Hippel, Hans Joachim von

     
Příjmení:
Surname:
von Hippel von Hippel
Jméno:
Given Name:
Hans Joachim Hans Joachim
Jméno v originále:
Original Name:
-
Fotografie či obrázek:
Photograph or Picture:
Hodnost:
Rank:
podplukovník lieutenant colonel
Akademický či vědecký titul:
Academic or Scientific Title:
- -
Šlechtický titul:
Hereditary Title:
- -
Datum, místo narození:
Date and Place of Birth:
12.09.1893 Berlín-Friedenau
12.09.1893 Berlin-Friedenau
Datum, místo úmrtí:
Date and Place of Decease:
06.08.1975 Boppard na Rýně
06.08.1975 Boppard on the Rhine
Nejvýznamnější funkce:
(maximálně tři)
Most Important Appointments:
(up to three)
Stíhací pilot v 1. sv. válce
Technický důstojník Jasta 71
Dopravní pilot ve 2. sv. válce
Fighter pilot in the WWI
Technical Officer for Jasta 71
Transport pilot in the WWII
Jiné významné skutečnosti:
(maximálně tři)
Other Notable Facts:
(up to three)
- -
Související články:
Related Articles:
Zdroje:
Sources:
flieger-album.de
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Hippel-Hans-Joachim-von-t126219#428198 Version : 0
Anyone interested in World War I aviation will sooner or later come across the name Hans von Hippel. However, this man was not famous for being an ace fighter, but for the striking markings of his aircraft.

Hans Joachim Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel was born on 12 September 1893 in the Berlin suburb of Friedenau, the second child of Prussian General Konrad von Hippel and his wife Else von Hippel.

After the outbreak of World War I, he went to the front with the 4th Regiment of Field Artillery and was promoted to lieutenant in May 1915. In 1916, his desire to fly grew more and more and he applied for a transfer to the air force. The request was granted, and in November 1916 he reported to the Fliegerersatzabteilung (air training unit) and, after successfully completing his training, was assigned to FFA 37, which operated on the Eastern Front, in early 1917. On 30 October 1917, he and his observer Lieutenant König shot down Nieuport 17 behind the Russian lines. This was his first confirmed kill. He was then sent for retraining on single-seat aircraft and on 22 December 1917 (according to other accounts as early as 20 December) he was assigned to Fighter Squadron 5 (Jasta 5). Jasta 5 was at that time located at Boistrancourt airfield on the Western Front, in the 2nd Army sector, and its commander was Oblt. Richard Flashar (2 kills). The squadron operated with Albatros D.V.

Right on 22 December von Hippel took part in an air show for the Emperor William II, who was at that time at Jasta 5 on inspection. On the same day Hans also received his pilot badge.

Von Hippel was well received at Jasta 5. Already in training he had befriended Lt. Paul Bäumer (44 kills, Pour le Mérite) and in addition Hans was often visited by his sister Erna, who served as a nurse nearby. Erna often took her female colleagues with her, and the ladies' company seems to have been quite appreciated by von Hippel's fellow soldiers.

Von Hippel was also a photography enthusiast - thanks to him, we now have dozens of pictures of pilots and Great War aircraft taken both at Jasta 5 and later during his service with Jasta 71.

On 19 January 1918, von Hippel claimed the Sopwith Camel at Vendhuille. At that time and area it may have been a Sopwith Camel of 54 Squadron, piloted by 2nd Lt. F. M. Ohrt, who was captured. Von Hippel thus received his second confirmed kill.

In addition to the successes, of course, came the losses. The unlucky day for Jasta 5 was February 17, 1918. Lt. Rumey (then 9 kills, 45 in total) was shot down, and his aircraft burned after an emergency landing, Ltn. Schlömer (total of 4 kills) was shot in the foot in aerial combat and had to make an emergency landing, von Hippel landed next to him to give him first aid. However, during takeoff his engine cut out and von Hippel again fell heavily on the field. Thus, of their Kette (swarm) of four aircraft, only one returned to Boistrancourt without incident.


Two days later, von Hippel, on the other hand, was lucky when, during an aerial battle "with three or four Sopwiths" at an altitude of over 4,000 metres, he lost the left lower carrier of his Albatross D.V (piloted by Oblt. Flashara with serial number D.2065/17 - the famous red kite). Thanks to his sensitive piloting, he finally managed to bring his badly damaged machine to the ground after a 15-minute descent, and although the machine rolled over, von Hippel escaped unharmed.

