Rudolph Berthold Oskar Gustav Rudolf Berthold ( March 24 , 1891 – March 15 , 1920 ) ( commonly known as Rudolf Berthold ) was a German World War I flying ace . Between 1916 and 1918 , he shot down 44 enemy planes — most of them over the Belgian front . Berthold had the reputation as a ruthless , fearless and — above all — very patriotic fighter . His perseverance , bravery , and willingness to return to combat while still wounded made him one of the most famous German pilots of the First World War . He was killed in political street fighting in Hamburg on 15 March 1920 . Early life and entry into military . Oskar Gustav Rudolf Berthold entered the world at about 18 : 00 hours on 24 March 1891 . He was born in Ditterswind , Kingdom of Bavaria in the German Empire , the sixth child of " Oberförster " ( Head Forester ) Oskar Berthold . The young child , who became familiarly known as simply Rudolf , was the first born to Helene Stief Berthold , Oskar ' s second wife . Oskar ' s first wife , Ida Anne Hoffmann Berthold , died in childbirth , leaving as survivors a daughter and three sons . Rudolf was followed by three younger brothers , two of whom survived to adulthood . Rudolf ' s father was employed by a local nobleman , Oskar Freiherr von Deuster ; Rudolf grew up roving the baron ' s great estate . Early in September 1897 , Rudolf began his education in the local elementary school . Upon his completion of studies there at age ten , he was enrolled in the " Humanistische Neue Gymnasium " ( New Secondary School for the Humanities ) in nearby Bamberg . By the time he had completed his gymnasium studies at age 14 , he had adopted a personal motto from Horace : " It is sweet and fitting to die for one ' s Fatherland . " Rudolf moved on to Schweinfurt ' s " Konigliches Humanistische Gymnasium " ( Royal Secondary School for Humanities ) in September 1906 to begin sixth level classes . Winter of 1909 saw him transfer to the " Altes Gymnasium " ( Old Secondary School ) in Bamberg to better fit himself for a military career . He graduated on 14 July 1910 , with a reputation for being fearless , cheerful , and studious . Although Ditterswind was a garrison town , young Berthold ' s career began when he joined the 3rd Brandenberg Infantry Regiment in Wittenberg . He would be required to serve a year and a half ' s training as a Fähnrich before being voted upon by officers of the regiment . On 27 January 1912 , they accepted Berthold and he was commissioned as a leutnant . Toward the end of Berthold ' s training , the " Jungdeutschland - Bund " ( Young Germany Federation ) was founded . He became the leader of the Wittenberg branch of this patriotic society that was mobilizing German youth for national service . " Der Fliegertruppe " ( The Flying Troop ) became an official part of the German Imperial Army on 1 October 1912 . Berthold learned to fly at his own expense in 1913 , qualifying as a pilot in September 1913 with license No . 538 . He trained at the Halberstädter Flugzeugwerke on dual control Bristol types ; one of his fellow students was Oswald Boelcke . After informing his family he had a " special assignment " to a flying school , Berthold underwent military flight training during Summer 1914 . World War I . 1914 . The outbreak of World War I disrupted the young aviator ' s progress . On 1 July 1914 , he was recalled from his schooling to rejoin his infantry regiment ; once there , he ruefully discovered his marching skills had deteriorated during his aviation sojourn . After a fortnight ' s refresher course in soldierly skills , he was returned to flying training . On 17 July 1914 , he was officially transferred out of the 3rd Brandenbergers to aerial service . Having fallen behind his fellow piloting students during his infantry refresher course , he had to settle for aerial observer duty . On 1 August 1914 , he shipped out as a standee on a train for the Royal Saxon Air Base at Grossenhain . By 7 August 1914 , Berthold had been assigned to " Feldflieger - Abteilung 223 " ( Field Flier Detachment 223 ) , which was assigned to the German 2nd Army . By 9 August , FFA 223 was encamped at Monschau near the Belgian border . On 15 August , Berthold was chosen for the unit ' s first reconnaissance mission . Two days later , his pilot strayed off - course ; Bertholdt and his pilot landed lost . They evaded French cavalry , to direct retrieval of their DFW biplane . In his diary , Berthold angrily noted his decision to complete pilot ' s training . Berthold was also the observer on flights on 1 and 3 September . He saw French troops retreating across the Marne River , and giving way to panic . However , later in the month , he discovered the French counter - thrust between the German 1st and 2nd Armies . German staff officers ' disbelief led to Berthold personally briefing " Generalobserst " Karl von Bülow on the situation . Bülow moved his troops to higher ground ; the First Battle of the Aisne began . On 13 September 1914 , the young aviator was presented with the Iron Cross Second Class for his efforts . On 4 October , he was called away from rebuilding his machine ' s engine to report to Army High Command Headquarters . There he was awarded the Iron Cross First Class . For both classes of the Iron Cross , Berthold received his award second only to Bülow . As winter weather shut down combat flying in November , Berthold arranged to continue his pilot ' s training at a nearby flight park . He became friends with a fellow student , Hans Joachim Buddecke . 