joined the 157th Infantry Regiment of the 12th Division
12th Division (German Empire)
The 12th Division was a unit of the Prussian/German Army. It was formed in Neiße on September 5, 1818. The division was subordinated in peacetime to the VI Army Corps . The division was disbanded in 1919 during the demobilization of the German Army after World War I...
and was based in Brzeg. He was promoted up to the rank of corporal during the next two years. He was still in this regiment when World War I started, and he went into battle with it. In November 1915, he received a commission, apparently on the battlefield, which suggests uncommon courage and ability. In May 1916, he transferred to aviation training.
Flying Service
Billik trained with FEA 4. From January through 31 March 1917 he flew defensive patrols with Schusta 4 in two seater aircraft. Immediately after this, he trained to fly single seated fighters and on 1 April 1917 he joined the Prussian Jagdgstaffel 12, which was soon commanded by Oberleutnant Adolf Ritter von TutschekAdolf Ritter von Tutschek
Adolf, Ritter von Tutschek Pour le Mérite, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross, Military Order of Max Joseph, was a professional soldier turned aviator who became a leading fighter ace with 27 victories...
. He was assigned an Albatros fighter to fly, which he personalized with his good luck insignia of a pre-Nazi swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
.
On 30 April, he downed a 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...
for his first victory; his victim was 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...
10-kill ace Flt.Sub Lt. John Joseph Malone
John Joseph Malone
Flight Sub-Lieutenant John Joseph Malone was a Canadian flying ace of the Royal Naval Air Service during World War I. He was credited with 10 aerial victories and won the Distinguished Service Order for his valor before dying in combat.-Early life:...
. Billik downed three more opposing fighters before being transferred, with number four being on 3 July 1917.
He was reassigned the following day.
His new unit was the Prussian Jasta 7
Jasta 7
Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 7 was a World War I "hunting group" of the Luftstreitkräfte, which was the forerunner to the Luftwaffe...
, commanded by Josef Jacobs
Josef Jacobs
Josef Carl Peter Jacobs was a German flying ace with 48 victories during the First World War. His total tied him with Werner Voss for fourth place among German aces.-Background:...
. With them, he flew a 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...
and scored once in August, twice in September, was wounded on 7 October, and claimed victory number eight on 12 December.
Billik's last change of unit led him to command of newly formed Prussian Jasta 52 on 9 January 1918. Although most of his pilots were recent graduates of aviation training, he brought with him four pilots from his old unit, along with an aircraft color scheme of black fuselages for the Jasta's 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 ...
s. The Pfalz was an underperforming airplane, but Billik was shrewd enough to modify tactics to minimise its limitations.
Beginning on 9 March 1918, he began a five month accumulation of successes. Scoring one or two victories per day, without the four, five, or six plane multiples of some other aces, he ran up a tally of 23 with his Jasta, including successes over four British aces.
On 28 March, he shot down Captain John Lightfoot Trollope
John Lightfoot Trollope
Captain John Lightfoot Trollope, MC & Bar, was a British First World War flying ace, who was the first British pilot to shoot down 7 enemy aircraft in one day, on 24 March 1918. Four days later, he claimed his last 3 kills of the war , before being shot down by German ace Paul Billik...
of No.43 Squadron, who survived as a prisoner of war but had to have his left hand amputated.
On 19 May, in a dogfight where the Germans were outnumbered, he downed Canadian and 29-kill ace Major Albert Desbrisay Carter
Albert Desbrisay Carter
Albert Desbrisay Carter DSO & Bar was a Canadian World War I flying ace credited with 28 victories.-Early life and career:Albert Desbrisay Carter was born in Point de Bute, New Brunswick....
of No.19 Squadron, who survived as a prisoner of war. Billik was slightly wounded in the encounter.
On 1 June, he shot the wing off of British ace Captain William Cairnes' Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a, plummeting it earthward in a high speed spin; 5-kill ace Cairnes (of No. 74 Squadron) did not survive.
On 8 July, Billik killed No. 32 Squadron's 7-kill ace Captain Arthur Claydon. It was about this time that Jasta 52 finally upgraded to 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 and Dr.Is.
On 25 July, Billik was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern.
On 10 August 1918, in a swirling confused dogfight, Billik was shot down and taken prisoner. He had been recommended for a 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....
when his score sheet reached 20 victories. This award was Germany's highest decoration for valor, and one very seldom awarded to men from humble origin or from the non-commissioned ranks. His fall into captivity scotched the honor.
In evaluating Billik's achievements as a fighter ace, he triumphed over few opponents in inferior airplanes, and many in superior ones. An Albatros or a Pfalz was considered a poorer combat aircraft than the Sopwith Camel, SE5a or Dolphin, yet Billik shot down nine Camels, seven SE5a's and two Dolphins. Conversely, he shot down only six bombers among his 31 score; all modern well-armed craft.
Post war
Billik went into civil aviation after the war. He died in a landing accident in StaakenStaaken
Staaken is a locality at the western rim of Berlin within the borough of Spandau. In the west it shares border with the Brandenburg municipalities of Falkensee and Dallgow-Döberitz in the Havelland district. Buildings range from small detached houses in the west to larger 1960s and 1970s housing...
, Berlin, while piloting one of the world's first passenger liners, the Junkers F.13
Junkers F.13
The Junkers F.13 was the world's first all-metal transport aircraft, developed in Germany at the end of World War I. It was an advanced cantilever-wing monoplane, with enclosed accommodation for four passengers. Over 300 were sold...
. The location of his grave is no longer known.