| Albert Dossenbach | |
|---|---|
Signed portrait of Albert Dossenbach, ca. 1915-1917. |
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| Born | 5 June 1891 St. Blasien |
| Died | 3 July 1917 Frezenberg, Belgium |
| Allegiance | Germany |
| Service/branch | Aviation |
| Years of service | 1914 - 1917 |
| Rank | Leutnant |
| Unit | FFA 2, Jasta 2 |
| Commands held | Jasta 36, Jasta 10 |
| Awards | Pour le Merite, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross |
Leutnant Albert Dossenbach was a World War I flying ace credited with 15 aerial victories.[1]
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Dossenbach was a medical student when the war began. He joined the army's Kaiser Wilhelm Fusilier Regiment No. 90 as a one year volunteer on 1 April 1914.[2] Within his first month of his service, he was both promoted and decorated for saving his commanding officer's life.[3] He carried his wounded captain from the battlefield under fire, and was duly rewarded with the Iron Cross Second Class. On 20 September 1914, he was promoted to sergeant and awarded the Iron Cross First Class for his valor in capturing a French artillery position. He was commissioned as a leutnant in January 1915.[4]
In early 1916, he transferred to the Luftstreitkräfte. He trained in Poznan and in Cologne, and graduated from Jastaschule in June.[5] His first assignment as a pilot was to FA 22, a reconnaissance unit flying on the Western Front.[6] With Leutnant Hans Schilling as his observer gunner, he began to rack up victories; by 27 September 1916, his tally was eight. However, during the eighth victory, Dossenbach was burned by an engine fire, while Schilling went unharmed. While Dossenbach healed, Schilling was assigned to fly with another pilot, and was killed in December 1916.[7]
The Pour le Merite was awarded to him on 17 October 1916;[8] it was the first one ever awarded to a two-seater pilot, and one of the few ever for a recon pilot.[9]
Dossenbach scored once more with FA 22 before being sent to the famed Royal Prussian Jasta 2 (Jasta Boelcke) to train as a fighter pilot. Upon graduation, on 22 February 1917, he was appointed to command Royal Prussian Jasta 36. He began the new squadron's victory list by scoring five times during Bloody April, 1917. One of these triumphs, on 13 April 1917, was over French ace Marcel Nogues.[10]
On 2 May 1917, he was wounded in the head and arm during a bombing raid; the wound put him in the hospital in Weimar, and removed him from command. Upon recovery, he was supposed to be stationed in Berlin as an inspector; however, he requested return to active duty. As a result, he took command of Royal Prussian Jasta 10 on 24 June 1917. He then turned balloon buster for his final victory on 27 June 1917.[11][12]
On 3 July 1917, Dossenbach's plane was set afire during a dogfight[13] with four British machines. One of them holed his gas tank.[14] He departed his flaming plane in midair.[15] His body was found a sizable distance from the wreckage of his plane.[16] He was buried with military honors.[17]