Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp
Encyclopedia
Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp (alternate spelling Bothcamp) (24 April 1894 - 6 January 1918), Pour le Merite
, Military Order of Saint Henry, Iron Cross
was a German fighter ace from an aristocratic family who was credited with 28 victories.
in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. He was the second eldest son in his family; there would be two younger brothers. All four of them would serve their country during World War I
, with three of them dying in service.
Bülow-Bothkamp graduated from the Baccalaureate High School in Plon, Schleswig-Holstein in 1912. He then traveled for six months in Great Britain
and Switzerland
. After his wanderjahr he settled in to study law at the University of Heidelberg. He also joined a student corps there.
In August 1914, he and his younger brother Conrad joined Braunschweige Hussars Regiment 17 (the Deaths Head Hussars). In January 1915, he accompanied his unit to the front in southern Alsace.
He won the Iron Cross
Second Class during this period.
. Along with his brother Conrad, he trained in Replacement Division 5 in Hanover from 15 April through 15 September 1915.
Bülow-Bothkamp was originally posted to FA 22, which was an aviation squadron organized for aerial reconnaissance, observation, and direction of artillery on the Western Front
. Although flying a two-seated observation plane, he managed to down enemy two seaters on consecutive days, 10 and 11 October 1915. He served with FA 22 until 14 March 1916.
His transfer to FA 300 took him to the Middle East
to continue his reconnaissance duties in support of a German ally, the Ottoman Empire
. He flew on the Palestinean front and was wounded on 13 June 1916. In a letter home from the hospital in Jerusalem, he joked about his shoulder wound being as inconsequential as a dueling scar
suffered at university.
After his discharge from hospital on 1 July, he won twice more near El Arish, with a fifth victory unconfirmed. He also won the Iron Cross
First Class while there.
His courage and aggressiveness earned him a transfer to piloting fighter planes. He left FA 300 on 7 December 1916 and joined a Prussian fighter squadron, Jagdstaffel 18
.
fighter.
On 7 April, he tallied his tenth win to become an Überkanone, or big gun, the German version of acedom. By 13 May, when he transferred out of Jasta 18, his total stood at 13.
. He promptly shot down two French observation balloons at Bouvancourt
on 21 May. A hip wound kept him from scoring for a while, before he began a steady accumulation of triumphs that would extend from 6 July to 2 December. During this stretch, on 8 October, after 21 victories, he was awarded the highest decoration of both Prussia
and the German Empire
, the Pour le Merite
. On 29 October, he went on leave
until 7 November, leaving Hans Hoyer
in temporary command of the squadron.
On 2 December, he shot down the Bristol Fighter of British ace Lt. Harry G. E. Luchford of No 20 Squadron, who was killed. This was Bülow-Bothkamp's 28th and final victory.
On the 13th, he was transferred to being Commanding Officer of a more prestigious unit, Jagdstaffel 2, Oswald Boelcke
's old unit.
On 6 January 1918, Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp led four wingmen into a dogfight against No. 23 and No. 70 Squadrons of the Royal Flying Corps
near Ypres
. He did not survive. RFC aces Captain Frank G. Quigley and Captain William M. Fry are named as his conquerors.
Walter was buried in his family chateau's cemetery. He joined his brother Frederick, killed in action in 1914. Within the year, Conrad would join them.
Pour le Mérite
The Pour le Mérite, known informally as the Blue Max , was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order for German soldiers until the end of World War I....
, Military Order of Saint Henry, Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
was a German fighter ace from an aristocratic family who was credited with 28 victories.
Early life
Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp was born at Borby, now a part of EckernfördeEckernförde
Eckernförde is a German city in Schleswig-Holstein, Kreis Rendsburg-Eckernförde at the Baltic Sea near Kiel. The population is about 23,000.All German submarines are stationed in Eckernförde....
in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. He was the second eldest son in his family; there would be two younger brothers. All four of them would serve their country during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, with three of them dying in service.
Bülow-Bothkamp graduated from the Baccalaureate High School in Plon, Schleswig-Holstein in 1912. He then traveled for six months in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. After his wanderjahr he settled in to study law at the University of Heidelberg. He also joined a student corps there.
In August 1914, he and his younger brother Conrad joined Braunschweige Hussars Regiment 17 (the Deaths Head Hussars). In January 1915, he accompanied his unit to the front in southern Alsace.
He won the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
Second Class during this period.
Early Flying Service
Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp was commissioned as a leutnant (lieutenant) in April 1915 and applied for pilot's training in the German air service LuftstreitkräfteLuftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
. Along with his brother Conrad, he trained in Replacement Division 5 in Hanover from 15 April through 15 September 1915.
Bülow-Bothkamp was originally posted to FA 22, which was an aviation squadron organized for aerial reconnaissance, observation, and direction of artillery on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
. Although flying a two-seated observation plane, he managed to down enemy two seaters on consecutive days, 10 and 11 October 1915. He served with FA 22 until 14 March 1916.
