Hermann Wilhelm Göring

Name:

Country:

Germany

Rank:

Oberleutnant

Units:

FEA 3
FFA 25
Jasta 5, 7, 26, 27
KEK Metz, Stenay
JG I

Victories:

Born:

12 January 1893

Place of Birth:

Marienbad; near Rosenheim, Bavaria

Died:

15 October 1946

Place of Death:

Nürnberg

The son of a distinguished army officer, Hermann Göring was commissioned in the Prussian army on 22 June 1912. In 1914, he served with an infantry regiment in the Vosges region before he was hospitalized with rheumatoid arthritis. While recovering, his friend Bruno Loerzer convinced him to transfer to the German Air Force. Later that year, Göring completed his training with FEA 3 and joined FFA 25 in 1915, often flying as Loerzer's observer. After training to become a pilot, he scored his first victory on 16 November 1915. He was wounded in action on 16 July 1917. Serving with various units over the next three years, he accumulated seventeen more victories. Following the death of Wilhelm Reinhard, Göring assumed command of Manfred von Richthofen's JG I on 8 July 1918.

When Göring joined the Nazi Party in 1922, Hitler gave him command of the SA Brownshirts. Badly wounded in the Munich beer hall putsch of 1923, Göring fled the country for four years. Upon his return, he aided Hitler's rise to power and later become President of the Reichstag, Prime Minister of Prussia and Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe. As founder of the Gestapo, Göring was instrumental in creating the first concentration camps for political dissidents. Hitler's designated successor was captured by the American Seventh Army at the end of the war. In 1946, Göring was tried for conspiracy to wage war, crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity. He was found guilty of all charges and sentenced to death by hanging. Two hours before his scheduled execution, Göring committed suicide by taking a poison capsule.

Opponents

#12	Orlando Bridgeman
#14	Ralph Curtisand Desmond Uniacke

Victories

	Date	Time	Unit	Aircraft	Opponent	Location
u/c	03 Jun 1915		FA 25		EA	Stenay
1	16 Nov 1915	1430	FA 25		Farman	Tahure
2	14 Mar 1916	1200	FA 25		Caudron	SE of Haumont Wood
3	30 Jul 1916	1030	FA 25		Caudron	Mamey
4	23 Apr 1917	1720	KEK Metz		F.E.2b (A823)
5	28 Apr 1917	1830	Jasta 26		Sopwith 1½ Strutter	St. Quentin
6	29 Apr 1917	1945	Jasta 26		Nieuport 17 (N3192)
7	10 May 1917	1505	Jasta 26		D.H.4?	Le Pave
8	08 Jun 1917	0730	Jasta 26		Nieuport 17 (B1656)
9	16 Jul 1917	2010	Jasta 27		S.E.5 (A8931)
10	24 Jul 1917	2045	Jasta 27		Martinsyde G.100	Passchendaele
11	05 Aug 1917	2015	Jasta 27		Sopwith Camel (B3792)
12	25 Aug 1917	2040	Jasta 27		Sopwith Camel (B3918)
13	03 Sep 1917	0900	Jasta 27		D.H.4?	N of Lampernisse
14	21 Sep 1917	0905	Jasta 27		Bristol F.2b (A7224)
15	21 Oct 1917	1545	Jasta 27		S.E.5a (B547)
16	07 Nov 1917	0915	Jasta 27		D.H.5	NW of Poelcapelle
17	21 Feb 1918	1000	Jasta 27		S.E.5a (C5325)
18	07 Apr 1918	1250	Jasta 27		R.E.8 (B876)
19	05 Jun 1918	1000	Jasta 27	Fokker D.VII (278/18)	AR2?	Vivières
20	09 Jun 1918	0845	Jasta 27	Fokker D.VII (324/18)	SPAD 1
21	17 Jun 1918	0830	Jasta 27	Fokker D.VII (278/18)	SPAD 1
22	18 Jul 1918	0815	JG I	Fokker D.VII	SPAD 1

Books

Under the Guns of the German Aces: by Norman Franks and Hal Giblin, Grub Street, London, 1997