Rudolf Windisch Leutnant Rudolf Friedrich Otto Windisch was a World War I fighter ace credited with 22 victories . Early life and service . Rudolf Friedrich Otto Windisch was born in Dresden , Germany , the son of Bruno Windisch , who owned a pastry shop . During his childhood , Rudolf was very interested in aviation . He built model airplanes , and then a glider . On 14 September 1914 , at the age of 17 , he volunteered for a year ' s service with Infantry Regiment 177 . After a short period of training , he was off to war on the Western Front . On 21 November , he was wounded by shrapnel and removed from front line duty . He recuperated first at a hospital in Laon , France , then at the Reserve Military Hospital in his home town of Dresden . In February 1915 , he was assigned to the Military Aviation School in Leipzig - Lindenthal . He was promoted to sergeant and was a flight instructor with FEA 6 . 1 May 1916 brought a front line flying assignment with FA 62 on the Russian Front . On the night of 2 / 3 October 1916 , he set out on what is arguably the first case of air - supported espionage . He landed behind Russian lines and dropped off Oberleutnant Maximilian von Cossel ( 1893 - 1967 ) near the Rowno to Brody rail line . Cossel destroyed a railroad bridge that was of strategic importance to the Russians . Windisch swooped in on the 3rd to pick Cossel up and carry him back to safety . This feat earned him the Prussian Order of the Crown ( 4th Class with Swords ) ; the Kaiser himself presented it on 18 October 1916 . Windisch would be the only pilot so honored . In November , he would transfer to Kagohl II to fly recon missions on the Western Front . On 20 February 1917 , he moved up to flying fighters with Royal Bavarian Jasta 32 . Aerial combat career . Even before his feat of espionage derring - do , Windisch had scored his first aerial victory . On 25 August 1916 , while still flying a two - seater reconnaissance airplane , he became a balloon buster by shooting down one of the Russian observation balloons southeast of Brody . His next victory would be almost a year later , after he transferred to Jasta 32 on the French Front . On 18 September 1917 , he shot down an AR2 near Fleury , France . That was the first of his five triumphs during 1917 . The last of them , a S pad shot down near Laval , brought his count to six . He shot down another balloon on 3 January 1918 , and another Spad the following day . On 10 January , he was transferred to Royal Prussian Jasta 50 for seasoning before taking command of Royal Prussian Jasta 66 on the 24th . Sometime during this period , Windisch wangled flying time in a captured Spad VII . It is unknown if he flew it in combat . He scored his first win with his new squadron on 15 March 1918 . He had six victories in that month , including a triple on 24 March 1918 . He scored three more times in April , and five in May , to bring his tally to 22 . No fewer than 16 of his wins were over Spad fighters . A Sopwith and an AR2 completed his list of fighter planes . He also destroyed three balloons and a single two - seater reconnaissance plane . The fact that he was one of the original pilots of Germany ' s best fighter , the Fokker D . VII , gave him tactical advantage over his foes . Disappearance . His last victory was on the afternoon of 27 May 1918 . Immediately after he shot down this last Spad , he was jumped by several other enemy scouts . A bullet through the gas tank forced him to land behind French lines , about 50 meters from his final victim . The International Red Cross reported Windisch was a prisoner of war on several occasions . French pilots who fell into German hands reported him in a French prison . On the assumption he was alive , he was awarded the Pour le Merite on 6 June 1918 . The reports differed on whether or not he had been injured , with some rumors saying he had died in captivity . Nothing more would ever be heard of Windisch .