His transfer to FA 300 took him to the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
to continue his reconnaissance duties in support of a German ally, the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. He flew on the Palestinean front and was wounded on 13 June 1916. In a letter home from the hospital in Jerusalem, he joked about his shoulder wound being as inconsequential as a dueling scar
Dueling scars
Duelling scars have been seen as a “badge of honour” since as early as 1825. Known variously as "Mensur scars", "the bragging scar", "smite", "Schmitte" or "renommierschmiss", duelling scars were popular amongst upper-class Austrians and Germans involved in academic fencing at the start of the 20th...
suffered at university.
After his discharge from hospital on 1 July, he won twice more near El Arish, with a fifth victory unconfirmed. He also won the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
First Class while there.
His courage and aggressiveness earned him a transfer to piloting fighter planes. He left FA 300 on 7 December 1916 and joined a Prussian fighter squadron, Jagdstaffel 18
Jagdstaffel 18
Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 18 was a "hunting squadron" or fighter squadron of the World War I German air service, or Luftstreitkräfte.-History:...
.
Fighter Service
Bülow-Bothkamp shot down two enemy aircraft on 23 January 1917 and another the following day, to start his and Jasta 18's victory roll. He was flying an Albatros D.IIIAlbatros D.III
The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service and the Austro-Hungarian Air Service during World War I. The D.III was flown by many top German aces, including Manfred von Richthofen, Ernst Udet, Erich Löwenhardt, Kurt Wolff, and Karl Emil Schäfer...
fighter.
On 7 April, he tallied his tenth win to become an Überkanone, or big gun, the German version of acedom. By 13 May, when he transferred out of Jasta 18, his total stood at 13.
Appointed to Leadership
He was then appointed Commanding Officer of Jagdstaffel 36Jagdstaffel 36
Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 36, commonly abbreviated to Jasta 36, was a World War I "hunting group" of the Luftstreitkräfte, which was the forerunner to the Luftwaffe. The unit would score 123 confirmed aerial victories during the war, including 11 enemy observation balloons...
. He promptly shot down two French observation balloons at Bouvancourt
Bouvancourt
Bouvancourt is a commune of the Marne department in north-eastern France....
on 21 May. A hip wound kept him from scoring for a while, before he began a steady accumulation of triumphs that would extend from 6 July to 2 December. During this stretch, on 8 October, after 21 victories, he was awarded the highest decoration of both Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
and the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
, the Pour le Merite
Pour le Mérite
The Pour le Mérite, known informally as the Blue Max , was the Kingdom of Prussia's highest military order for German soldiers until the end of World War I....
. On 29 October, he went on leave
Leave (military)
In military, leave is a permission to be away from one's unit, either for a specified or unspecified period of time.The term AWOL, standing for absent without leave, is a term for desertion used in armed forces of many English speaking countries....
until 7 November, leaving Hans Hoyer
Hans Hoyer
Leutnant Hans Hoyer was a German World War I soldier who was decorated as an artilleryman before turning to aviation. As a flyer, he became an ace credited with eight confirmed and three unconfirmed aerial victories before being killed in action while fighting for his nation.-Early life and...
in temporary command of the squadron.
On 2 December, he shot down the Bristol Fighter of British ace Lt. Harry G. E. Luchford of No 20 Squadron, who was killed. This was Bülow-Bothkamp's 28th and final victory.
On the 13th, he was transferred to being Commanding Officer of a more prestigious unit, Jagdstaffel 2, Oswald Boelcke
Oswald Boelcke
Oswald Boelcke was a German flying ace of the First World War and one of the most influential patrol leaders and tacticians of the early years of air combat. Boelcke is considered the father of the German fighter air force, as well as the "Father of Air Fighting Tactics"; he was the first to...
's old unit.
On 6 January 1918, Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp led four wingmen into a dogfight against No. 23 and No. 70 Squadrons of the Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
near Ypres
Ypres
Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...
. He did not survive. RFC aces Captain Frank G. Quigley and Captain William M. Fry are named as his conquerors.
Walter was buried in his family chateau's cemetery. He joined his brother Frederick, killed in action in 1914. Within the year, Conrad would join them.
External links
- http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/bulow-bothkamp2.php Accessed 18 October 2008.
- http://www.frontflieger.de/3buelow0t.html Accessed 18 October 2008. Translation via Google.
- http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_von_B%C3%BClow-Bothkamp Accessed 18 October 2008. Translation via Google.
- http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/2001/10155-eduard-von-schleich-walter-von-b-low-bothkamp.html Accessed 18 October 2008.
- http://www.sero-papermodels.com/content.do?object=jasta.jasta18&page=page.jasta Accessed 18 October 2008.
- http://www.pourlemerite.org/ Accessed 18 October 2008.