Wilhelm Leusch
"Leutnant" Wilhelm Leusch (15 October 1892 – 14 August 1921) was a German World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. Biography. Wilhelm Leusch was born on 15 October 1892 in Neuss, a suburb of Düsseldorf. He enlisted in the Imperial German Air Service on 5 October 1914. After training, he was posted to the defense of Metz in early 1915. Later in 1915, he was assigned to " Feldflieger Abteilung 19". He was commissioned as an officer in 1916, and was transferred to a fighter squadron, "Jagdstaffel 13" on 1 November. In April 1917, he was transferred  again, this time to "Jagdstaffel 19". He scored his first aerial victory while flying with them, shooting down a SPAD on 12 May 1917. Leusch would not score another aerial victory for more than a year. Then, on 17 June 1918, he shot down a French SPAD from "Escadrille 3". On 6 October, he shot down an American observation balloon. On the 18th, he was appointed to the command of his squadron; though not yet an ace, his long service had earned him both classes of the Iron Cross. He would go on to shoot down a SPAD S.13 on  26 October, and a Breguet 14 on 3 November, to become an ace. Having survived four years of war, Wilhelm Leusch died in a peacetime glider accident on 14 August 1921.