Wilhelm Frankl

Lieutenant Wilhelm Frankl, (20 December 1893 – 8 April 1917), Pour le Mérite, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross, was a World War I fighter ace credited with 20 aerial victories.



Personal life
Wilhelm Frankl was born the son of a Jewish businessman located in Hamburg, on 20 December 1893. He later moved to Frankfurt am Main, and then to Berlin. Wilhelm Frankl graduated from school, and pursued an interest in flying by attending Germany's hotbed of prewar aviation at Johannisthal. His instructor was Germany's first female pilot, Melli Beese. Frankl earned pilot's license number 490 on 20 July 1913.

The outbreak of World War I sparked Frankl's volunteering to fly for his country. His flying ability and his personality both commended him to his superiors. While his professional life took off, so did his personal life. He fell in love with the daughter of Austrian Naval Kapitän zur See Edmund Stroll. Frankl converted to Christianity and married his love in early 1917.

His religious conversion was controversial. Even at that time, Jews' opportunities were curtailed compared to Christians. Even if Frankl converted for the sake of love, he thus seemed opportunistic.

Aerial victories
Frankl began his career of aerial victories early in the war, before the concept of the synchronized machine gun firing safely through the plane's propeller became a practical reality. While flying as an observer in FFA 40, he used a five-shot carbine to shoot down a French Voisin, on 10 May 1915. He was awarded an Iron Cross First Class for this feat.

It took exactly eight months for his second triumph; on 10 January 1916, while flying a Fokker Eindekker with KEK Vaux, he downed another Voisin; this one was armed with a 37mm Hotchkiss cannon. By 1 February, his victory total stood at four. Three months later, on 4 May, he finally became an ace. On 16 May, he was promoted from Vizefeldwebel into the officer's ranks as a Leutnant. He scored once more in May, on the 21st He was awarded the Knight's Cross with Swords of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern during late May, followed by the Hanseatic Cross. By this time, Frankl was one of only eight aces in the German flying service. Frankl's gallantry earned him the Pour le Merite after his eighth confirmed victory; the Blue Max was awarded on 16 July 1916.

His guns then rested until 2 August, when he tallied a Morane-Saulnier L. A double victory followed on 10 August. On 1 September 1916, he then transferred to Prussian Jagdstaffel 4 as it was formed from KEK Vaux, to fly Halberstadt D.Vs. On 1 January 1917, he succeeded to command of the squadron.

Four wins in September and two in October made him a triple ace. In late December 1916, Frankl succeeded to command of Jasta 4. Then, after a six month hiatus, he scored a quadruple victory on 6 April 1917, and his twentieth win on the following day.

Killed in action
His end came the day after that. While battling Bristol F.2 Fighters of No. 48 Squadron RFC on Easter Sunday, 8 April 1917, Frankl's Albatros D.III lost its lower wing under the stress of combat manoeuvres, and he and his collapsed craft fell 800 meters to his death near Vitry-Sailly, France. Wilhelm Frankl was buried in Berlin-Charlottenburg.

His legacy
Despite his conversion to Christianity, the Nazis considered Frankl Jewish. As in the case of Fritz Beckhardt, Frankl's heroic service to his country was suppressed from the 1930s through the end of World War II. His name and exploits were expunged from Pour le Merite Flieger, a 1938 account of World War I fliers who won the Blue Max. After the end of World War II, Frankl's name was restored to the roll of German aces. In 1973, the Luftwaffe named a barracks and a squadron after Frankl as a memorial.