Famous German Pilots

This ranking is based on an algorithm that combines various factors, including the votes of our users and search trends on the internet.

Manfred von Richthofen

(One of the Most Widely Known German Fighter Pilots of All Time)

Birthdate: May 2, 1892

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Wrocław, Poland

Died: April 21, 1918

Manfred von Richthofen, also known as Baron von Richthofen and the "Red Baron,” was a German Air Force fighter pilot who won more than 80 World War I battles. He was part of the fighter wing unit Jagdgeschwader 1, which was also known as "The Flying Circus" or "Richthofen's Circus.”

Hanna Reitsch

(Aviator, Test Pilot, and the First German Woman to Win a Captain’s Licence)

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.

Mathias Rust

(German Aviator)

Birthdate: June 1, 1968

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Wedel, Germany

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Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen

(German World War I Flying Ace Who Rose to the Rank of 'Generalfeldmarschall' in the Luftwaffe During World War II)

Birthdate: October 10, 1895

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Bartoszówek, Poland

Died: July 12, 1945

Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen was a German army officer. A flying ace in World War I, Richthofen was promoted to the rank of Generalfeldmarschall while serving in Luftwaffe, Wehrmacht's aerial warfare branch, during World War II. Widely regarded as a visionary in aerial warfare, Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen was honored with several prestigious awards, such as the Eastern Front Medal.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf

(German Aviator, Religious Leader, and Airline Executive)

Birthdate: November 6, 1940

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Ostrava, Czech Republic

Ernst Udet

(Pilot)

Birthdate: April 26, 1896

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Frankfurt, Germany

Died: November 17, 1941

Oswald Boelcke

(German Aviator and Military Personnel)

Birthdate: May 19, 1891

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Halle, Germany

Died: October 28, 1916

Werner Mölders

(Fighter pilot)

Birthdate: March 18, 1913

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Gelsenkirchen

Died: November 22, 1941

Hans Baur

(Adolf Hitler's Personal Pilot)

Birthdate: June 18, 1897

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Ampfing, Germany

Died: February 17, 1993

Hans Baur was a German military officer and aviator. He served as Adolf Hitler's pilot in the early 1930s when Hitler became the world's first politician to use flight as part of his political campaigns. Baur was later appointed as Adolf Hitler's personal pilot. At the end of the war, Hans Baur was imprisoned in the USSR and France.

Prince Hubertus of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

(Prince)

Birthdate: August 24, 1909

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Reinhardsbrunn, Friedrichroda, Germany

Died: November 26, 1943

Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer

(German Luftwaffe Night Fighter Ace)

Birthdate: February 16, 1922

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Calw, Germany

Died: July 15, 1950

Sigmund Jähn

(German Cosmonaut and Pilot)

Birthdate: February 13, 1937

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Morgenröthe-Rautenkranz, Muldenhammer, Germany

Died: September 21, 2019

Rolf Wutherich

(German Race Car Driver)

Birthdate: August 5, 1927

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Heilbronn, Germany

Died: July 22, 1981

Beate Uhse-Rotermund

(German Pilot, Sex Pioneer, and Entrepreneur)

Birthdate: October 25, 1919

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Wargenau, East Prussia

Died: July 16, 2001

Erich Rudorffer

(One of the Most Successful Fighter Pilots in the History of Air Warfare)

Birthdate: November 1, 1917

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Zwochau, Wiedemar, Germany

Died: April 8, 2016

Ewa WiSnierska

(Paraglider)

Birthdate: December 23, 1971

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Nysa, Poland

Hugo Eckener

(Aeronautical engineer)

Birthdate: August 10, 1868

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Flensburg, Germany

Died: August 14, 1954

Gordon Gollob

(Austrian Fighter Pilot)

Birthdate: June 16, 1912

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Vienna, Austria

Died: September 7, 1987

Elly Beinhorn

(Pilot)

Birthdate: May 30, 1907

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Hanover, Germany

Died: November 28, 2007

Josef Jacobs

(Flying ace)

Birthdate: May 15, 1894

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Much, Germany

Died: July 29, 1978

Gerhard Fieseler

(Aircraft designer)

Birthdate: April 15, 1896

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Bergheim, Germany

Died: September 1, 1987

Fritz Fliegel

(Sport cyclist)

Birthdate: November 30, 1907

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Wilmersdorf

Died: July 18, 1941

Karl Kirschner

(Pilot)

Birthplace: Germany