1915 . Rudolf Berthold finally qualified as a pilot on 18 January 1915 . At about the same time , he arranged Buddecke ' s transfer into FFA 223 . Berthold now being a pilot , he was assigned an observer , Leutnant Josef Gruener for flying reconnaissance sortie s ; they quickly became friends . In June , they were finally supplied with machine guns for their aircraft ; Berthold could give up his futile assaults on enemy aircraft with his pistol . At about the same time , Berthold was laid up for a fortnight with dysentery , possibly provoked by nervous worry . FFA 223 re - equipped with AEG G . II bombers in August 1915 . The twin - engined giant was manned by a pilot , two or three observers , and two swiveling machine guns . Even as the new bombers came on board , the unit also received its first single - seat fighter with a synchronized gun , a Fokker Eindekker . Berthold took command of the big bomber . He left the Eindekker to Buddecke ; this decision sped Buddecke on his way to being a member of the first wave of German aces that included Oswald Boelcke , Max Immelmann , and Kurt Wintgens . Berthold ' s reasoning was that he could cross the lines searching for opponents in the AEG G . II , while the Eindekker was ordered to patrol only behind German lines . However , Berthold damaged his original G . II in a landing accident on 15 September , and had to return to piloting an old two - seater . On 21 September 1915 , Rudolf Berthold was promoted to Oberleutnant . Shortly thereafter , he returned to Germany to pick up a replacement G . II . By 1 October , he had it in action ; in addition to bombing , it was used on occasion as a gunship for air defense missions . On 6 November , one of those missions turned deadly ; a British Vickers F . B . 5 gunner mortally wounded Gruener . Berthold was depressed by his friend ' s death , and sent on home leave , vowing vengeance for Greuner ' s death . In early December , Buddecke was seconded to the Turkish Air Force . Thus Berthold fell heir to an Eindekker . He accompanied Ernst Freiherr von Althaus when the latter shot down enemy planes on both 5 and 28 December 1915 . 1916 . As the Germans learned the uses of aircraft with synchronized guns , they began to group the new weapons into ad hoc units to protect reconnaissance and bombing aircraft . These new units were dubbed " Kampfseinsitzer Kommando " ( Single seater fighter detachment ) , abbreviated " KEK " . On 11 January 1916 , " KEK Vaux " was formed near FFA 223 ; because of his experience , Berthold was appointed as its Officer in Charge . Even as the pioneering fighter units formed , on 14 January Royal Flying Corps Headquarters directed that any reconnaissance craft crossing into German - held territory be escorted by at least three protective aircraft . On 2 February 1916 , Berthold and Althaus were sent off on an interception at about 15 : 00 hours . Dodging through spotty cloud coverage and sporadic rain , the duo set upon a pair of Voisin LA s and shot them down . It was Berthold ' s first aerial victory . He would score another three days later . Then , on 10 February , Berthold was himself shot down , with a holed fuel tank and a slight wound to his left hand . His feats were rewarded with an award of the Military Merit Order , 4th class on 29 February ; there would be only 12 awards of the Military Merit Order to aviators during the entire war . Berthold continued flying bombing missions as well as patrolling in his fighter . After he scored another victory , he was again honored by his native Kingdom of Bavaria , this time with the Knight ' s Cross of the Military Order of Saint Henry on 15 April . On 25 April , Berthold lost a dogfight . He made an emergency landing after enemy bullets crippled his Fokker ' s engine . He took off again in Pfalz E . IV serial number 803 / 15 . Its engine quit as he climbed to about 100 meters altitude , and he crashed . When his limp body was pulled from the wreckage , he was believed dead until he revived momentarily with a fit of cursing . After a passing faint , Berthold awoke to find himself blind . He begged bystanders to shoot him , then again swooned . He reawakened two days later in " Kriegslazarett 7 " ( Military Hospital 7 ) in Saint Quentin , in a room next to that of a British observer he had downed . Besides a badly broken left leg , Berthold had suffered a broken nose and upper jaw , with attendant damage to his optic nerves . He was prescribed narcotic painkillers for chronic pain . At that time , German military doctors used three narcotics as remedies — opium , morphine , and codeine . Cocaine was used to counteract the somnolence of these three depressant drugs . Berthold ' s exact prescription is unknown . Eventually , Berthold ' s eyesight returned . He would be unable to fly for four months , but remained in charge of " KEK Vaux " . Between