Hans Goerth Vizeflugmeister Hans Goerth was a World War I German flying ace credited with seven confirmed aerial victories . He was the top ace of Marine Feld Jasta III ( MFJ III ) of the German Naval Air Service , and was one of the few aces allowed to fly the Fokker E . V monoplane . Goerth received the Iron Cross First Class and other awards for his service . After the war , in 1919 , the pilot participated in Kampfgeschwader Sachsenberg , commanded by fellow World War I ace Gotthard Sachsenberg . Early military career . Hans Goerth initially served in Kusta III . He was then with Marine Feld Jasta I from 26 February 1918 until 21 June 1918 , after which he transferred to Marine Feld Jasta III , which was formed that month . He remained in Marine Feld Jasta III until the end of the war . Goerth was credited with seven aerial victories . Marine Feld Jasta III , established at the Jabbeke aerodrome on 23 June 1918 , was commanded by Leutnant der Reserve der Matrosenartillerie ( MA - naval artillery ) Gustav Brockhoff , who had at least four confirmed victories during World War I . MFJ III remained at Jabbeke airfield , also referred to as Varsenare or Snellegem , until retreat in early October 1918 . With seven confirmed victories , Hans Goerth was the top ace of MFJ III . Goerth earned his first two victories while flying an Albatros D . V a with serial number 7167 / 18 . The first plane , Airco de Havilland DH . 4 ( A8013 ) , was shot down over Mariakerke , Belgium on 30 June 1918 . Serjeant Mechanic Edwin Edward Hunnisett of the No . 217 Squadron of the Royal Air Force died in that conflict . Goerth ' s second victory was an Airco DH . 9 that was taken down over Nieuwpoort , West Flanders , Belgium on 7 July 1918 . Lieutenant J . R . Harington and Second Lieutenant Cyril Ivor Bray were the aviators in the DH . 9 . Both men from No . 206 Squadron of the Royal Air Force were buried in adjacent graves at Anzac Cemetery in Sailly - sur - la - Lys , Pas - de - Calais , France . On 16 July 1918 , over Zevekote , West Flanders , Belgium , Goerth shot down DH . 4 ( A7868 ) piloted by British flying ace Lieutenant Lionel Arthur Ashfield of the No . 202 Squadron of the 61st wing of the Royal Air Force . That combat triumph also claimed the life of Irish Lieutenant Maurice Graham English . Goerth ' s fourth victory took place west of Handzame , West Flanders on 30 August 1918 , when he shot down Sopwith Camel ( D9482 ) of the No . 65 Squadron of the Royal Air Force from his Fokker D . VII ( Albatros ) with serial number 838 / 18 . The aviator in the Camel was Second Lieutenant Henry George Pike . He died in the encounter and is represented on the Arras Flying Services Memorial at the Faubourg d ' Amiens Cemetery . Pike is also commemorated at Wandsworth Cemetery in Wandsworth , Greater London , England . Goerth ' s remaining victories were from D . VII aircraft as well . On the 16th of September , Goerth shot down Sopwith Camel ( B7271 ) over Zerkegem , West Flanders . Second Lieutenant Edward Burleigh Markquick of the No . 210 Squadron died in that confrontation and is commemorated on the Arras Flying Services Memorial . Goerth ' s final two victories ( sixth and seventh ) both occurred on 1 October 1918 . During aerial combat , he first shot down a DH . 9 from No . 108 Squadron south of Houthulst , West Flanders and , twenty - five minutes later , a Sopwith Camel from No . 210 Squadron south of Handzame . That day Goerth was piloting a Fokker D . VII marked with a black heart on a white band . Hans Goerth received the Landfliegerabzeichen on 22 May 1918 and the Ehrenrpreis on 28 July 1918 . The ace was promoted to Vizeflugmeister in September 1918 and he was the recipient of the Iron Cross First Class . Later military career . By the fall of 1918 , Idflieg ( Inspektion der Fliegertruppen - " Inspectorate of Flying Troops " ) , had chosen successors to the Fokker D . VII . One that saw action at the front was the Fokker E . V , which was later known as the Fokker D . VIII and nicknamed the " Flying Razor . " It was regarded as one of the best German fighter aircraft in the war . At the direction of Anthony Fokker , the Dutch founder of the company , the bottom wings were removed from a D . VII . The resultant aircraft outperformed the original and was designated the V . 26 ; a subsequent modification with a rotary engine led to the V . 28 . A further modification with advanced cantilever wings resulted in the E . V , which originally had 110 horsepower engines . As 140 horsepower engines became available , they were installed in the planes . An E . V with a factory - installed 140 horsepower engine was designated as a D . VIII ; if retrofitted , it retained the E . V designation . Early in production , there were some wing problems that occurred due to a modification that had been requested based on outdated testing ; by reverting to the original design , the problem was corrected . Hans Goerth was the top flying ace of his unit , Marine Feld Jasta III , with seven confirmed victories , and was one of the few aviators to have the opportunity to take the D . VIII into aerial combat . A World War I photograph of Goerth shows a dapper young man posed in front of a Fokker E . V with yellow cowling , wheels , and tail . A Fokker D . VIII was the last fighter plane to record an aerial victory during World War I . After the war , World War I ace Leutnant zur See Gotthard Sachsenberg , who had commanded the Marine Jagdgruppe Flandern , formed Kampfgeschwader Sachsenberg in January 1919 . This large unit of about 700 personnel was primarily composed of volunteers who had served in World War I . The unit included several aces , Hans Goerth among them . They fought the Red Army in the Baltic states in 1919 . They primarily flew ground support missions to assist the Freikorps units fighting the Russian communists in the Baltic area , and withdrew in December 1919 .