Julius Buckler

Julius Buckler (28 March 1894 – 23 May 1960) was a German First World War fighter ace credited with 36 victories during the war. He shot down 29 enemy airplanes and seven observation balloons; two other victories went unconfirmed. He was one of four German fighter aces to win Germany's highest decorations for valor for both enlisted man and officer.

Early life and service

Buckler's father was a roofer, and Buckler followed him into the family trade. At 15 years of age, Buckler had an interest in architecture and worked for Anthony Fokker

In November 1916 he transferred to a fighter squadron, Jagdstaffel 17, as a founding member.

Aerial victories and wounds

He scored his initial victory on 17 December 1916, a French Caudron over Bras. He would not score again until 14 February 1918. He then began to pick up single victories throughout Spring and early Summer. On 17 July he scored victory number 11 although he was wounded again and did not score again until 9 August. On 11 August he downed a British RE 8 and was wounded yet again the next day. Victory 14 was on 29 September, possibly because his wound kept him out of action. On 4 December 1917, while he was recovering from his wounds, he was awarded the Pour le Mérite. The injuries kept him out of action for months and he would not score again until 16 April 1918. He dubbed them Mops and Lilly. He flew "Mops" and "Lilly" to score three more victories before he was severely wounded yet again on 6 May 1918, this time in the left ankle. His next victory came five months later on 5 October. He scored twice more in the final days of the war, and had his second unconfirmed triumph on 8 November.

He survived World War II and died on 23 May 1960, in either Berlin

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