- Franz Büchner
Infobox Person
name = Franz Büchner
image_size =
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birth_date = 2 January 1898
birth_place = Leipzig, Germany
death_date = 18 March 1920
death_place = Germany
occupation = Pilot
spouse =
parents =
children =Franz Büchner (
2 January 1898 -18 March 1920 ) was one of the most successful Germanfighter aces of theFirst World War .Büchner was born in
Leipzig in theKingdom of Saxony and volunteered for thearmy in September 1914, a few months shy of his 17th birthday. He served in Royal Saxon 7th Infantry Regiment Nr. 106 ("Kgl. Sächsisches 7. Infanterie-Regiment König Georg Nr. 106"). After surviving a case of typhoid fever, he fought on both the eastern and western fronts. He was wounded in combat in France on 3 April 1916. He was subsequently commissioned in 1916 shortly after his 18th birthday. After being wounded he transferred to the German Army Air Service, orLuftstreitkräfte , and was assigned as anobservation pilot.In March 1917 Büchner became a
fighter pilot , joining Jagdstaffel 9 where he scored his first and only victory with them, on 17 August. Upon transfer to Jasta 13, he found his niche underRudolph Berthold , one of Germany's most dedicated soldiers. However, it was several months before he scored again, on 15 October.With advent of the
Fokker D.VII in 1918, Büchner came into his own. He scored three victories in June, seven in July, eight in August, and 17 in September.Two of his victories were notable because he triumphed with consecutive kills on Royal Air Force aces. On 2 July, he downed "The Mad Major", Irish ace Joseph Callaghan, who was flying a Sopwith Dolphin. Five days later, he followed up with a triumph over Canadian Lieutenant Merrill Taylor in his Sopwith Camel.
He was a notable marksman, as were many World War I aces. In Buchner's case, the example observed by one of his squadron mates, Lieutenant Niethammer, was Buchner's twelfth victim. On 29 July 1918, Buchner shot an American Sopwith Camel down in flames with just 14 shots.
On 10 October, Buchner survived a midair collision with a fellow Jasta pilot; both he and the pilot of the other plane in the accident parachuted to safety. He then brought his tally to 40 victories by 22 October. Three days later he was awarded the
Pour le Mérite on October 25, 1918, one of the last awards before the Kaiser'sabdication .Besides the
Pour le Mérite , Prussia's highest military honor, Büchner also received the highest military honor of his home state, Saxony's Military Order of St. Henry ("Militär-St. Heinrichs-Orden"), on October 7, 1918. Büchner's other decorations include the PrussianIron Cross 1st and 2nd Class, the Knight's Cross with Swords of Prussia's Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, the Knight's Cross with Swords of Saxony's Merit Order, and the Knight's Cross with Swords of Saxony's Albert Order.In the turbulent postwar period the 22-year-old Büchner flew against
communist revolutionaries but was killed during a reconnaissance flight near his hometown of Leipzig onMarch 18 , only three days after Berthold was murdered inHarburg .External links
* [http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/buchner.php Büchner's page on The Aerodrome.com]
References
* Norman Franks et al (1993). "Above the Lines: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service, and Flanders Marine Corps 1914-1918." Grub Street, London.
*http://www.century-of-flight.net/Aviation%20history/airplane%20at%20war/upload5/Franz%20Buchner.htm
* http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/buchner.htm
* Norman Franks, Greg VanWyngarten (2003). "Fokker D VII Aces of World War I". Osprey Publishing.
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