Hippel himself recounted the experience as follows: "On 18 February 1918, Jasta 5 took off and very soon found itself at an altitude of 5,000 m in aerial combat with English machines. I was piloting an Albatros D.V biplane and made a dive flight about 1,000 m below. As I was about to level the machine, I felt a short jerk and saw the lower left carrier surface break away from the fuselage. The reinforcing wires also broke off and the wing flew off. The machine, which was now heavy on the right side, threatened to fall into a corkscrew. With appropriate rudder correction I managed to keep it horizontal. I had the engine and ignition off and could not turn. With a flat gliding flight I managed to land the machine, which then rolled over because the steering no longer worked on landing. I wish I had a Heinecke parachute, at 4,000m I would have jumped out without reluctance. A man from the Home Guard found the wing 20 km from the landing site and brought it as a souvenir. It was completely intact. What I felt during that quarter of an hour, you can probably guess. The incident happened over Le Catelet."

In March, the German spring offensive began. Aircraft from all available units took part in fierce air battles that stretched into the following month.

And then came the tragic April 21, 1918. On that day, Manfred von Richthofen, Germany's most successful fighter, was lost in aerial combat. Jasta 5 was near his last battle over the Somme valley. Although the Jasta 5 pilots did not claim any victories or suffer any losses in this fight, a fierce battle ensued between them and the English aircraft. Ltn. Mai (then 9 kills, at the end of the war 30) estimated that 150-160 aircraft took part in the fight. While this number is certainly an exaggeration, it is nevertheless true that the action was intense and Kette of Jasta 5 participated in the fight. The squadron logbook entry only laconically states that the Kette took off at 11.09am and returned at 12.45pm after a heavy fight over Corbie. Hans von Hippel, flying DVa 6530/17 on its 81st combat flight that day, was one of the distant witnesses to Richthofen's crash and wrote in his diary: "We observed Manfred von Richthofen in his red triplane fighting behind enemy lines. Richthofen, apparently due to engine failure, landed inside enemy lines and, according to our observation, was not attacked or shot down."

Interestingly, there is more German testimony that Richthofen guided his machine to a successful emergency landing - is it possible that he actually landed and was eventually shot down on the ground by approaching Australian soldiers? The debate over von Richthofen's death is as passionate as it is intractable. Either way, the loss of Germany's most capable air commander and most celebrated war hero was a terrible blow to the Luftstreitkrafte. Richthofen was truly irreplaceable.

In May 1918, the Jasta 5 also re-equipped with triplanes Fokker Dr.I. However, von Hippel did not use them much, because already on 18 June he was sent to the Idflieg (Inspectorate of the Air Force) to train recruits, and from there on 15 August 1918 von Hippel was transferred to Jasta 71 as its technical officer. Jasta 71 was based at Habsheim on the southern section of Army Group B's front. The unit was commanded by Lt. Herman Stutz (6 kills). Jasta 71 operated against the French air force and achieved five kills with three losses of its own since its formation in January 1918. Von Hippel also tried to improve his new unit's score, but no confirmed success was gained until the Armistice in November 1918. He did report shooting down Spad 13 on 22 August and 27 October 1918, but these victories remained unconfirmed. Von Hippel received the Iron Cross 1st Class and was awarded the Hans Cross of the City of Bremen.

After the war, von Hippel remained in the army for some time, but later became a successful aerial acrobat. In 1926, for example, he flew over the Hohenzollern Bridge in Cologne. From 1927-1935 he flew as a transport pilot for Lufthansa and in 1936 he joined the Luftwaffe, where he flew transport Junkers Ju 52. By 1945 he had reached the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Hans Joachim von Hippel died on 6 August 1975 at the age of 82 in Boppard on the Rhine.


Sources: JASTA 5, Volume Two, ed. Albatros Productions, Ltd, Berkhamsted 2004, ISBN 1-902207-68-8
flieger-album.de
https://aces.safarikovi.org/

Hippel, Hans Joachim von - Hans Joachim von Hippel podlétá Hohenzollernský most v Kolíně nad Rýnem.

Hans Joachim von Hippel podlétá Hohenzollernský most v Kolíně nad Rýnem.
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Hippel-Hans-Joachim-von-t126219#428199 Version : 0
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