Kurt Wolff
Note the war souvenirs in the background.
Nickname	delicate little flower
Born	6 February 1895 Greifswald,Pomerania
Died	15 September 1917(1917-09-15) (aged 22) nearMoorslede,Belgium
Allegiance	German Empire
Branch	Luftstreitkräfte
Years of service	1912–1917
Rank	Oberleutnant
Unit	Kampfstaffel 26 (Bomber Squadron 26); Kampfgeschwader 7 (Combat Squadron 7); Kampfgeschwader 40 (Combat Squadron 40); Royal PrussianJagdstaffel 11 (Hunting Team 11)
Commands	Royal PrussianJagdstaffel 29 (Hunting Team 29) Royal PrussianJagdstaffel 11 (Hunting Team 11)
Awards	Prussian:Pour le Mérite House Order of Hohenzollern Iron Cross Bavarian:Bavarian Military Merit Order, 4th Class with Swords Iron Cross, both second and first class

OberleutnantKurt Robert Wilhelm WolffPlM (6 February 1895 – 15 September 1917) was one ofImperial Germany's highest-scoringfighter aces duringWorld War I. The frail youthful orphan originally piloted bombers before being picked byManfred von Richthofen to joinJagdstaffel 11 (Fighter Squadron 11) in the burgeoningImperial German Air Service. Under the tutelage of Richthofen, Wolff would shoot down 33 enemy aircraft in four months, including 22 victims during theRoyal Flying Corps' disastrousBloody April, 1917. Wolff scored victories so rapidly he outran the Prussian awards system; although thePour le Merite was customarily awarded after a fighter ace's 20th victory, Wolff's was not received until after his 29th.

On 6 May 1917, after this 29th victory, Wolff was transferred to commandJagdstaffel 29 and score two victories. When Richthofen moved up fromJagdstaffel 11 to become the wing commander of theFlying Circus, his replacement asJagdstaffel 11 commander was killed. Wolff was transferred to command his old squadron; he scored his 32nd and 33rd victories with them. On 11 July, he was wounded and grounded after a crash landing. On 12 September 1917, the day after he returned to duty, he was promoted toOberleutnant. Three days later, Wolff made his final patrol, leading a patrol of five in a prototypeFokker Triplane. In a chaoticdogfight withSopwith Camels fromNo. 10 Naval Squadron, Wolff nearly collided with his assailant,Norman MacGregor. As Wolff fell out of sight, MacGregor claimed an "out of control" victory. Wolff was probably dead before the triplane's explosive impact.

Kurt Wolff was born inGreifswald,Pomerania. He was orphaned as a child and was raised by relatives inMemel,East Prussia. Wolff enlisted in theBavarian Army in 1912 at the age of 17, joining a transport unit, Railway Regiment Nr. 4. He was still with this regiment when World War I began. He received acommission on 17 April 1915, and he transferred to theFliegertruppen (Flying Troops) in July.^[1]

Wolff's first flight was almost his last. The instructor crashed the aircraft, killing himself; Wolff's shoulder was dislocated. Eventually, Wolff received his pilot's badge in late 1915 and was assigned to a series of two-seater bomber units over the next year.^[1]

On 12 October 1916 he was posted toLa Brayelle Airfield in northern France to join the then victoryless Royal PrussianJagdstaffel 11 (Hunting Team 11). For months, Wolff and his comrades in the squadron had had no success in aerial combat. That changed when command was given to the Red Baron,Rittmeister (Cavalry Captain)Manfred von Richthofen. Under the Red Baron's leadership,Jagdstaffel 11 began to score victories, and Wolff became an excellent fighter pilot.^[2] Like his commanding officer, Wolff soon became an avid collector of souvenirs from the aircraft he shot down. Wolff's room at his airfield soon became decorated with serial numbers, airplane parts and machine guns salvaged from his victims.^[3]

