Rudolf Wendelmuth
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox military person
| name =Rudolf Wendelmuth
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = 28 July 1890
| death_date = 30 November 1917
| placeofburial_label =
| placeofburial =
| birth_place =Gotha, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
| death_place =Fontaine-Notre-Dame, French Third Republic
| placeofburial_coordinates =
| nickname =
| allegiance ={{flag|German Empire}}
| branch =Imperial German Air Service
| serviceyears =
| rank =Leutnant
| unit =FEA 3, FA 8, Jagdstaffel 8
| commands =Jagdstaffel 20
| battles =
| awards =Iron Cross First and Second Class
| relations =
| laterwork =
}}
Leutnant Rudolf Wendelmuth was a World War I German flying ace credited with 14 aerial victories.
Early life
Rudolf Wendelmuth was born on 28 July 1890 in Gotha, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, the German Empire.
World War I service
=In the Levant=
At break of war, Wendelmuth was posted to the 233rd Reserve Infantry Regiment. He transferred to aviation on 1 March 1915, reporting to FEA 3 in his home town of Gotha for training. His first assignment was to Bulgaria in September. In July 1916, he returned to Cologne to Fokker Commando. He was then posted to FA 8 in Sevdi Koy, Turkey as an acting oberleutnant. While with this unit, he scored his first victory, downing a Royal Naval Air Service Farman off the Turkish coast on 5 November 1916.{{cite book |title=Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps 1914 – 1918 |page= 228 }}
=On the Western Front=
During Bloody April 1917, Wendelmuth returned to the Western Front. He was assigned to Jagdstaffel 8. Between 29 July and 14 October 1917, he accumulated another ten victories;The Aerodrome website http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/wendelmuth.php Retrieved on 12 April 2010. during this span, on 25 September, his plane was shot down but he escaped unharmed.
=In command=
On 19 October, he was appointed to command Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 20. He scored three more wins in October and November 1917. On 30 November, Wendelmuth died in a midair collision that also killed Wilhelm Schulz of Jagdstaffel 4.
Sources of information
{{reflist}}
References
- {{cite book |title=Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps 1914 – 1918 |first1=Norman L. R. |last1=Franks |author1-link=Norman Franks |display-authors=etal |publisher=Grub Street |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-948817-73-1}}
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Category:Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in France
Category:People from Gotha (town)
Category:People from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Category:Prussian Army personnel
Category:Luftstreitkräfte personnel
Category:Ottoman military personnel of World War I
Category:German World War I flying aces
Category:German military personnel killed in World War I
Category:Recipients of the Iron Cross (1914), 1st class
Category:Military personnel from Thuringia
Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1917
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