Erich Loewenhardt

Oberleutnant Erich Loewenhardt (7 April 189710 August 1918) was a German soldier and military aviator who fought in the First World War and became a fighter ace credited with 54 confirmed aerial victories. Originally enlisting in an infantry regiment even though he was only 17, he fought in the Battle of Tannenberg, winning a battlefield commission on 2 October 1914. He would serve in the Carpathians and on the Italian Front before being medically discharged in mid-1915. Following a five month recuperation, Loewenhardt joined the Imperial German Air Service in 1916. After serving as an aerial observer and reconnaissance pilot, he underwent advanced training to become a fighter pilot with Jagdstaffel 10 in March 1917. Between 24 March 1917 and 10 August 1918, Loewenhardt shot down 45 enemy airplanes, as well as destroying nine observation balloons. Shortly after his final victory, he was killed in a collision with another German pilot.

Early life and service Erich Loewenhardt (other spellings Löwenhardt, Lowenhardt) was born in Breslau, Silesia, German Empire on 7 April 1897, the son of a doctor. He received his education at a military school in Lichterfelde. He was 17 when the First World War started in August 1914 and was assigned to the German Army's Infantry Regiment Nr. 141; he saw infantry action on the Eastern Front with them. Young Loewenhardt was wounded near Łódź but remained on duty as standard bearer for his regiment as it fought in the Battle of Tannenberg. As reward for his courage, on 2 October 1914 he was commissioned. On 30 October he was both wounded and decorated with the Iron Cross Second Class. After convalescing, he returned to his unit in the Carpathians. In May 1915 he received the Iron Cross 1st Class for saving the lives of five wounded men. Loewenhardt then transferred to the Alpine Corps on the Italian Front. However, he fell ill and was invalided from service as unfit for duty. Jasta 10 belonged to The Flying Circus, and when the wing commander's spot came open on 29 June 1918, Oberleutnant Loewenhardt was tapped for temporary command of it. By then, his tally stood at 27. When he surrendered the JG I command on 6 July, it had risen to 34. By the end of July 1918, Loewenhardt's total was 48: 9 balloons and 39 airplanes.

Death in action On the 8th of August, the Allied Forces launched the war's final offensive against the Germans. The British Royal Air Force led the assault, and Loewenhardt downed three of their airplanes. On the 9th, he shot down two more. On the 10th, flying despite a badly sprained ankle, Loewenhardt launched his yellow Fokker D.VII on a mid-day sortie leading a patrol heavily weighted with rookie pilots. He encountered No. 56 Squadron RAF and shot down a Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a over Chaulnes, France at 1215 hours for his 54th victory. In the aftermath of the combat, he collided with another German pilot, Leutnant Alfred Wenz from Jasta 11. Loewenhardt's Fokker's landing gear slammed the upper right wing on Wenz's D.VII. Both pilots' planes were equipped with parachutes and both pilots bailed out. Erich Loewenhardt's chute failed to open and he fell to his death.

Awards and decorations Prussian military pilot badge Iron Cross of 1914, 1st and 2nd class Pour le Mérite Knight's Cross with Swords of the House Order of Hohenzollern, Military Merit Cross (Austria-Hungary)

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