Erich Lowenhardt. German Empire
Erich Lowenhardt saw infantry service on the Eastern front as a seventeen year old when World War I began. Wounded twice in the Battle of Tannenberg he was rewarded with a commission and the Iron Cross. After recovering from his wounds he continued to serve in the east and later on the Italian front, from which he was determined to be unfit for further service and invalided out of the German Army.
In 1916 Lowenhardt applied to and was accepted by the Imperial German Aviation Service. He was trained as an aerial observer and served in that capacity in 1916. By late 1916 he had decided that he wanted to serve as a pursuit pilot, as fighter pilots were then called, and in January 1917 he began conversion training to serve in fighters. In the spring of 1917 he shot down his first enemy observation balloon in late March.
Lowenhardt earned his status as an ace in September. The Germans awarded their top pilots an award officially known as the Pour le Merite – unofficially known as the Blue Max – when they reached twenty victories; Lowenhardt received his in May of 1918. He had already been awarded the Knight’s Cross with Swords. Lowenhardt was engaged in a personal competition with Ernst Udet and Lothar von Richthofen – brother of the late Manfred – for the highest score among the German pilots.
Lowenhardt was also spurred on – as were the others – by the emergence of another German airman who was rapidly increasing his own total, although he was as yet well behind. His name was Herman Goering. By the time the war ended Lowenhardt had destroyed 54 enemy aircraft.
Lowenhardt was killed in August 1918 during a dogfight with British planes, when he collided with another German aircraft. Equipped with a parachute, Lowenhardt bailed out but was killed when his chute failed to open.