Leutnant Walter Höhndorf was a pioneer aviator, test pilot, airplane designer and constructor, and fighter ace

Flying ace

A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...

 during World War I. He was credited with twelve aerial victories.

Early life

Walter Höhndorf was a schoolteacher's son who was fascinated with engineering and motors. He learned to fly in Paris in 1913. Upon his return, he qualified for pilot's certificate No. 582 on 3 November at Johannisthal Air Field

Johannisthal Air Field

The Johannisthal Air Field, located 15 km southeast of Berlin, between Johannisthal and Adlershof, was Germany's first airfield. It opened on 26 September 1909, a few weeks after the world's first airfield at Rheims, France .-Overview:...

. He became famous as an early pioneer of aerobatics in his native Germany. He also helped design and produce airplanes at Teltow

Teltow

Teltow is a town in the Potsdam-Mittelmark district, in Brandenburg, Germany.-Geography:Teltow is part of the agglomeration of Berlin. The distance to the Berlin city centre is , while the distance to Potsdam is ....

's Union Flugzeugwerke.

World War I

Höhndorf volunteered for aviation upon the outbreak of war. He was commissioned on 15 March 1915. He served most of that year as a test pilot for Siemens-Schuckert

Siemens-Schuckert

Siemens-Schuckert was a German electrical engineering company headquartered in Berlin, Erlangen and Nuremberg that was incorporated into the Siemens AG in 1966....

. In late 1915, he was assigned to FA 12 to fly a single-seater; he shot down two Voisins a week apart, on 12 and 19 January 1916. After service with FA 67, he moved on to KEK Vaux in April 1916. Between 10 April and 19 July, he shot down seven more French airplanes. He received the Pour le Merite on 20 July 1916. He scored twice more in July, bringing his total to eleven. On 23 August, he was forwarded to Jasta 1. He scored his final victory with them, on 17 September 1916.

After an assignment with Jasta 4, Höhndorf returned to test pilot duties, as well as instructing at Valenciennes

Valenciennes

Valenciennes is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It lies on the Scheldt river. Although the city and region had seen a steady decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded...

. On 15 August 1917, he was selected to command Jasta 14. He died in a flying accident while testing one of his own designs, the AEG D.I

AEG D.I

-See also:-Further reading:* Kroschel, Günter; Stützer, Helmut: Die deutschen Militärflugzeuge 1910-18, Wilhelmshaven 1977* Munson, Kenneth: Bomber 1914–19, Zürich 1968, Nr...

.

Reference

• Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps 1914 - 1918 Norman L. R. Franks, et al. Grub Street, 1993. ISBN 0948817739, 9780948817731.

• Early German Aces of World War I. Greg VanWyngarden, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2006. ISBN 1841769975, 9781841769974.