Adolf Ritter von Tutschek Adolf , Ritter von Tutschek ( 16 May 1891 - 15 March 1918 ) Pour le Mérite , Royal House Order of Hohenzollern , Iron Cross , Military Order of Max Joseph , was a professional soldier turned aviator who became a leading fighter ace with 27 victories . As German air strategy turned towards concentrated air power , he was entrusted with one of the world ' s first fighter wings . Early life . Adolf von Tutschek was born in Ingolstadt . He was the son of Karl Tutschek , Chief Medical Officer to the Royal Bavarian Military Academy . He attended Saint Anna High School in Augsburg until 1910 , then joining the Royal Bavarian Cadet School . After graduation in October 1912 , he joined in the " Prince Carl of Bavaria " 3rd Royal Bavarian Infantry Regiment as a Fahnenjunker ( officer aspirant ) . He was later commissioned as Leutnant . He started his field service in World War I with prussian Fusilier Regiment No . 40 in Vosges , but soon was transferred back to Bavarian 3rd Infantry Regiment ( from March 1915 on part of Bavarian 11th Division ) , first as 2nd battalion ' s adjutant , then as company leader in France , Galicia , Poland and Serbia . In May 1915 in Gorlice , Poland , he was wounded in the foot by hand grenade splinter . On 25 February 1916 , he was awarded the Military Order of Max Joseph for storming a Russian stronghold near Petrylów in Poland ( south of Brest - Litowsk ) with two companies of 3rd Bavarian Infantry and holding it against repeated counterattacks ( 10 August 1915 ) . In early 1916 , he was promoted to Oberleutnant . In March 1916 , he was seriously wounded by poison gas during the Battle of Verdun . Upon his recovery , he requested pilot training . Aerial service . In July 1916 he attended flight school at Schleissheim with FEA 1 . In October 1916 he returned to the front flying initially with FA 6b , an artillery spotting unit . He was then posted to fly single - seaters with Jagdstaffel 2 in January 1917 . Over the next three months , he flew 140 combat sorties , made seven victory claims and had three confirmed . His first triumph , on 6 March 1917 , was over the DH - 2 of 6 - kill ace Lt . Maximillian Mare - Montembault M . C . of No . 32 Squadron , who was forced down and captured . On 28 April , he assumed command of Prussian Jasta 12 based at Epinoy upon the death of its commander . One of the pilots there was future Jasta 52 commanding officer and ace Paul Billik . His appointment was unusual in that although a Prussian raised Jasta , von Tutschek was a Bavarian . On 30 April Von Tutschek allayed any Prussian suspicion of Bavarians by sprinting to his airplane through falling bombs during a raid on their home airfield ; he led a flight into the air into a night pursuit of the bombers . He shot down one of the raiders , a FE - 2b of 57 Squadron , thus scoring a victory on his first flight with his new command . His personal aircraft color scheme was ink black overall with a white propeller spinner and a square white background for the Maltese cross tail markings . In May he claimed a trio of Sopwith Pups of 3 Naval Squadron RNAS shot down . On 1 May Flt . Sub - Lt . AS Mather , on 4 May Flt . Sub - Lt HS Murton , while on 11 May he claimed Flt . Sub - Lt . Hubert Broad , his Sopwith Pup spinning uncontrollably and Broad shot through the mouth . Broad , however , recovered control of his Pup , landing at base and being hospitalised . Von Tutschek scored his tenth victory on the 20th , a long duel with a SPAD of No . 23 Squadron that crashed in flames . On 26 May Von Tutschek left for leave , and returning on 26 June attacked two Sopwith 1 Strutters , though the return fire damaged Von Tutschek ' s Albatros and forced him to land . In combat with 60 Squadron Nieuports on 29 June his engine was again damaged , and he force - landed near Cantin . He scored 11 victories in July . On the 15th , he downed one of Captain Billy Bishop ' s 60 Squadron ' s comrades , Lt . GAH Parkes , for victory number 16 . On the 28th , he shot down English 7 - kill ace Flt . Sub - Lt . E . D . Crundall of Naval 8 Squadron RNAS ( who survived ) , on a morning sortie . In the afternoon , he claimed another ace , 40 Squadron ' s Captain John Henry Tudhope ( 10 victories ) , who returned to base , damaged . On 11 July , he was awarded the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern . On 3 August 1917 , after 21 victories , he was awarded Germany ' s premier decoration for valor , the Pour le Mérite . On 11 August 1917 , after victory 23 , Tutschek was severely wounded in the shoulder by Flt Lt Charles Dawson Booker of Naval 8 Squadron . If Viktor Schobinger had not intervened and shot Booker down , Tutschek would probably have been killed . With his lower right shoulder blade shattered , Tutschek took six months to recover and spent the time writing a memoir of his flying experiences , " Stürme und Luftsiege " ( Attacks and Air Victories ) . His edited letters would also appear in print at a later date . Higher command and downfall . Returning to active service in February 1918 , Hauptmann von Tutschek was given command of the new Jagdgeschwader 2 , consisting of Jastas 12 , 13 , 15 , and 19 . He was pitched into the challenge of gearing up and staffing a new organization ; he expressed his dissatisfaction with progress in his diary . The new unit was short of aircraft , parts , and fuel and faced a numerically superior Royal Flying Corps . One of his prerequisites was a new airplane to fly . He was delighted with his brand new Fokker Dr . I triplane . He first test flew it on 17 February 1918 , and raved about it in his diary " . . a tremendous machine climbs terrifically . " He flew it to the last four victories of his career , on 26 February , and 1st ( a balloon ) 6th and 10 March . On the last day of February , he narrowly survived a mid - air collision with Lt . Paul Blumenbach flying another triplane . Both pilots managed to coax their damaged machines to safe landings . On 15 March , South African 10 - kill ace Lt H . B . Redler of No . 24 Squadron shot down von Tutschek . The German spun down in his green triplane ( SNo . 404 / 17 ) out of control . There are two versions of what followed . One version of his death states when found he still had his wiping cloth tucked through his buttonhole and under his safety harness ; as it was his habit to wipe his goggles clean going into battle , it was deduced he had been caught unaware . A second version , less likely , claimed that one of Redler ' s bullets creased Tutschek ' s head and that the wound caused him to land . He supposedly waved to his wingmen as they circled , but was later found dead next to his plane . His tally of 27 victories ( 24 with Jasta 12 or JG 2 ) would amount to a quarter of his parent Jasta 12 ' s 104 victories .