Harry von Bülow - Bothkamp Oberst Harry von Bülow - Bothkamp ( 19 November 1897 – 27 February 1976 ) Royal House Order of Hohenzollern , Iron Cross was a German fighter ace notable for being one of the few two - war aces in history . After scoring six victories in World War I , he became a Luftwaffe Ace in World War II , with 12 additional victories . Early life and World War I . Harry von Bülow - Bothkamp was a child of nobility , born in his family ' s castle in the village of Bothkamp in the Schleswig - Holstein Province of Germany . He began his military service with Saxon Hussar Regiment No . 18 when he was 17 , before learning to fly in August 1916 . In December 1916 he joined the German air service . He was one of three brothers ( the others being Walter and Conrad ) to serve in the Fliegertruppe during World War I . He first flew two seaters with FFA 53 , which became FA 272 ( A ) , as a reconnaissance pilot adjusting artillery fire , before becoming a fighter pilot with Jasta 36 , which was commanded by his brother Walter who fell on 6 January 1918 . During his time with Jasta 36 , Harry von Bulow - Bothkamp shot down an Airco D . H . 4 on 12 October 1917 , followed by five additional enemy fighters . His last victory came on 21 July 1918 , over Major R . N . Freeman , CO of No . 73 Squadron . His notable win was his fourth , over British 10 - kill ace Captain Cecil Clark of No 1 Squadron , who was wounded and taken prisoner . Harry was discharged from the service by order of the Kaiser on 25 August 1918 . Harry was the last survivor of four brothers ; the oldest , Friedrich , was killed in 1914 , and Conrad died in a flying accident on 26 September 1918 while commanding part of the Aviation Battalion of the Finnish Air Force . Harry had earned the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern and Iron Cross for his service . Between the wars . After World War I he returned to school ( Gymnasium ) receiving his Abitur and went to University studying agriculture . Together with Paul Bäumer he founded the " Bäumer Aero " in Hamburg - Fuhlsbüttel to produce airplanes . The company went bankrupt in the course of the Great Depression . He rejoined the German military aviation as a Hauptman ( Captain ) in 1935 , in the newly established Luftwaffe . The following year , he was promoted to Major and assigned as the original commanding officer of Jagdgeschwader 2 " Richthofen " , also known as JG II . In 1939 , he became Inspector of the Nationalsozialitische Fliegerkorps , the Luftwaffe ' s civil reserve . World War II and beyond . During the beginning of World War II , he commanded Gruppe II . / JG 77 from November , 1939 onwards . He then became Commodore of Jagdgeschwader 2 in April 1940 . He led this unit during the blitzkrieg into France during May and June 1940 . Despite being over 40 years old , he vanquished at least 12 opponents in this campaign . This performance as a fighting commander of JG 2 earned him another promotion , to Oberstleutnant ( Lieutenant Colonel ) , and made him a winner of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross on 22 August 1940 . On 1 September 1940 , he was reassigned to Nachtjagdschule 1 ( Night Flight School 1 ) . He remained in command of this unit through its redesignation as NJG 101 , until October , 1943 . He commanded the 5th Fighter Division from November , 1943 and then commanded " Jafu 4 " on the western front from March 1944 to September 1944 . He ended the war back with the Nationalsozialitische Fliegerkorps . He died of natural causes in Kirchbarkau , near his ancestral castle , where he was buried in the same plot as his brothers .