Like all theJagdstaffel 11 aircraft, Wolff'sAlbatros D.III was painted in the unit's basic red livery. To this, he added individual markings for inflight identification by having his plane's elevators and tailplane painted green.^[4] He first claimed an aerial victory on 6 March 1917, aRoyal Aircraft Factory B.E.2d ofNo. 16 Squadron RFC. Four more victories followed during March, making Wolff anace.^[5]

By the end of March 1917, theRoyal Flying Corps held a numerical edge over theLuftstreitkräfte of about two to one. The German aircraft numbered about 195; about half these could be used to attack other planes. By contrast, the British were fielding about 365 airplanes; a third were single-seat fighters. However, despite their superior numbers, the British aircraft were technologically inferior to the German fighters. Nevertheless, the British pushed their air offensive over the German lines to maintain theirair superiority during April 1917, despite ongoing heavy casualties among their aircrew.^[6]

The British lost almost 250 aircraft to German action duringBloody April, 1917; the blood cost came to over 400 British aviators killed or wounded.^[7] AmongJagdstaffel 11 aces,Sebastian Festner shot down 10 British airplanes;^[8]Lothar von Richthofen shot down 15;^[9]Karl Emil Schaefer 16;^[10]Manfred von Richthofen 21;^[11] Kurt Wolff shot down 22.^[5] Besides the individual victories throughout the month, Wolff would score multiple victories on five April days. Most notable was Friday, 13 April, when Wolff shot down four British airplanes from four different squadrons on four sorties.^[12] Also notably, he scored three victories on 29 April 1917, includingMajorH.D. Harvey-Kelly, commander ofNo. 19 Squadron RFC.^[13] Wolff ended the month with his victims numbering 29. Having previously earned both classes of the PrussianIron Cross, Wolff was awarded that kingdom's Knight's Cross with Swords of theRoyal House Order of Hohenzollern on 26 April.^[5] Wolff's rapid victory pace had outrun the awards section; at 20 victories, he became eligible for thePour le Mérite, but could not receive it before the yet-to-be awarded Hohenzollern.^[14]

Wolff was awarded theGerman Empire's most prestigious award, the PrussianPour le Mérite, on 4 May 1917. Two days later, with his victory total at 29, Wolff left his pilot's assignment withJagdstaffel 11 when he was promoted to command Royal PrussianJagdstaffel 29. Wolff shot down a FrenchSPAD on 13 May and aNo. 60 SquadronNieuport 17 on 27 June before he returned toJagdstaffel 11 as its commander in July 1917.^[5] Wolff was selected to replaceLeutnant (Second lieutenant)Karl Allmenroeder, who had fallen in combat.^[15]

Wolff's youthful looks and frail physical stature masked his deadly skills as a combat pilot. As theAdjutant ofJagdstaffel 11,Karl Bodenschatz's estimate of Wolff was:

"...Leutnant Kurt Wolff. At first glance, you could only say 'delicate little flower'. A slender, thin little figure, a very young face, whose entire manner is one of extreme shyness. He looks as if you could tip him backwards with one harsh word. But below this friendly schoolboy's face dangles the orderPour le Mérite. And so far, these modest looking eyes have taken 30 enemy airplanes from the sky over the sights of his machine guns, set them afire, and made them smash to pieces on the ground."^[16]

During Wolff's assignment toJagdstaffel 29 as its commander,Jagdstaffel 11 was one of four squadrons incorporated into the first German fighter wing,Jagdgeschwader I, on 24 June 1917. Manfred von Richthofen was promoted up from squadron command to lead the new wing. Inheriting Richthofen'sJagdstaffel 11 command and leading this squadron as part of the new wing, Wolff downed aRE-8 ofNo. 4 Squadron RFC and aSopwith Triplane ofNo. 1 Naval Squadron in early July for his final victories, the 32nd and 33rd.^[5] However, on 11 July Wolff was shot in both his left hand and left shoulder by gunfire from a Sopwith Triplane flown by future aceFlight Sub-LieutenantHerbert Rowley of No. 1 Naval Squadron. Wolff crash landed his aircraft on the Courtrai railway line. The crash ripped off the undercarriage and flipped the aircraft over. The wreck came to rest with Wolff's head within inches of smashing on a metal fence. His rescuers toted him off to the hospital. Wolff would not return from sick leave until 11 September.^[17] The day after his return, he was promoted tooberleutnant (lieutenant).^[5]

