Franz Hemer | |
Birth Date: | 1894 |
Death Date: | 18 October 1982 |
Death Place: | Frankfurt, Germany |
Nickname: | "Locken" |
Allegiance: | Germany |
Branch: | Aviation |
Rank: | Leutnant |
Unit: | Flieger-Abteilung (Artillerie) (Flier Detachment (Artillery)) 283; Jagdstaffel 6 (Fighter Squadron 6) |
Awards: | Royal House Order of Hohenzollern |
Leutnant Franz Hemer was a World War I flying ace credited with 18 aerial victories.[1]
Hemer was originally a talented concert cellist. His long curly blonde hair sparked his nickname of "Locken".[2]
Hemer served with FA(A) 283 before he was posted to Jasta 6 on 10 September 1917. He scored his first victory on 27 October 1917, when he shot down an RE.8. He scored once more in 1917, on 12 November. He was then assigned a Fokker Dr. 1. He had a wavery yellow line painted the length of the fuselage, symbolizing the wavy locks of hair that gave him the nickname "Locken".[3]
By the end of March 1918, he became an ace. He scored at least five more victories with the triplane before upgrading to a Fokker D.VII. He scored his last win on 8 August 1918. The following day, he was wounded in action when his Fokker D.VII was shot down during a dogfight with RAF DH.9s of No. 49 Squadron RAF supported by Sopwith Camels. While convalescing, he was commissioned a Leutnant. However, he apparently did not return to flight duty before the war's end.
Later he became managing Director of König & Bruder in Leipzig, head office in Vienna, an old fur trading company.[4] Franz Hemer died on 18 October 1982 in Frankfurt.[3]
Book: 'Richthofen's Circus': Jagdgeschwader. 2004. Bloomsbury USA. 978-1-84176-726-0.