# List of aerial victories of Walter Göttsch

Walter Göttsch (1896-1918) was a German First World War fighter ace credited with 20 confirmed aerial victories.

## The victory list

Walter Göttsch's victories are reported in chronological order, not the order or dates the victories were confirmed by headquarters.
| No. | Date | Time | Foe | Unit | Location |
| 1 | 14 November 1916 | | Belgian observation balloon | | Oostvleteren |
| 2 | 17 November 1916 | | Airco DH.2 | No. 29 Squadron RFC | Southwest of Ypres, Belgium |
| 3 | 5 January 1917 | 1100 hours | Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2e | No. 6 Squadron RFC | Voormezele |
| 4 | 7 January 1917 | 1300 hours | Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2d | No. 20 Squadron RFC | Between Ypres, Belgium and Kemmel |
| 5 | 1 February 1917 | P.M. | Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2d | No. 20 Squadron RFC | East of Moorslede, Belgium |
| 6 | 1 February 1917 | P.M. | Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2d | No. 20 Squadron RFC | Bondues, France, north of Lille, France |
| Uncounted | 7 March 1917 | | Runaway German observation balloon | | |
| 7 | 6 April 1917 | | Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2d | No. 20 Squadron RFC | Northeast of Polygon Wood |
| 8 | 8 April 1917 | | Royal Aircraft Factory BE.2 | | East of Diksmuide, Belgium |
| 9 | 24 April 1917 | 0910 hours | Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2d | No. 20 Squadron RFC | East of Ypres, Belgium |
| 10 | 3 May 1917 | P.M. | Royal Aircraft Factory FE.8 | | North of Lille, France |
| 11 | 4 May 1917 | 1317 hours | Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter | | North of Lille, France |
| 12 | 5 May 1917 | | Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2d | No. 20 Squadron RFC | Above Schaapbalie |
| 13 | 17 July 1917 | 1250 hours | Nieuport | | Southwest of Sint-Jan, also known as Saint-Jean |
| 14 | 31 July 1917 | 1340 hours | Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2d | No. 20 Squadron RFC | Moorslede, Belgium |
| 15 | 6 September 1917 | 0910 hours | Sopwith | | Elverdinge |
| 16 | 10 September 1917 | 1810 hours | SPAD | | Frezenberg (also known as Frezenburg in English), Ypres |
| 17 | 16 September 1917 | | Sopwith Camel | No. 70 Squadron RFC | Houthulst Forest, Belgium |
| 18 | 31 March 1918 | | Dorand AR2 | | East of Montdidier, France |
| 19 | 1 April 1918 | | Bréguet 14 | | Montdidier, France |
| 20 | 10 April 1918 | | Royal Aircraft Factory RE.8 | | Amiens, France |
Background information from Above the Lines and The Aerodrome website. Supplemental information cited in individual victories and claims. Abbreviations were expanded by the editor creating this list.

## Footnotes

* ↑ Observation balloons were important artillery direction posts. Accordingly, they were prime targets for aerial attack, and were well defended by antiaircraft guns, small arms fire, and patrolling fighter planes.

## Citations

* 1 2 3 Franks, Bailey & Guest 1993, pp. 118–119.
* 1 2 3 The Aerodrome webpage on Walter Göttsch
* ↑ VanWyngarden 2005, pp. 20–21.

## Sources

* Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank; Guest, Russell (1993). Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918. London UK: Grub Street Publishing. ISBN 978-0-948817-73-1.
* Guttman, Jon. Balloon-Busting Aces of World War 1 . Osprey Publishing, 2005. ISBN 1841768774, ISBN 978-1841768779
* VanWyngarden, Greg (2005). Jagdgeschwader II: Jagdgeschwader "Berthold". Oxford UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781841767277.