The first twoFokker Triplane prototypes had been allocated toJagdgeschwader 1. Upon his return on 11 September, Wolff was eager to fly one of the prototypes in Richthofen's absence. Four days later, on 15 September he found his opportunity. Despite heavily overcast skies, he took off in Richthofen's prototype Triplane. He was flying the lone Triplane, leading a patrol of five Albatros fighters.^[18]

Meanwhile, three newSopwith Camels ofNo. 10 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service, sallied forth from their lines on an offensive patrol. Somewhere in the vicinity ofMoorslede, Belgium, at 16.30 hours the trio was the target of a diving attack by Wolff and his patrol. In the confusion of thedogfight, the British pilots mistakenly thought four triplanes were involved. As Wolff singled out a Camel to shoot down, he was suddenly fired on from behind by Flight Sub-LieutenantNorman MacGregor. MacGregor fired a quick burst from 25 yards range, then had to zoom to avoid colliding with the Fokker. Glancing behind him and downwards, he noted only that Wolff was in a vertical dive. McGregor's combat claim was for an 'out of control' victory.^[19]

It seems probable that Wolff was killed by MacGregor's bullets in midair and was already dead when his Triplane crashed and burst into flames north ofWervik near Moorslede at 17.30 hours (German time).^{[20][note 1]} Wolff's remains were taken back toMemel for burial. His interment in a military ceremony included display of his native Bavaria'sMilitary Merit Order, 4th Class with Swords, in addition to his Prussian awards.^[20]

Before winning thePour le Merite on 4 May 1917, Kurt Wolff was awarded both classes of theIron Cross, theHouse Order of Hohenzollern, and the BavarianMilitary Merit Order, Fourth Class with Swords.^[3]

In popular culture:In the 2008 biopic The Red Baron, Oberleutnant Kurt Wolff is portrayed by actor Tino Mewes.

Opposing pilots are singly listed as casualties. Double listings are pilot and observer respectively.

• Bodenschatz, Karl (2008).Hunting with Richthofen Jagd in Flanderns Himmel: The Bodenschatz Diaries: Sixteen Months of Battle with JG Freiherr von Richthofen No. 1 Foreword by Herman Goring, Issue 1. London, UK: Grub Street Publishing.ISBN 978-189869-746-6.
• Franks, Norman (2000).Albatros Aces of World War I. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing.ISBN 978-1-85532-960-7.
• Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank; Guest, Russell (1993).Above the Lines: A Complete Record of the Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps 1914–1918. London, UK: Grub Street Publishing.ISBN 978-0-948817-73-1.
• Franks, Norman; Giblin, Hal (2003).Under the Guns of the Kaiser's Aces. London, UK: Grub Street Publishing.ISBN 978-1-904010-02-9.
• Hart, Peter (2006).The Red Baron Combat Wing: Jagdgeschwader Richthofen in Battle. London, UK: Arms and Armour Press.ISBN 978-0-3043-6719-1.
• Kilduff, Peter (1997).Bloody April:Slaughter in the Skies Over Arras, 1917. London, UK: Cassell Military Paperback.ISBN 978-1-854092-66-3.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toKurt Wolff.

• Kurt Wolff's page at theaerodrome.com
• Bio and Photos at pourlemerite.org
• Photograph of wreckage of Wolff's aircraft

• Aviation in World War I
• 1895 births
• 1917 deaths
• Aviators killed by being shot down
• German military personnel killed in World War I
• German World War I flying aces
• Luftstreitkräfte personnel
• People from Greifswald
• Military personnel from the Province of Pomerania
• Prussian Army personnel
• Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)

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