Franz Büchner
German flying ace
Died when: 22 years 76 days (266 months)Star Sign: Capricorn
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Franz Büchner PlM (2 January 1898 – 18 March 1920) was one of the most successful German fighter aces of the First World War, shooting down 40 enemy aircraft.
He began his military career as a 16-year-old infantryman.His doughty exploits earned him a battlefield commission just after his 18th birthday, in early 1916.
After being wounded and invalided from the infantry, he joined the Imperial German Air Service.Once he progressed to become a fighter pilot flying a Fokker D.VII, he initially struggled to gain his first aerial victories.
Something clicked after his fifth victory, and he began to regularly shoot down enemy airplanes, scoring 35 victories between 1 July and 22 October 1918.
Most notably, he shot down four SPADs on 26 September.He survived the war, but died in action in 1920 while combating communist revolutionaries near Leipzig.
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German flying ace
German flying ace
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