12.229.162.27: /* Postwar life */

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Postwar life

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{{short description|German flying ace}}
{{Infobox military person
| name =Georg von Hantelmann
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = 9 October 1898
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1924|9|7|1898|10|9}}
| placeofburial_label =
| placeofburial =
| birth_place =[[Rokietnica, Greater Poland Voivodeship|Rokietnice]], Prussia (now Rokietnica, Poland)
| death_place =[[Charcice]], Poland
| placeofburial_coordinates = 
| nickname =
| allegiance =Germany
| branch =Hussars, Air Service
| serviceyears =1916–1918
| rank =''[[Leutnant]]''
| unit =[[Totenkopf#German military|17th Braunschweig "Death's Head" Hussar Regiment]];<br> ''[[Jagdstaffel 18]]'';<br> ''[[Jagdstaffel 15]]''
| commands =
| battles =
| awards =[[Royal House Order of Hohenzollern]]<br> [[Iron Cross]] Second and First Class
| relations =
| laterwork =
}}

Leutnant '''Georg von Hantelmann''' (9 October 1898 – 7 September 1924) was a German fighter ace credited with winning 25 victories during [[World War I]]. It was notable that these victories included three opposing aces shot down within the same week in September 1918–[[David Putnam]], [[Maurice Boyau]], and [[Joseph Wehner]].<ref name="theaerodrome.com">The Aerodrome website's page on Hantelmann http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/hantelmann.php Retrieved 11 February 2013.</ref>

==Early life and service==
Georg von Hantelmann was born into a minor Junker family on 9 October 1898. He was born in [[Rokietnica, Greater Poland Voivodeship|Rokietnice]], [[Kingdom of Prussia]], the [[German Empire]] (present day Rokietnica, Poland).<ref name="theaerodrome.com"/> He was the eldest son. He joined the army in 1916. He was [[commission (document)|commissioned]] as a [[Leutnant]] on 15 June 1917 before he transferred to aerial service with the [[Luftstreitkräfte]].<ref name=lines123/>

==Aerial service==
{{See also|Aerial victory standards of World War I|List of aerial victories of Georg von Hantelmann}}
Hantelmann began training at ''Fliegerersatz-Abteilung 9'' on 20 September 1917. Upon graduation from this basic aviation training, he moved on to learn to fly a [[fighter plane]] at the ''Jastaschule'' in [[Valenciennes]], France. His initial assignment as a fighter pilot took him to ''[[Jagdstaffel 18]]'', commanded by [[Rudolf Berthold]], on 6 February 1918.<ref name=lines123>Franks et al 1993, pp. 123-124.</ref>

When Berthold changed commands on 18 March 1918 to take charge of ''[[Jagdstaffel 15]]'', he took many of his pilots with him in a highly unusual mass exchange of personnel. Hantelmann was one of the pilots who accompanied Berthold to the new unit. Once he arrived at his new squadron, Hantelmann had his personal insignia of a "totenkopf"-style skull and crossbones painted on the fuselage sides of his [[Albatros D.Va]] reflected his prior service in the [[Totenkopf#German military|17th Braunschweig "Death's Head" Hussar Regiment]].<ref name=lines123/>

Hantelmann posted his first victory claim on 29 May 1918, but it went unconfirmed. Thus, on 6 June when Jasta 15 dived into battle, he was eager for success.<ref>Homes, Wyllie 2004 p. 60.</ref> As his squadron-mate Joachim von Ziegsar recalled, "Like a steer unbound, the aircraft with the Braunschweig Hussar's crest dived onto the enemy first."<ref>Franks, VanWyngarden 2003, p. 32.</ref> A British [[Airco DH.4]] fell before the young Prussian's guns.<ref name=lines123/>

It was the first of five wins in June; on the 26th, Hantelmann became an ace.<ref name=lines123/> It was during this period that [[Kurt Wüsthoff]] borrowed Hantelmann's Fokker and flew his final mission.<ref>VanWyngarden 2004, p. 53.</ref>

