Hans Waldhausen
Nickname(s)"The Eagle of Lens"
Born30 January 1892
Mainz, German Empire
Died6 November 1976
AllegianceGermany
Service/branchLuftstreitkräfte
Years of service1911-ca 1919; World War II
RankOberleutnant
UnitFeldflieger Abteilung (Field Flier Detachment) 53, Jagdstaffel 37
AwardsIron Cross (both classes)
Other workSenior military judge in the World War II Luftwaffe

Oberleutnant Hans Waldhausen was a World War I flying ace credited with six confirmed aerial victories in eight days. He was forced down and captured after his sixth victory.[1]

Waldhausen studied law after World War I and became a judge. He joined the Luftwaffe for World War II, serving as a military judge.

Biography

Hans Waldhausen was born in Mainz on 30 January 1892. In Spring 1911, he joined the 1st Guards Field Artillery Regiment. He also served with the 4 Guards Field Artillery Regiment. When World War I began, he had moved on to the 76th Baden Field Artillery Regiment and been commissioned a Leutnant.[2]

Waldhausen was wounded in September 1914, but returned to duty and succeeded in winning the Iron Cross Second Class in December 1914. During Summer 1915, he transferred to aviation duty.[2]

His original flying assignment was to Flieger-Abteilung (Flier Detachment) 53 as an aerial observer. In the Summer of 1916, he was sent to pilot's training with Fliegerersatz-Abteilung (Replacement Detachment) 4 in Posen. Once trained, Waldhausen returned to reconnaissance duty with a Bavarian unit, Flieger-Abteilung 9.[2]

After service with FA 9, he was forwarded to Jastaschule 1 (Fighter School 1) in Valenciennes, France. Fighter training completed, he joined a fighter squadron, Jagdstaffel 37, on 26 July 1917. There he was assigned Albatros D.V serial number 2284/17, which he had emblazoned with a star and crescent motif. Flying this aircraft on the Western Front, he was soon dubbed "The Eagle of Lens".[2]

Waldhausen scored his first aerial victory on 19 September 1917, downing a Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter from the Royal Flying Corps' 43 Squadron over Fresnes at 0730 hours. A second claim that day, for a Martinsyde Elephant, went unconfirmed.[2]

Five days later, on 24 September, Waldhausen did shoot down a Martinsyde Elephant over Cagnicourt at 1445 hours. The next day, on an evening sortie, he shot down an enemy observation balloon in flames over Béthune on the French/Belgian border.[2]

On 27 September 1917, Waldhausen ignited and destroyed another observation balloon southwest of Roulette at 1705 hours, followed five minutes later by a 9 Squadron Royal Aircraft Factory RE.8 sent into Farbus Wood. At 1815 hours, Waldhausen flamed another balloon at Neuville-Saint-Vaast. Shortly thereafter, he came into combat with a number of British aircraft, and was shot down, although he survived, badly wounded. It has been suggested that Waldhausen was a victim of Charles Dawson Booker and Philip Tudhope, although Herbert Thompson (later Sir Herbert Thompson) was credited with the "kill".[3] Waldhausen went off to a prisoner of war camp. His still-usable aircraft was renumbered by the Royal Flying Corps as serial number G74.[2]

Oberleutnant Waldhausen, who had won the First Class Iron Cross at some time, sat out the war. Postwar, he studied law. He became a judge.[2]

During World War II, Waldhausen returned to aviation duty as a military judge in the Luftwaffe. He was assigned variously to the staffs of Jagdgeschwader 51, Jagdgeschwader 54, and Luftflotte 1. In 1943, he became a senior judge.[2]

Hans Waldhausen survived this war also; he died on 6 November 1976.[2]

Sources of information

  1. The Aerodrome website Retrieved 16 September 2020
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Franks et al 1993, pp. 225-226.
  3. BBC Radio "Today" 27th September, 1967

References

  • Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank W.; Guest, Russell. Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918. Grub Street, 1993. ISBN 0-948817-73-9, ISBN 978-0-948817-73-1.
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