Famous German Aviators

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 1 
Erich Hartmann
(Aviator, Officer)
Erich Hartmann
8
Birthdate: April 19, 1922
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Weissach
Died: September 20, 1993

Remembered as the most successful fighter pilot in the history of aerial warfare, Erich Hartmann completed 1,400 missions in his Messerschmitt Bf 109 and shot down 352 Allied planes. Known for his dogfighting strategy, he inspired the popular biography The Blond Knight of Germany and became a flight instructor post-retirement.

 2 
Mathias Rust
(German Aviator)
Mathias Rust
3
Birthdate: June 1, 1968
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Wedel, Germany
 3 
Hanna Reitsch
(Aviator, Test Pilot, and the First German Woman to Win a Captain’s Licence)
Hanna Reitsch
5
Birthdate: March 29, 1912
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Jelenia Góra, Poland
Died: August 24, 1979
It is believed Hanna Reitsch, eager to fly, had almost jumped off her balcony at 4. She was named Stratosphere by her flying-school classmates. A Nazi aviator and test pilot, she was given poisonous capsules by Hitler when the Red Army was taking over Berlin, but didn’t commit suicide.
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 4 
Hans-Joachim Marseille
(German Luftwaffe Fighter Pilot and Flying Ace During World War Ii)
Hans-Joachim Marseille
3
Birthdate: December 13, 1919
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Berlin, Germany
Died: September 30, 1942

Remembered for his aerial battles during the North African Campaign, Hans-Joachim Marseille was a German Luftwaffe fighter pilot and a flying ace, who claimed a total of 158 victories, out of which 151 victories were against the British Commonwealth's Desert Air Force. Nicknamed Star of Africa, he is also credited with shooting down seventeen Allied fighters in a single day.

 5 
Otto Lilienthal
(German Aeronautical Engineer Who Completed Successful Glider Flights for the First Time)
Otto Lilienthal
3
Birthdate: May 23, 1848
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Anklam, Germany
Died: August 10, 1896

German aeronautical engineer Otto Lilienthal became the first known person to use gliders for a successful flight. A mechanical engineer, he owned a shop and flight factory and developed gliders, with which he completed around 2,000 flights. Lilienthal, however, died after breaking his back in a glider crash.

 6 
Ferdinand von Zeppelin
(A Pioneer in Development of Rigid Airship and Founder of Aircraft Manufacturing Company ‘Luftschiffbau Zeppelin’)
Ferdinand von Zeppelin
3
Birthdate: July 8, 1838
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
Died: March 8, 1917

German general and inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin is best-remembered for inventing the Zeppelin rigid airships and pioneering development of rigid airships during early 20th century. Zeppelin eventually founded the German aircraft manufacturing company called Luftschiffbau Zeppelin that played an instrumental role in the design and manufacture of rigid airships and emerged as the leading manufacturer of large lighter-than-air vehicles.

 7 
Robert Ritter von Greim
(German Aviator and Military Personnel)
Robert Ritter von Greim
3
Birthdate: June 22, 1892
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Bayreuth, Germany
Died: May 24, 1945
 8 
Lothar von Richthofen
(Aviator, Military personnel)
Lothar von Richthofen
3
Birthdate: September 27, 1894
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Wrocław
Died: July 4, 1922

Lothar von Richthofen was a German flying ace who served during the First World War. He was the younger brother of another aviator Manfred von Richthofen, whose life inspired the 2008 German-British biopic The Red Baron where Lothar von Richthofen was played by German actor Volker Bruch. Richthofen died in a flying accident when he was just 27 years old.

 9 
Dieter F. Uchtdorf
(German Aviator, Religious Leader, and Airline Executive)
Dieter F. Uchtdorf
3
Birthdate: November 6, 1940
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Ostrava, Czech Republic
 10 
Günther Rall
(Writer, Aviator, Officer)
Günther Rall
2
Birthdate: March 10, 1918
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Gaggenau
Died: October 4, 2009

Günther Rall was a German military aviator and General whose career spanned almost four decades. In 1938, Rall became a fighter pilot and went on to become one of the most successful fighter pilots in the history of aviation. Over the course of his illustrious career, Rall was honored with several awards like the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.

 11 
Hugo Sperrle
(German Military Aviator )
Hugo Sperrle
3
Birthdate: February 7, 1885
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Ludwigsburg
Died: April 2, 1953
 12 
Gerhard Barkhorn
(Aviator, Officer)
Gerhard Barkhorn
2
Birthdate: March 20, 1919
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Königsberg
Died: January 8, 1983

Gerhard Barkhorn was a German military aviator who served as the wing commander in the Luftwaffe during World War II. He was a fighter ace and is counted among the most successful fighter pilot of all time, with over 300 victories. He received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords for his outstanding achievements.

 13 
Oswald Boelcke
(German Aviator and Military Personnel)
Oswald Boelcke
2
Birthdate: May 19, 1891
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Halle, Germany
Died: October 28, 1916
 14 
Johannes Steinhoff
(German Luftwaffe Fighter Ace)
Johannes Steinhoff
2
Birthdate: September 15, 1913
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Roßleben, Roßleben-Wiehe, Germany
Died: February 21, 1994
 15 
Heinrich Ehrler
(German Luftwaffe Wing Commander and Military Aviator)
Heinrich Ehrler
2
Birthdate: September 14, 1917
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Lauda-Königshofen
Died: April 4, 1945
 16 
Franz von Werra
(German Flying Ace and Fighter Pilot )
Franz von Werra
2
Birthdate: July 13, 1914
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Leuk
Died: October 25, 1941
 17 
Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer
(German Luftwaffe Night Fighter Ace)
Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer
2
Birthdate: February 16, 1922
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Calw, Germany
Died: July 15, 1950
 18 
Otto Kittel
(German Fighter Pilot)
Otto Kittel
2
Birthdate: February 21, 1917
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Krasov
Died: February 14, 1945
 19 
Beate Uhse-Rotermund
(German Pilot, Sex Pioneer, and Entrepreneur)
Beate Uhse-Rotermund
1
Birthdate: October 25, 1919
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Wargenau, East Prussia
Died: July 16, 2001
 20 
Heinrich Bär
(German Flying Ace)
Heinrich Bär
2
Birthdate: May 25, 1913
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Leipzig, Germany
Died: April 28, 1957
 21 
Hermann Graf
(German Luftwaffe Fighter Ace)
Hermann Graf
3
Birthdate: October 24, 1912
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Engen
Died: November 4, 1988
 22 
Josef Priller
(German Military Aviator )
Josef Priller
1
Birthdate: July 27, 1915
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Ingolstadt
Died: May 20, 1961
 23 
Helmut Lent
(German Night-Fighter Ace in World War II)
Helmut Lent
1
Birthdate: June 13, 1918
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Pyrehne, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Died: October 7, 1944
 24 
Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg
(German Aviator)
Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg
1
Birthdate: January 3, 1903
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Krotoszyn, Poland
Died: April 8, 1945
 25 
Gordon Gollob
(Austrian Fighter Pilot)
Gordon Gollob
1
Birthdate: June 16, 1912
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Vienna, Austria
Died: September 7, 1987