Hantlemann scored again on 17 August, but it was his second victory on 12 September 1918 that was notable. Hantlemann shot down American [[SPAD S.XIII]] pilot [[David Putnam]], a leading ace of the nascent [[United States Army Air Service|US Army Air Service]] who had 13 victories of his own, for victory number eight. Just four days and six wins later, Hantlemann scored an even more notable triumph when he shot down French ace [[Maurice Boyau]], who had a score list of 21 balloons and 14 airplanes. Two days and two victories after that, Hantlemann shot down American ace [[Joseph Wehner]], [[Frank Luke]]'s wingman, for number 16. The young German ace ended September with 18 victories.<ref name=lines123/>

On 21 October 1918, the day of his 22nd confirmed victory, Hantelmann was awarded the [[Iron Cross]] First Class, as well as the [[Royal House Order of Hohenzollern]].<ref name=lines123/> He was now past the 20 victories then required for the award of Germany's highest decoration for valor, the [[Pour le Merite]].<ref>Pour le Merite website http://www.pourlemerite.org/ Retrieved 11 February 2013.</ref> Hantelmann was recommended for the [[Pour le Merite|Blue Max]] on 3 November 1918. However, the [[German Empire]]'s defeat scotched the award. Nevertheless, Hantlemann ended the war with 25 confirmed and 5 unconfirmed aerial victories.<ref name=lines123/> All of his confirmed victories were on the [[Fokker D.VII]], making him one of the most successful pilots in the type.{{cn|date=October 2020}}

==Postwar life==
[[File:Schloss Charcice Sammlung Duncker.jpg|right|175px|thumb|Hantelmann Schloss at Charcice]]

Hantelmann settled on a farm in Charcice, Prussia. On 8 October 1922 he married Elisabeth Countess Finck von Finckenstein (1904–1981), daughter of Bernhard Graf Finck von Finckenstein (1868–1913, Madlitz branch of the family) and his wife Agneta née von Ramdohr (1875–1919) in the Garrison Church in Potsdam. Their son Wolf-Dietrich von Hantelmann was born in 1923. He disappeared on the Eastern Front in the spring of 1945. On 7 September 1924, Polish poachers crossed the nearby border, and murdered Hantelmann when he discovered them trespassing on his property.<ref name="theaerodrome.com"/> His wife suffered a miscarriage as the result of his death

==Inline citations==
{{Reflist}}

==References==

* [[Norman Franks|Franks, Norman]]; Bailey, Frank W.; Guest, Russell. ''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918''. Grub Street, 1993. {{ISBN|978-0-948817-73-1}}.

* Franks, Norman. ''Albatros Aces of World War 1''. Osprey Publishing, 2000. {{ISBN|978-1-85532-960-7}}.

* Franks, Norman; VanWyngarden, Greg. ''Fokker D VII Aces of World War I, Part 1''. Osprey Publishing, 2003. {{ISBN|978-1-84176-533-4}}.

* Holmes, Tony; Wyllie, Iain; Postlethwaite, Mark. ''Aircraft of the Aces: Legends of the Skies''. Osprey, 2004. {{ISBN|978-1-84176-825-0}}.

* Van Wyngarden, Greg. ''Richthofen's Circus: Jagdgeschwader Nr 1''. Osprey Publishing, 2004. {{ISBN|978-1-84176-726-0}}.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hantelmann, Georg von}}
[[Category:1898 births]]
[[Category:1924 deaths]]
[[Category:German murder victims]]
[[Category:German untitled nobility]]
[[Category:German World War I flying aces]]
[[Category:Luftstreitkräfte personnel]]
[[Category:People from Poznań County]]
[[Category:Military personnel from the Province of Posen]]
[[Category:Prussian Army personnel]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class]]

Georg von Hantelmann - Revision history

12.229.162.27: /* Postwar life */