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Heinrich Gontermann [Germany]

Name:Heinrich GontermannBalloon Buster
Country:Germany
Rank:Leutnant
Squadrons:FA 25
Jasta 5, 15
Victories:39
Born:25 February 1896
Place of Birth:Siegen, Southern Westphalia
Died:30 October 1917Killed In Flying Accident
Place of Death:La Neuville, near Marle
Ordre Pour le Mérite (Blue Max)
Iron Cross 1st Class
Knight's Cross of the Hohenzollern House Order
Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Max-Joseph
Heinrich Gontermann

Notes
Gontermann began the war in a cavalry regiment but transferred to the German Air Service in 1916. On 10 May 1917, he shot down the Caudron R4 of French ace Didier Grandmaison. Before his death, Gontermann scored eighteen victories against Allied balloons. On the evening of 19 August 1917, he shot down four of them in three minutes. While testing a new Fokker DR.I, Gontermann was fatally injured in a crash when the upper wing failed.

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