the message traffic brought to him , and the accounts of his visiting subordinates , he learned of ongoing casualties . As the injured ace lay in hospital , the news was bad . His brother Wolfram had been killed in action as an infantryman on 29 April . Max Immelmann perished in battle on 18 June . Subsequent to Immelmann ' s death , Germany ' s highest scoring ace , Oswald Boelcke , was removed from flying for fear that his loss in action would be disastrous to morale . In the meantime , Berthold was scheduled to be evacuated back to Germany , away from the front . Instead , in late July , he commandeered a car and returned to his unit . Although unable to fly because of a stiff knee , he could still command . In the meantime , he made his orderly help him bend his knee and flex strength back into his withered leg . On 24 August 1916 , Berthold had to be aided in gaining his pilot ' s seat in his fighter , but he flew . He scored his sixth victory . The next day , KEK Vaux became Jagdstaffel 4 ( Fighter Squadron 4 ) under Berthold ' s command ; the new unit started with a starred roster — Wilhelm Frankl , Walter Höhndorf , and Ernst Freiherr von Althaus were early members and all future aces . On 27 August , Berthold received the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern . As the Pour le Merite was customarily awarded for eight victories at this stage of the war , Berthold was very near attaining it . On 19 September , he was denied credit for a Royal Aircraft Factory BE . 12 that fell behind German lines . On 24 September , two French Nieuport 17 s collided and crashed while dogfighting him . Again , no credit . On 26 September , Berthold was finally credited with his eighth victory . He finally received his Blue Max , Imperial Germany ' s supreme award for valor , on 12 October 1916 . His was only the tenth award for aviators . Five of the other seven living recipients attended the 16 October celebration of the award , including Buddecke , Althaus , Frankl , Höhndorf , and Kurt Wintgens . The following day , Buddecke and a wingman circled overhead as Berthold ' s train bore him away to his new assignment as Staffelführer ( commander ) of Jagdstaffel 14 . " Die Fliegertruppen " had just reorganized into the Luftstreitkräfte ( German Air Force ) on 8 October . Jasta 14 was newly formed when Berthold took command . It was equipped with two Fokker E . IIIs , a Halberstadt D . II , and seven Fokker D . II s , and had had no success when it was still the ad hoc " Fokker Kampstaffel Falkenhausen " . Berthold took advantage of being in a quiet sector , and brought his martial skills and stern professional attitude to bear , to train his troops hard . He brought in new Albatros D . I and Albatros D . II replacement aircraft , and renovated the officers ' mess . In mid - December , just after the unit ' s first victory , they were visited on an inspection tour by Kaiser Wilhelm II and Crown Prince Wilhelm . 1917 . In January Berthold and his squadron were subordinated to " Armee - Abteilung A " ( Army Division A ) . With the reorganization in aviation came the installation of aviation staff officer Hauptmann Bruno Volkmann at army headquarters . Foreseeing the future , Berthold made a plea for amassing air power into larger units , and supported his proposal with detailed professional analysis . He asked Volkmann in vain . On the other hand , Alsace was a quiescent sector ; Jasta 14 scored only two victories in February . However , it was slated to move to more active duty in Laon , and began to rearm with Albatros D . III fighters . Berthold flew in advance to Laon and found there were no quarters for his men . He was adamant that he would not telegraph his squadron to move until quarters were furnished . In mid March , a convoy of trucks hauled the jasta 200 kilometers to Marchais . They began operations on 17 March . As Jasta 14 settled into its new base , Berthold had Albatros D . III s / n 2182 / 16 prepared for his assigned aircraft . Its guns were test - fired . It was painted with his personal insignia of a winged sword of vengeance on either side of the fuselage . It is not known if he had yet adopted the aircraft paint scheme of dark blue fuselage and scarlet cowling in homage to his old infantry unit ; however , by September , his entire squadron would adopt the basic scheme with their own personal insignia . On 24 March 1917 Berthold resumed his victory string when he shot down a French Farman from " Escadrille F7 " . He was credited with three more singleton victories in the first half of April . On 24 April he fiercely engaged a French Caudron R . 