Harald Auffarth Eduard Florus Harald Auffarth ( also Auffahrt ) ( ? ? – 12 October 1946 ) Royal House Order of Hohenzollern , Iron Cross , Silver Wound Badge , Hanseatic Cross , was a World War I German fighter ace credited with 29 victories . After the war , he ran an aviation training school that covertly supported establishment of the " Luftwaffe " . Early life . Eduard Florus Harald Auffarth ' s date and place of birth are unknown . However , German youths were generally not accepted for military duty before their 18th birthday . Based on Auffarth ' s service records , this would seem to indicate a birth date at least prior to 1899 , with 1896 or earlier more likely . His later award of a Hanseatic Cross from Bremen would indicate his birth in Bremen , Bremerhaven , or the vicinity ; the various kingdoms of the German Empire generally awarded medals only to their subjects . ( Germany ' s supreme award , the Prussian " Pour le Merite " , was an exception to this rule . World War I Flying Service . A typical career for a German fighter pilot of World War I began with service in a ground unit ; wounds and awards for bravery ( typically an Iron Cross ) could lead to approval of requests for aviation training . After training , the new flier usually served in a reconnaissance unit flying two - seated aircraft . Auffarth served in two of these units . He first served in " Feldflieger Abteilung " 27 . He then transferred to " Flieger Abteilung Artillerie " 266 , which would have entailed the pilot flying while the observer was spotting and correcting artillery fire upon the enemy . Typically , the observer was the senior man in the crew . Auffarth transferred to flying fighters with Prussian " Jagdstaffel 18 " and recorded his first victory with them on 16 September 1917 . On the last day of the month , he became an ace . He then transferred to Prussian " Jagdstaffel 29 " . He was appointed Staffelführer ( commanding officer ) on either 11 or 19 November 1917 ( depending on source ) , as an Oberleutnant and would lead the squadron for almost a year . At any rate , he scored his first victory with them on 13 November and would eventually score a quarter of his new squadron ' s victories , flying a succession of Albatros es , Fokker D . VII s , and a rare Pfalz D . VIII , all in his personal colour scheme of yellow nose and green fuselage with a stylized eight - pointed comet on the side . He accumulated victories erratically until his total stood at 13 as of 27 March 1918 . Auffarth received the House Order of Hohenzollern on 11 April 1918 . He scored again on 17 May 1918 . On 28 May 1918 , he was wounded in the hand . The wound would keep him off duty until 21 July 1918 . The day after his return , he shot down a Royal Aircraft Factory SE . 5 a over Loos . When his victory count reached 20 on 3 September 1918 , as was customary , he was recommended for the " Pour le Merite " . It would not be approved before Kaiser Wilhelm II ' s abdication . Auffarth was promoted to command of " Jagdgruppe Nr . 3 " on 28 September 1918 . His new fighter wing consisted of Jagdstaffel 14 , Jagdstaffel 16 , and Jagdstaffel 56 , as well as Jasta 29 . He seemed to fly with the latter , as he continued to credit his victories to Jasta 29 . He then had his finest month as a fighter pilot . He downed an Airco DH . 9 on 5 October , being downed himself in the process . He scored two victories on 9 October and three each on 14 and 30 October , bringing his total to 29 . Post World War I . He survived the war despite at least three wounds , which was the minimum required to win the Silver Wound Badge . He established " Fliegerschule " Auffarth ( Auffarth ' s Flying School ) in Munster in 1924 . This was one of ten flying schools that surreptitiously supported covert military aviation training in Germany in violation of the Treaty of Versailles . The school was closed in 1929 , just before Germany began training military pilots deep within Russia . Auffarth returned to service for World War II . He was stationed in Eschenbach in May 1943 as an " Oberstleutnant " or Lieutenant Colonel . He died there on 12 October 1946 .