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Kurt Wolff
February 6, 1895 – September 15, 1917
Place of birth	Greifswald, Pomerania
Place of death	near Moorslede, Belgium
Allegiance	German Empire
Service/branch	Luftstreitkräfte
Years of service	1912-1917
Rank	Oberleutnant
Unit	Jasta 11, 29
Awards	Pour le Mérite

Kurt Wolff (February 6, 1895 – September 15, 1917) was one of Imperial Germany's highest scoring fighter aces during World War I. After achieving 33 confirmed victories, he was killed in action at the age of 22.

Early life

Kurt Wolff was born in Greifswald, Pomerania. He was orphaned as a child and was raised by relatives in Memel, East Prussia.

Wolff enlisted in the army in 1912 at the age of 17, joining a transport unit, Railway Regiment NR4. He received a commission in April 1915, and transferred to the air service in July.

Fighter Pilot

Wolff's first flight was almost his last. The aeroplane crashed, dislocating Wolff's shoulder and killing his pilot instructor. Nevertheless, Wolff received his pilot's badge in late 1915 and was assigned to 2-seater unit Kasta 26 of Kagohl 5, followed by serice with Kagohl 7 and KG 40.

In November 1916 he was posted to the then undistinguished Jasta 11. For months, Wolff, 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 Baron's leadership, Jasta 11 thrived and Wolff became an excellent scout pilot. He scored 4 victories on April 13, 1917, and 3 victories on April 29, 1917. Like the rest of the squadron, Wolff's Albatros DIII was painted red, and he added individual markings by painting his elevators and tailplane green.

Wolff's youthful looks and frail physical stature masked his deadly skills as a combat pilot. Karl Bodenschatz, in his Jagd in Flanders Himmel ("War in the Flanders Skies"), said of him:

"Jasta 11: Leutnant Kurt Wolff. At first glance, you could only say 'delicate little flower'. A slender, thin little figure, 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 schoolboy's face dangles the order Pour le Merite. And so far, these modest looking eyes have taken 30 enemy airplanes from the sky over the sights of his machine guns, set them afire, and made them smash to pieces on the ground. This slender youth is already one of the best men of the old Richthofen Staffel 11."

On 6 May Wolff was assigned to command Jasta 29. He shot down a French SPAD and an RFC Nieuport 17 before he returned to command Jasta 11 in July 1917, replacing Karl Allmenroeder, who had fallen in combat.

On 11 July Wolff was shot through the left hand by gunfire from a Sopwith Triplane flown by future ace Flight Sub-Lieutenant H.V. Rowley of No. 1 Naval Squadron RNAS.^[1]. Wolff crash landed his aircraft on the Courtrai railway line.

On 11 September 1917 Wolff returned to Jasta 11 from leave to recuperate from his injuries.

Final fight

The first two Fokker Triplane prototypes had been allocated to Jagdgeschwader 1. On his return, Wolff was eager to fly one the prototype in Richthofen's absence. Four days later, on September 15, he found his opportunity. Despite heavily overcast skies, he took off in Fokker Triplane #102/17, accompanied by Leutnant Carl von Schoenebeck flying an Albatros D.V.

Meanwhile, eight Sopwith Camels of No. 10 squadron Royal Naval Air Service, led by Flight Lieutenant Fitzgibbon, were escorting a number of DH-4 bombers back to Allied lines. Somewhere in the vicinity of Moorslede, Belgium, Fitzgibbon spotted a flight of German Albatrosses below them and led half of his men to attack. The remaining Camels stayed with the bombers and were attacked by Wolff and Schoenebeck. The dog fight was intense though brief, and in the confusion the British pilots mistakenly thought that five Albatrosses and four triplanes were involved. As Wolff singled out a Camel, he was suddenly fired on from behind by Flight Lieutenant Norman MacGregor. MacGregor fired 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 fired a good burst. I saw my tracers entering his machine. I next saw him going down in a vertical dive, apparently out of control."

In an interview after the war, Schoenebeck gave his own account: "One day we flew both to the front. That was done often because a flight of 2 is harder to spot than a whole squadron. If one was smart enough to use the sun in one's back, the enemy could be easily surprised. Wolff was a smart leader and from the sun we attacked an enemy flight. Wolff was shooting brilliantly but got caught in a dogfight. I flew behind him, as suddenly another Englishman appeared behind me. I only was able to get rid of him with great difficulty. While I was busy shaking off the Englishman, another machine attacked Wolff from behind and before I could help I saw how Wolff was going down into a spin and hit the ground. So was Lt. Wolff, 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 Wolff was killed by MacGregor's bullets and was already dead when his Fokker Dr.I crashed and burst into flames north of Wervicq at 17.30 hours (German time).

References

1. ^ 'Under the Guns of the Kaiser's aces', Franks&Giblin, 2003

External links

• Kurt Wolff's page at theaerodrome.com
• Bio and Photos at pourlemerite.org