Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp

Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp
Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp as Braunschweig Hussar in 1914
Born	(1894-04-24)24 April 1894 Borby, Kingdom of Prussia
Died	6 January 1918(1918-01-06) (aged 23) near Ypres, Belgium
Buried at	Family chateau
Allegiance	German Empire
Service/branch	Hussars Regiment 17; Luftstreitkräfte
Years of service	1914–1918
Rank	Leutnant (Lieutenant)
Unit	Hussars Regiment 17, FA 22, FA 300, Jagdstaffel 18, Jagdstaffel 36, Jagdstaffel 2
Commands held	Jagdstaffel 36, Jagdstaffel 2
Awards	Pour le Merite, Military Order of Saint Henry, Iron Cross
Relations	Harry von Bülow-Bothkamp Konrad von Bülow-Bothkamp Frederick von Bülow-Bothkamp

Leutnant Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp (alternate spelling Bothcamp) (24 April 1894 – 6 January 1918), Pour le Merite, Military Order of Saint Henry, Iron Cross was a German fighter ace from an aristocratic family who was credited with 28 victories.

Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp was born at Borby, now a part of Eckernförde in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. He was the second eldest son in his family; there would be two younger brothers. All four of them would serve their country during World War I, with three of them dying in service.

Bülow-Bothkamp graduated from the Baccalaureate High School in Plon, Schleswig-Holstein in 1912. He then traveled for six months in Great Britain and Switzerland. After his wanderjahr he settled in to study law at the University of Heidelberg. He also joined a student corps there.

In August 1914, he and his younger brother Conrad joined Braunschweige Hussars Regiment 17 (the Deaths Head Hussars). In January 1915, he accompanied his unit to the front in southern Alsace.

Walter von Bülow-Bothkamp was commissioned as a leutnant (lieutenant) in April 1915 and applied for pilot's training in the Luftstreitkräfte (German air service). Along with his brother Conrad, he trained in Replacement Division 5 in Hanover from 15 April through 15 September 1915.

Bülow-Bothkamp was originally posted to FA 22, which was an aviation squadron organized for aerial reconnaissance, observation, and direction of artillery on the Western Front. Although flying an AEG G.II two-seated observation plane, he managed to down enemy two seaters on consecutive days, 10 and 11 October 1915. He served with FA 22 until 14 March 1916.

After an award of the Iron Cross First Class for his victories in October, his transfer to FA 300 took him to the Middle East to continue his reconnaissance duties in support of a German ally, the Ottoman Empire. He flew on the Palestinian front and was wounded on 13 June 1916. In a letter home from the hospital in Jerusalem, he joked about his shoulder wound being as inconsequential as a dueling scar suffered at university.