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31:
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He marked his
Albatros airplane's fuselage with a large black capital block 'T' with pronounced serifs to identify himself in the air. The 'T' was in addition to the customary squadron marking of a vertical black stripe and a vertical white stripe just aft of the cockpit; the 'T' itself was on the
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On 23 December, Thom was wounded in action. He took a bullet in the leg while undertaking the usually hazardous duty of attacking an observation balloon. He was not successful in his assault, nor would he ever shoot down one of the gasbags.
225:
Upon his recovery, Thom transferred to the Air
Service. His first assignment after training was piloting a two-seater reconnaissance plane for FFA 216. He patrolled in the vicinity of Vosges until he was injured in a crash in May 1916.
337:, 14 July 1918. He capped his career with a triumph each on 1 and 4 August. With 27 victories confirmed, he became the leading ace for Jasta 21. All but four of his victories were against the French.
756:
213:
Karl Thom was born the son of a field hand. He began his military service by enlisting in 1911 with Hussar
Regiment Number 5. He was serving with Mounted Rifle Regiment Number 10 when
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Thom shot down five enemy aircraft in June, beginning with his 15th win overall on 11 June. July saw him victorious six more times, Including the youngest son of
President
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outside wall of the cockpit. Thom reeled off a string of 11 victories, including a triple win on 18 September, and doubles on 19 and 22 September.
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370:. He was Fliegerhorst-Kommandantur A (o) 4/I from July 1944- September 1944 and then Fliegerhorst-Kommandantur E (v) 217/I until October 1944.
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On 6 November, he rejoined Jasta 21. Three days later, he crashed, suffering multiple fractures. Two days after that, the
Armistice ended
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297:, Prussia's and Germany's highest decoration for valorous enlisted men. He had previously been awarded the Member's class of the
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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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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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after he was commissioned as an officer. He was one of only four German aces of World War I to achieve this double award.
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On 11 August, he was severely wounded in the hip and remanded to hospital. He was also commissioned on 11 August 1918.
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First Class for his subsequent escape. He returned to duty for a brief tour with FFA 234 before transferring again.
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256:
589:"World War I Military Medals and Decorations - Germany - Royal House Order of Hohenzollern [Prussia]"
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His death is uncertain. He disappeared under obscure circumstances, on 3 March 1945 in Pillau, East
Prussia.
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credited with 27 victories. He was decorated with both his nation's highest decorations for valor, the
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November was a blank. He next scored on 1 December, with one confirmed and one unconfirmed victory.
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462:"World War I Military Medals and Decorations - Germany - Orden Pour le MĂ©rite [Prussia]"
444:"World War I Military Medals and Decorations - Germany - Military Merit Cross [Prussia]"
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Thom's return to the victory rolls roughly coincided with Jasta 21's adoption of
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He joined his new squadron at approximately the same time as its new leader,
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On 1 November, while he was still in the hospital, he was awarded the
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Despite being a
Prussian, he was assigned to a Saxon fighter unit,
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692:. Norman Franks, Greg VanWyngarden. Osprey Publishing, 2003.
233:. He was captured there when forced down. He was awarded the
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began. He was wounded for the first time in
November 1914.
644:, Frank W. Bailey, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1993.
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757:Recipients of the Pour le MĂ©rite (military class)
304:Thom scored only once that month, on 29 October.
762:Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class
8:
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190:(19 May 1893 – 3 March 1945), was a German
767:Luftwaffe personnel killed in World War II
668:. Norman Franks. Osprey Publishing, 2000.
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18:
575:Fokker D.VII Aces of World War I Part 2
508:Fokker D.VII Aces of World War I Part 2
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737:Military personnel from West Prussia
293:On 11 October, Thom was awarded the
290:that had been the squadron's craft.
229:Upon recovery, he was reassigned to
282:as the new commanding officer and
144:Flieger-Abteilung (Artillerie) 234
139:Flieger-Abteilung (Artillerie) 216
14:
772:Missing in action of World War II
299:Royal House Order of Hohenzollern
173:Royal House Order of Hohenzollern
135:Flieger-Abteilung (Artillerie) 48
690:Fokker D VII Aces of World War I
286:as new airplanes to replace the
201:as an enlisted soldier, and the
742:German World War I flying aces
1:
259:, who took charge on 26 May.
16:German flying ace (1893–1945)
666:Albatros Aces of World War 1
550:Albatros Aces of World War I
274:October brought changes, as
76:(aged 51) (disappeared)
266:Karl Thom with Fokker D.VII
96:German Empire, Nazi Germany
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752:Luftstreitkräfte personnel
362:Karl Thom returned to the
280:Oskar Freiherr von Boenigk
257:Eduard Ritter von Schleich
106:Aerial Service, Luftwaffe
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732:People from IĹ‚awa County
747:Prussian Army personnel
423:"Orden Pour le MĂ©rite"
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221:Reconnaissance service
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111:Years of service
611:www.pourlemerite.org
593:www.theaerodrome.com
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466:www.theaerodrome.com
448:www.theaerodrome.com
427:www.pourlemerite.org
409:www.theaerodrome.com
295:Military Merit Cross
199:Military Merit Cross
168:Military Merit Cross
114:1911–1918; 1944–1945
327:Theodore Roosevelt
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59:Kingdom of Prussia
706:978-1-84176-533-4
682:978-1-85532-960-7
658:978-0-948817-73-1
331:Quentin Roosevelt
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613:. Archived from
607:"Pour le MĂ©rite"
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619:. Retrieved
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87:Nazi Germany
83:East Prussia
74:(1945-03-03)
72:3 March 1945
55:West Prussia
727:1945 deaths
722:1893 births
405:"Karl Thom"
352:World War I
215:World War I
192:World War I
48:19 May 1893
716:Categories
632:References
621:2009-01-03
527:"Jasta 21"
235:Iron Cross
209:Early life
195:flying ace
178:Iron Cross
93:Allegiance
44:1893-05-19
364:Luftwaffe
278:received
188:Karl Thom
186:Leutnant
51:Freystadt
23:Karl Thom
490:, p. 215
276:Jasta 21
124:Leutnant
101:Service/
704:
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231:FFA 48
158:Awards
103:branch
79:Pillau
702:ISBN
694:ISBN
678:ISBN
670:ISBN
654:ISBN
646:ISBN
131:Unit
119:Rank
69:Died
38:Born
333:on
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558:^
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42:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
