Hans Roser

Hans Roser (Marburg, 29 March 1893 - Leper, 25 July 1915) was a German pilot during the First World War. He was a member of the "Feldflieger-Abteilung" with the rank of "Fliegerhauptmann".

On 12 July 1915 he was shot by the British officer pilot Lanoe Hawker, east of the legendary Hill 62. Roser crashed with his plane. The exact cause of death is unknown. He may have died of his wounds, he may have committed suicide or perhaps he tried to escape.

The fight

In the beginning of the Great War, fire-arms were not common on airplanes. Sometimes pilots tried to shoot at each other with rifles and guns but usually this was too difficult and useless. Lanoe Hawker invented something new. He put a Lewis Gun at the side of his plane. He mounted the gun in such an angle, that it could not shoot the blades of his own propeller.

On 12 July 1915 three German planes flew over. Hawker was flying alone, but took on all three. The first plane he tried to shoot, escaped. He successfully hit the second forcing it to make an emergency landing. The third plane was less fortunate: it was shot and fell out of the sky, burning and smoking. Roser fell (or jumped, this is not clear) out of the plane and smashed to earth, were he was captured, seriously wounded. His death was registered 13 days later, on July 25. The exact cause of his death is unknown. He may have died of his wounds, committed suicide, or was shot during an attempt to escape.

Hawker was rewarded with a Victoria Cross. Hawker died a year later (24 November 1916), after he had been shot by the German's Red Baron.

Nowadays

Hans Roser is the only German buried at the Sanctuary Wood Cemetery. His is the only square gravestone, all other gravestones have a bow shape.

In the register of Sanctuary Wood there is an inscription in English: "He couldn't fly without a plane". Furthermore, there are German sentences with more information on the place and date of death and how he was shot.

A Special Memorial at Sanctuary Wood remembers Hans Roser:

"The young pilot, from West Germany, who did not even fight went to the front, unknowing. He has been one of too many, his grave still stands between thousands of others."