9 until driven back to base by a bullet through his lower right shin . He joked in his diary that his right arm was the only one of his four extremities to remain unwounded , but this wound was not serious . However , it caused him to be shipped from the hospital to convalesce at home from 23 May to 15 June . As an aftereffect , this wound added more chronic pain to his miseries . Berthold believed that morale in his squadron was declining because of lack of his in - air leadership . In early August , he returned to his old training facility in Grossenhain and wangled a medical clearance from its doctor . Berthold returned to his unit to await the paperwork , to discover that he was being transferred to command " Jagdstaffel 18 " in Harelbeke , Belgium on 12 August . On 18 August , Berthold was finally certified to resume flying . Two days later , he was one of the aviation troops being reviewed by the Kaiser at Courtrai . Before Berthold ' s arrival , Jasta 18 had had little success ; their new commander promptly emphasized training even though they were simultaneously flying combat missions . Shortly after assuming command , Berthold again pitched his idea of using fighters en masse ; " 4th Armee " headquarters responded by grouping " Jagdstaffelen " 18 , 24 , 31 , and 36 into " Jagdgruppe 7 " with Berthold in command . He shot down a Spad on 21 August , raising his tally to 13 . It was the beginning of a string of 16 aerial victories . As one of these victims , on 28 September 1917 he shot down the Airco DH - 5 of six victory ace Captain Alwayne Loyd , of No 32 Squadron RAF , who was killed . During September he scored 14 victories , bringing his tally to 27 . On 2 October he scored his 28th victory – his final one of the year . During a dogfight on 10 October a bullet crippled Rudolf Berthold ' s right upper arm . During a dogfight with No . 56 Squadon RFC , a British bullet ricochet ed within the cockpit of Berthold ' s Fokker D . VII and entered his arm at an angle that pulverized his right humerus . He was probably hit by Captain Gerald Maxwell , though the latter did not receive credit for the victory . Berthold overcame the handicap of half - severed ailerons and remained conscious long enough to make a smooth one - handed landing at Jasta 18 ' s home airfield . He passed out after his safe arrival . Berthold ' s unconscious form was lifted from his Fokker and rushed five kilometers to the field hospital in Courtrai . The field hospital hadn ' t the facilities to heal such a complex injury ; however , it sufficed to keep him alive . It was three weeks before the wounded ace was stable enough to be transferred out of there . On 31 October , he shipped out , slated for Saint Vincenzstift Hospital in Hannover . However , his squadronmates alerted his 33 - year - old elder sister Franziska . She was a nursing supervisor in Viktoria - Lazarett " ( Victoria Hospital ) , Berlin . She arranged for her brother to be diverted to the Berlin clinic of one of Germany ' s pre - eminent surgeons , Doctor August Bier . Berthold entered he clinic on 2 November 1917 . The first priority of the clinic was to save the arm from amputation ; its second priority was its rehabilitation . Berthold would be there for four months . In the meantime , Oberleutnant Ernst Wilhelm Turck assumed Berthold ' s dual commands of " Jagdstaffel 18 " and " Jagdgruppe 7 " . Berthold was promoted to " Hauptmann " on 26 October 1917 . According to Paul Strähle , who was one of his pilots at the time , Berthold ' s stern behavior subsequently became erratic under the influence of morphine ; in one incident he not only raged at his pilots for disorderly quarters , but lashed about with a riding crop . 1918 . In March 1918 he returned to active service and took command of Jagdgeschwader 2 , receiving permission to transfer his Jasta 18 personnel en masse into Jasta 15 . Despite being in constant pain from his unhealed injuries , Berthold continued flying . He refused any surgical help because he believed an operation would make it impossible for him to continue flying . Berthold didn ' t even have the bullet removed from his arm . Throughout the summer of 1918 Berthold continued flying , increasingly relying on morphine for pain relief . Such was his strength of will he also taught himself to write with his left hand . With JG 2 Berthold often flew a Pfalz D . III in preference to the Albatros D . V , until May 1918 when the new Fokker D . VII entered service . Berthold had a personal insignia of a winged sword on the side of the blue fuselages and red noses sported by all aircraft of Jasta 15 . His final wartime mishap came on 10 August 1918 when he shot down two RAF DH - 4 bombers , but collided with the second of these victories and crashed into a house . He was hospitalised until after the war . Post - war . After the war Berthold became a fanatic patriot and nationalist , becoming a member of the anti - communist Freikorps . He founded the 1200 - strong " Fränkische Bauern - Detachment Eiserne Schar Berthold " in April 1919 , and took part in several demonstrations and fought against communist factions . Death and gravestone . Berthold was shot on 15 March 1920 in Harburg during a riot between German communist and nationalist factions , after taking part in the failed Kapp Putsch . During the coup d ' état Berthold ' s unit was reportedly cornered in a Harburg school . Reports about the cause of his death then varied , with some accounts stating he was beaten , stabbed and shot dead , while other sources say he was strangled with the ribbon of the ' Blue Max ' medal he still wore . On his first gravestone , since destroyed , was allegedly the memorial : " Honored by his enemies , killed by his German brethren " . See .