386:, and shot one of the Camels down. The D.VII remained his mount for the remainder of the war. His had the front three-quarters of the fuselage painted black; the rear quarter was white. Emblazoned on the side was a white running stag with gold antlers and hooves, its head pointed toward the propeller.
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On 25 January 1918 he finally was credited with his second victory, after four unconfirmed claims. On 23 March, while landing in a 30 kilometer per hour (19 mph) wind, he destroyed his aircraft by upsetting upon landing but was unhurt. The photo of his inverted aircraft shows he sported a
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of No. 213 Squadron. Degelow scored once more, on 4 November, just before the end of his and
Germany's war. Thus credited with 30 confirmed victories and four unconfirmed, he was the last German pilot and final German serviceman to be awarded the
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on an uncertain note. He filed three widely spaced consecutive victories that were unconfirmed as the enemy planes landed on the Allied side of the front lines. By German regulations, these could not be considered confirmed aerial victories.
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fighters in August 1917, but lasted fewer than four days. The process involved zeroing in an aircraft's machine guns on a firing range. Degelow accidentally wounded a member of the unit and was hastily reassigned on 17 August to
Prussian
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after it hit his oil tank, which misted his flying goggles and blurred his vision. Only Jacobs' intervention saved
Degelow. Degelow claimed Jacobs destroyed the attacker, although the victory is not listed on Jacobs' records.
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402:, on 9 November 1918, the day the Kaiser abdicated, and two days before the end of the war. The abdication ended Imperial decrees and orders such as awards for the "Blue Max". Degelow also received the
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Degelow remained in the reserves between World Wars I and II. During the first days of the Nazi regime, he was jailed for several days for failure to give the
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393:. In September, he again scored six times. October saw ten victories on ten different days. The victory on the 4th was over a Canadian naval ace, Captain
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His third confirmed victory did not come until 21 April 1918. He scored his fourth victory and transferred on 16 May 1918 to the Royal Saxon
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Above the Lines: The Aces and
Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918
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249:. Degelow initially served with distinction in this infantry regiment in both France and Russia, winning both classes of the
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available to him had a reputation at the time for losing its wings in a dive. He began his string of victories with
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By the time World War II began, he was a
Hauptmann (captain). Degelow went on to serve as a Major in the
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He became an ace on 18 June, with the first of his two June victories. On the 25th, he took his new
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Degelow transferred to the air service in 1916 and trained as a pilot. His first assignment was to
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In July, he scored six times. On 9 August, he was awarded the Knight's Cross with Swords of the
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on a test flight, came upon a dogfight between D. VIIs of another Jasta and
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Triplane, though he doesn't seem to have claimed any successes with it.
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He returned to
Germany just before World War I erupted and enlisted in
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Germany's Last Knight of the Air: The
Memoirs of Major Carl Degelow
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In 1912–1913, before World War I broke out, Degelow worked in the
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to battle communists in
Germany. He wrote his war memoirs,
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Military personnel from the
Province of Schleswig-Holstein
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by Peter
Kilduff, who added some additional commentary.
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The Aerodrome websites' page on the Hohenzollern Order
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was killed. During this time, he also flew a borrowed
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837:Recipients of the Pour le MĂ©rite (military class)
716:"Anything known about Degelow's career in WWII?"
414:Immediately postwar, Degelow helped found the
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349:In September, he was almost shot down by a
207:Carl Degelow was born on 5 January 1891 in
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503:The Aerodrome's website on the Iron Cross
420:With the White Stag Through Thick and Thin
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593:. Westernfrontassociation.com. 2008-08-04
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437:on his uniform, he was quickly released.
337:Degelow chose to fly a Pfalz because the
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433:on parade. When someone recognized the
299:. On 22 May 1917, he claimed a French
282:Aerial victory standards of World War I
230:. His specialty was the manufacture of
16:German fighter pilot during World War I
312:for transitional training into flying
247:Nassauischen Infanterie-Regiment Nr 88
7:
741:; Bailey, Frank W.; Guest, Russell.
358:running stag insignia on his plane.
