Wilhelm Frankl

Wilhelm Frankl (20 December 1893 8 April 1917), in love with the daughter of Austrian Naval Kapitn zur
Pour le Mrite, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron See Edmund Stroll. Frankl converted to Christianity and
Cross, was a World War I ghter ace credited with 20 married his love in early 1917.[4]
aerial victories.[1]

2 Aerial victories
Frankl began his career of aerial victories early in the war,
before the concept of the synchronized machine gun ring safely through the planes propeller became a practical
reality.[5] On 10 May 1915, while ying as an observer in
Feldieger Abteilung 40 (FFA 40), he used a carbine to
shoot down a French Voisin.[6] He was awarded an Iron
Cross First Class for this feat.[2]
It took exactly eight months for his second triumph. On
10 January 1916, while ying a Fokker Eindekker with
KEK Vaux, he downed another Voisin; this one was
armed with a 37mm Hotchkiss cannon.[3] By 1 February, his victory total stood at four. Three months later,
on 4 May, he nally became an ace. On 16 May, he was
promoted from Vizefeldwebel into the ocers ranks as
a Leutnant. He scored once more on 21 May. He was
awarded the Knights Cross with Swords of the Royal
House Order of Hohenzollern during late May, followed
by the Hanseatic Cross.[2] By this time, Frankl was one of
only eight aces in the German ying service.[7] Frankls
gallantry earned him the Pour le Merite after his eighth
conrmed victory; the Blue Max was awarded on 16 July
1916.[2]

His guns rested until 2 August, when he tallied a MoraneSaulnier L. A double victory followed on 10 August.
On 1 September 1916, he then transferred to Prussian
Jagdstael 4 (Jasta 4) as it was formed from KEK Vaux,
to y Halberstadt D.Vs.[1][8] On 1 January 1917, he succeeded to command of the squadron.[2]

Personal life

Four wins in September and two in October made him

Frankl was born the son of a Jewish businessman in a triple ace. In late December 1916, Frankl succeeded
Hamburg on 20 December 1893.[2] He later moved to to command of Jasta 4. Then, after a six-month hiatus,
Frankfurt am Main, and then to Berlin.[3] After he he scored a quadruple victory on 6 April 1917, and his
[2]
graduated from school, he pursued an interest in y- twentieth win on the following day.
ing by attending Germanys hotbed of prewar aviation at
Johannisthal. His instructor was Germanys rst female
pilot, Melli Beese. On 20 July 1913, Frankl earned pilots 3 Killed in action
license number 49.[3][4]
The outbreak of World War I sparked Frankls volunteering to y for his country. His ying ability and his personality both commended him to his superiors. While his
professional life took o, so did his personal life. He fell

His end came the day after that. While battling Bristol
F.2 Fighters of No. 48 Squadron RFC on Easter Sunday, 8 April 1917,[9] Frankls Albatros D.III lost its lower
wing under the stress of combat manoeuvres, and he and
1

REFERENCES

his collapsed craft fell 800 m (2,600 ft) to his death near
Vitry-Sailly, France.[1][10] Wilhelm Frankl was buried in
Berlin-Charlottenburg.[2]

Greg VanWyngarden (2007-06-19). Albatros Aces

of World War 1. Osprey Pub Co. ISBN 978-184603-179-3.

Greg VanWyngarden; Harry Dempsey (2006-1031). Early German Aces of World War I. Osprey
Pub Co. ISBN 978-1-84176-997-4.

His legacy

Frankls Jewish heritage likely resulted in his name and

exploits being omitted from the 1938 book by Walter
Zuerl, Pour le mrite-Flieger - Heldentaten und Erlebnisse
unserer Kriegsieger (Pour le mrite-Fliers - Heroic Deeds
and Experiences of our Wartime Fliers),[11] an account of
World War I iers who won the Blue Max. After the end
of World War II, Frankls name was restored to the roll
of German aces.
On 22 November 1973, the Luftwae named the air
force barracks in Neuburg an der Donau after Wilhelm
Frankl.[12] The Wilhelm-Frankl-Kaserne[13] is home to
the Luftwaes Fighter Wing 74.[14]

References

[1] Wilhelm Frankl

[2] Franks et al 1993, pp. 108-109.
[3] Early German Aces of World War I. p. 31.
[4] Orden Pour le Mrite
[5] Synchronizing Gear
[6] Early German Aces of World War I. p. 31.
[7] Early German Aces of World War I. p. 56.
[8] Jasta 4
[9] Frequency of Occurrences of the Date of Easter 1875 to
2124
[10] Albatros Aces of World War I. p. 20.
[11] Bronnenkant, Lance J. The Blue Max Airmen: German
Airmen Awarded the Pour le Mrite, Vol.1, with illustrations by Jim Miller (Indio, CA: Aeronaut Books, 2012)
[12] de:Wilhelm Frankl
[13] https://www.google.ca/maps/place/
Wilhelm-Frankl-Kaserne/@48.734895,11.247245,17z/
data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xebc56a6c1112e445
[14] de:Jagdgeschwader 74

5.1

Bibliography

Norman Franks, Frank W. Bailey, Russell Guest.

Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the
German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 19141918. Grub Street, 1993.
ISBN 0-948817-73-9, ISBN 978-0-948817-73-1.

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

6.1

Text

Wilhelm Frankl Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Frankl?oldid=723109228 Contributors: Folks at 137, Richard Arthur

Norton (1958- ), Mandarax, GoodDay, Trekphiler, Harryurz, Fnlayson, Waacstats, Johnpacklambert, Koplimek, Thismightbezach,
Scoop100, Addbot, Yobot, Georgejdorner, Ulric1313, Anotherclown, FrescoBot, Calistemon, I dream of horses, RjwilmsiBot, GrothPfeifer, , Pippi553, BG19bot, Jay8g, DA - DP, VIAFbot, Monkbot, Westie85, KasparBot and Anonymous: 3

6.2

Images

File:Wilhelm_Frankl_-Titelbild_-_Das_Illustrierte_Blatt_-_122_Kriegsnummer,_November_1916.JPG
Source:
//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/35/Wilhelm_Frankl_-Titelbild_-_Das_Illustrierte_Blatt_-_122_Kriegsnummer%2C_
November_1916.JPG License: PD-US Contributors: ? Original artist: ?

6.3

Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

https: