Kurt Wol (aviator)

Oberleutnant Kurt Wol (February 6, 1895 September

15, 1917) was one of Imperial Germany's highest scoring
ghter aces during World War I. After claiming 33 victories, he was killed in action at the age of 22.

Skies), said of him:

Jasta 11: Leutnant Kurt Wol. At rst glance, you could

only say 'delicate little ower'. A slender, thin little gure,
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 schoolboys face
1 Early life
dangles the order Pour le Mrite. And so far, these modest
looking eyes have taken 30 enemy airplanes from the sky
Kurt Wol was born in Greifswald, Pomerania. He was over the sights of his machine guns, set them are, and
orphaned as a child and was raised by relatives in Memel, made them smash to pieces on the ground. This slender
youth is already one of the best men of the old Richthofen
East Prussia.
Stael 11.
Wol enlisted in the army in 1912 at the age of 17, joining a transport unit, Railway Regiment Nr.4. He received Wol was awarded the coveted Pour Le Mrite on 4 May
a commission on 17 April 1915, and he transferred to the and on 6 May was assigned to command Jasta 29, replacing Lt. von Dornheim who had recently been killed.
air service in July.
He shot down a French SPAD on 13 May and a No. 60
Squadron Nieuport 17 on 27 June before he returned to
command Jasta 11 in July 1917, replacing Leut.Karl All2 Fighter pilot
menroeder, who had fallen in combat.
He downed a RE-8 of No. 4 Squadron and a Sopwith
Triplane of No. 1 Naval Squadron in early July. However, on July 11 Wol was shot in both his left hand and
left shoulder by gunre from a Sopwith Triplane own by
future ace Flight Sub-Lieutenant H.V. Rowley of No. 1
Naval Squadron RNAS.[2] Wol crash landed his aircraft
on the Courtrai railway line. The crash ripped o the undercarriage and ipped the aircraft over. He then spent
signicant time in Field Hospital No. 76 in Courtrai with
his injured commander, Manfred von Richthofen.

Wols rst ight was almost his last. The aeroplane

crashed, dislocating Wols shoulder and killing his pilot
instructor. Nevertheless, Wol received his pilots 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. For months, Wol, 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 Barons leadership, Jasta 11 thrived and On 11 September 1917 Wol returned to Jasta 11 from
Wol became an excellent scout pilot. Like his com- leave to recuperate from his injuries.
manding ocer, Wol soon became an avid collector of
souvenirs from the aircraft he shot down. His room at his
aireld soon became decorated with serial numbers, parts
3 Final ght
and guns from his victims.[1]
He rst claimed on 6 March 1917, a Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.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.

The rst two Fokker Triplane prototypes had been allocated to Jagdgeschwader 1. On his return, Wol was eager to y one of the prototypes in Richthofens absence.
Four days later, on 15 September he found his opportunity. Despite heavily overcast skies, he took o in Fokker
Triplane #102/17, accompanied by Leutnant Carl von
Schoenebeck ying an Albatros D.V.

Like the rest of the Jasta, Wols Albatros D.III was Meanwhile, eight Sopwith Camels of No. 10 squadron
painted red, though he added individual markings by Royal Naval Air Service, led by Flight Lieutenant Fitzgibpainting his elevators and tailplane green.
bon, were escorting a number of DH-4 bombers back to
Wols youthful looks and frail physical stature masked Allied lines. Somewhere in the vicinity of Moorslede,
his deadly skills as a combat pilot. Karl Bodenschatz, Belgium, Fitzgibbon spotted a ight of German Albain his Jagd in Flanders Himmel (War in the Flanders trosses below them and led half of his men to attack.
1

The remaining Camels stayed with the bombers and were

attacked by Wol and Schoenebeck. The dog ght was
intense though brief, and in the confusion the British pilots mistakenly thought that ve Albatrosses and four triplanes were involved. As Wol singled out a Camel,
he was suddenly red on from behind by Flight SubLieutenant Norman MacGregor. MacGregor red 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 red 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 ew both to the front. That was
done often because a ight of 2 is harder to spot than a
whole squadron. If one was smart enough to use the sun
in ones back, the enemy could be easily surprised. Wol
was a smart leader and from the sun we attacked an enemy ight. Wol was shooting brilliantly but got caught
in a dogght. I ew behind him, as suddenly another Englishman appeared behind me. I only was able to get rid of
him with great diculty. While I was busy shaking o the
Englishman, another machine attacked Wol from behind
and before I could help I saw how Wol was going down
into a spin and hit the ground. So was Lt. Wol, 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 Wol was killed by MacGregors bullets and was already dead when his Fokker Dr.I
crashed and burst into ames north of Wervik at 17.30
hours (German time). Wols remains were taken back
to Memel for burial.
Funeral of Kurt Wol. Memel, 1917

Decorations

Kurt Wol received the following medals:

Prussian Order Pour le Mrite
Prussian House Order of Hohenzollern, Knights
Cross with Swords
Prussian Iron Cross, 1st Class
Prussian Iron Cross, 2nd Class
Bavarian Military Merit Order, 4th Class with
Swords

EXTERNAL LINKS

5 References
[1] 'Under the Guns of the Kaisers Aces, Franks & Gilbin,
Grug Street 2003, page 142
[2] 'Under the Guns of the Kaisers aces, Franks&Giblin,
2003

6 External links
Kurt Wols page at theaerodrome.com
Bio and Photos at pourlemerite.org
Kurt Wol at the Internet Movie Database

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