Leutnant Helmut Dilthey IC (9 February 1894 – 9 July 1918) was a German pilot who became a World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories.
15-421: Dilthey is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: Helmut Dilthey (1894–1918), German First World War flying ace Karl Dilthey (1839–1907) German classical scholar and archaeologist Wilhelm Dilthey (1833–1911), German historian, psychologist, sociologist and philosopher, brother of Karl [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with
30-476: A balloon with solid bullets, particularly at the distances and altitude involved. Ordinary bullets would pass relatively harmlessly through the hydrogen gas bag, merely holing the fabric. Hits on the wicker car could however kill the observer. One method employed was the solid-fuel Le Prieur rocket invented by Frenchman Lt. Yves Le Prieur and first used in April 1916. Rockets were attached to each outboard strut of
45-545: A biplane fighter aircraft and fired through steel tubes using an electrical trigger. The rockets' inaccuracy was such that pilots had to fly very close to their target before firing. It was not until special Pomeroy incendiary bullets and Buckingham flat-nosed incendiary bullets became available on the Western Front in 1917 that any consistent degree of success was achieved. Le Prieur rockets were withdrawn from service in 1918 once incendiary bullets had become available. On
60-445: A height that could enable them to fire without getting too close to the hydrogen and pull away fast. They were also cautioned not to go below 1,000 feet (300 m) in order to avoid machine gun and AA fire. Due to their importance, balloons were usually given heavy defenses in the form of machine gun positions on the ground, anti-aircraft artillery , and standing fighter patrols stationed overhead. Other defenses included surrounding
75-700: Is different from Wikidata All set index articles Helmut Dilthey Dilthey was one of the first German military aviators, joining its military aviation in November 1914. From 18 May 1915 through March 1917, he would serve in Flieger-Abteilung 50 , flying reconnaissance and bombing missions in Russia while winning both classes of the Iron Cross and being promoted to leutnant . He also gained some experience on fighters with an assigned Fokker Eindekker . When
90-527: Is uncertain whether the rear gunner hit him, or whether he was hit by his own side's antiaircraft fire, but he was killed in action despite taking to his parachute. He was buried in the German extension of Lambersart Communal Cemetery. Balloon buster Balloon busters were military pilots known for destroying enemy observation balloons . These pilots were noted for their fearlessness, as balloons were stationary targets able to receive heavy defenses, from
105-580: The Luftstreitkräfte founded dedicated fighter units, Dilthey volunteered for fighter duty. After training, he served under Hermann Göring in Jagdstaffel 27 and scored six victories over enemy fighters. He was then given command of Jagdstaffel 40 . He downed an observation balloon while leading this squadron before being killed in action on 9 July 1918. Helmut Dilthey was born in Rheydt , Westphalia ,
120-758: The German Empire on 9 February 1894. Dilthey joined the German aerial service early in World War I, during November 1914. He was originally assigned to Flieger-Abteilung 50 on 18 May 1915, and served on the Eastern Front in Russia. While flying reconnaissance and bombing missions, he also gained some flight time in the Fokker Eindekker . He won the Iron Cross Second Class on 18 June 1915. The First Class Iron Cross followed on 1 October 1916, and Dilthey
135-411: The surname Dilthey . If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dilthey&oldid=1096894913 " Category : Surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description
150-803: The afternoon of September 14, 1918, while the Doughboys of the 33rd U.S. Infantry Division were stationed at Fromereville near Verdun , American war poet Lt. John Allan Wyeth was taking a shower with a group of bickering Doughboys when he heard the cry, "Air Raid!" Like every other bather, Wyeth ran, naked and covered with soap, into the village square. There, he watched as a Fokker D VII , flown by Unteroffizier Hans Heinrich Marwede from Jasta 67 's aerodrome at Marville , attacked and set on fire three French observation balloons . Lieut. Wyeth later described Marwede's victory in his sonnet Fromereville: War in Heaven . William Sanders ' novel The Wild Blue and
165-494: The ground and the air. Seventy-seven flying aces in World War I were each credited with destroying five or more balloons, and thus were balloon aces. An observation balloon was both a vulnerable and a valuable target: the balloon was moored in a stationary position and was lifted by flammable hydrogen gas, whose use was necessitated by the scarcity of helium reserves among European powers. The artillery observer , suspended in
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#1732876351640180-418: The main balloon with barrage balloons ; stringing cables in the air in the vicinity of the balloons; equipping observers with machine guns; and flying balloons booby-trapped with explosives that could be remotely detonated from the ground. These measures made balloons very dangerous targets to approach. Although balloons were occasionally shot down by small-arms fire, generally it was difficult to shoot down
195-638: The wicker basket beneath, typically had a wireless transmitter, binoculars and/or a long-range camera. His job was to observe actions on the front-line and behind it, to spot enemy troop movements or unusual activity of any sort, and to call down artillery fire onto any worthwhile targets. Balloon observers were consequently targets of great importance to both sides, especially before any sort of infantry action or offensive, so individual pilots, flights or whole squadrons were frequently ordered to attack balloons, to destroy them or at least disrupt their observation activities. Pilots on both sides tried to attack from
210-507: Was commissioned as a leutnant . When the Luftstreitkräfte formed Jagdstaffeln in Fall 1916, Dilthey volunteered to serve in one. He was then sent to Jastaschule for training as a fighter pilot in March 1917. On 19 May 1917, he was posted to Jagdstaffel 27 under the command of Hermann Göring . On 24 July, he began a string of six victories over enemy fighter planes. The last of these
225-464: Was on 5 February 1918. He was then posted to Saxon Jagdstaffel 40 to command them as their Staffelführer . He was assigned an Albatros D.Va fighter, and had it vividly painted in the Saxon national colors of green and white. He downed an enemy observation balloon on 5 June 1918 for his final victory. On 9 July 1918, he attacked an Airco DH.9 of No. 107 Squadron RAF over Lille , France. It
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