Albert Dossenbach
| Albert Dossenbach | |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 June 1891 Sankt Blasien, Grand Duchy of Baden, German Empire |
| Died | 3 July 1917 (aged 26) Frezenberg, Belgium |
| Allegiance |
 German Empire
|
| Service/branch |
 Luftstreitkräfte
|
| Years of service | 1914 - 1917 |
| Rank | Leutnant |
| Unit | Feldflieger Abteilung (Field Flier Detachment) 2, Jagdstaffel 2 |
| Commands held | Jagdstaffel 36, Jagdstaffel 10 |
| Awards | Pour le Merite, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross |
Leutnant Albert Dossenbach was a World War I flying ace credited with 15 aerial victories.
Albert Dossenbach was born on 5 June 1891 at Sankt Blasien in the Grand Duchy of Baden. Dossenbach was a medical student working as an intern when World War I began in 1914. He joined the Imperial German Army as the war began and almost immediately became a lance corporal. Within his first month of his service, he carried his wounded commanding officer from the battlefield under fire. This feat won him the Iron Cross Second Class. His valor continued, as he won the First Class Iron Cross, the Military Merit Order, and rose to the rank of sergeant. He was then commissioned as a leutnant in January 1915.
In early 1916, he transferred to the Luftstreitkräfte. He trained in Poznan and in Cologne, and graduated from Jastaschule in June. His first assignment as a pilot was in June to FA 22, a reconnaissance unit flying on the Western Front. With Leutnant Hans Schilling as his observer/gunner in an Albatros C.II reconnaissance craft, he began to rack up victories; by 27 September 1916, his tally was eight. However, they were shot down during their eighth victory, with Dossenbach suffering burns that sidelined him. Dossenbach's valor earned him further honors; on 20 October 1916, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the House Order of Hohenzollern. The Pour le Merite, or Blue Max, was awarded to him on 11 November 1916; it was the first of only two ever awarded to a two-seater pilot.
While Dossenbach healed, Schilling had been assigned to fly with another pilot, and was killed in December 1916. On 9 December, Dossenbach received the Knight's Cross of his native Baden's Karl Friedrich Military Merit Order.
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