812:Luftwaffe personnel of World War II
253:and earning promotion in rank from
234:, and he was known to have visited
173:(5 January 1891 – 9 November 1970)
756:Norman Franks, Greg VanWyngarden.
306:He was reassigned to the Prussian
14:
663:Franks, VanWyngarden 2001, p. 70.
391:Royal House Order of Hohenzollern
181:Royal House Order of Hohenzollern
147:Royal House Order of Hohenzollern
424:Germany's Last Knight of the Air
416:Hamburger Zeitfreiwilligen Korps
773:Pfalz Scout Aces of World War 1
758:Fokker Dr I Aces of World War I
460:Degelow, Carl; Kilduff, Peter.
807:German World War I flying aces
451:, Germany on 9 November 1970.
1:
645:VanWyngarden 2006, pp. 58-59.
559:Franks et al 1993, pp. 96-97.
591:"DEGELOW, Carl. (1891-1970)"
775:. Osprey Publishing, 2006.
760:. Osprey Publishing, 2001.
506:Retrieved 26 November 2012.
494:Retrieved 26 November 2012.
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817:Luftstreitkräfte personnel
654:VanWyngarden 2006, p. 62.
570:"Carl Degelow Questions"
327:under the leadership of
832:Prussian Army personnel
674:"Orden Pour le MĂ©rite"
517:"Orden Pour le MĂ©rite"
822:People from Steinburg
745:. Grub Street, 1993.
695:"Carl Degelow's book"
444:during World War II.
406:, 1st and 2nd class.
191:fighter pilot during
171:Carl "Charly" Degelow
104:Infantry Regiment 88,
85:Years of service
80:Infantry, Air Service
203:Life before aviation
771:Greg VanWyngarden.
464:. W. Kimber, 1979.
351:Bristol F.2 Fighter
718:. Theaerodrome.com
697:. Theaerodrome.com
676:. Pourlemerite.org
623:. Theaerodrome.com
572:. Theaerodrome.com
519:. Pourlemerite.org
217:Kingdom of Prussia
213:Schleswig-Holstein
766:978-1-84176-223-4
751:978-0-948817-73-1
289:Flieger-Abteilung
271:on 31 July 1915.
226:as an industrial
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88:1914 - circa 1945
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53:9 November 1970
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435:Pour le Merite
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384:Sopwith Camels
369:Helmut Dilthey
364:Jagdstaffel 40
309:Jagdstaffel 36
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275:Flying service
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197:Pour le Merite
176:Pour le Merite
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733:Bibliography
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574:. Retrieved
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521:. Retrieved
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380:Fokker D.VII
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339:Albatros D.V
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332:Josef Jacobs
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301:Caudron G.IV
297:Albatros C.V
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263:commissioned
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55:(1970-11-09)
23:Carl Degelow
802:1970 deaths
797:1891 births
447:He died in
431:Nazi salute
395:John Greene
373:Fokker Dr.1
325:Pfalz D.III
314:Pfalz D.III
209:MĂĽnsterdorf
193:World War I
43:Munsterdorf
29:Nickname(s)
791:Categories
722:2012-11-26
701:2012-11-26
680:2012-11-26
627:2012-11-26
597:2012-11-26
576:2012-11-26
523:2012-11-26
477:References
470:0718301463
404:Iron Cross
293:Artillerie
251:Iron Cross
185:Iron Cross
152:Iron Cross
67:Allegiance
442:Luftwaffe
323:to fly a
280:See also
255:Gefreiter
215:, in the
187:, was a
162:Luftwaffe
62:, Germany
45:, Germany
455:See also
400:Blue Max
329:Leutnant
268:Leutnant
124:Commands
106:FAA 216,
75:Service/
32:"Charly"
449:Hamburg
240:El Paso
236:Chicago
228:chemist
70:Germany
60:Hamburg
779:
764:
749:
468:
232:cement
189:German
136:Awards
77:branch
265:as a
96:Major
777:ISBN
762:ISBN
747:ISBN
466:ISBN
238:and
101:Unit
93:Rank
50:Died
37:Born
257:to
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