The Obscure Erich Lowenhardt

lonestarson · 26 April 2016, 11:31 AM

Hello. Just wondering why there is so little information available about Erich Lowenhardt. You'd think that his being the third-highest scoring German ace of WWI would have made him as well known as many of the "lesser stars". He was, after all, only the second German pilot to reach 50 victories (after MvR), before being finally surpassed by Udet. Considering that the war still had over 3 months to go when he was killed, including some of the fiercest aerial combat of the conflict, who knows what his final score might have been. If anyone knows of any books or in-depth articles about him, please share that information. Thank you.

Gregvan · 26 April 2016, 06:13 PM

Hello,

Yes, the relative paucity of information about Loewenhardt is frustrating - along with the lack of photos. He never wrote any memoirs or letters, etc. that have been preserved (as far as I know - outside of an essay on how to attack balloons). We only really know anything about him from what others wrote about him, and there's not a lot of that. Apparently his family was not interested in publicizing his exploits.

I suggest you get ahold of Over the Front, Volume 29 Number 3, Fall 2014. It contains a well-illustrated reprint of an article entitled "Loewenhardt's Seventh." The article originally appeared in Popular Flying of March 1938, and was written by Lt. Bertram B. Perry of No. 22 Sqdn RFC. Perry was the pilot of a No 22 Sqdn Bristol Fighter that was shot down behind German lines by Loewenhardt on 18 October 1917. Perry and his observer met Loewenhardt and his fellow Jasta 10 pilots (especially Hans Klein and Aloys Heldmann) and they were entertained and feted at Jasta 10's airfield before being taken off to POW Camp. Perry was a journalist by trade, and his account is full of fascinating details and insights into Loewenhardt's character and personality

Also, the Baroness von Richthofen's book (translated into English as "Mother of Eagles") has a very short but interesting vignette about a chance encounter she had with Loewenhardt on a train.

I would highly recommend Lance Bronnenkant's book The Imperial German Eagles in World War I, Their Postcards and Pictures, Volume 2. It has one of the best available brief biographies of Loewenhardt, along with a number of rare photos.

Greg

Pips · 27 April 2016, 12:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gregvan

Yes, the relative paucity of information about Loewenhardt is frustrating - along with the lack of photos. He never wrote any memoirs or letters, etc. that have been preserved. Greg

It's a good point you raise Greg. Historians/scholars (of all era's) rely heavily on the 'written' word, in the old days pre computer being letters, diaries, parchment, newspaper articles and so on.

What will happen in the future now that letters are all but dead, and increasingly the heavy dependence on fleeting computer communication and 'cloud' style files?

It's all well and good given the current state of world peace and 'limited' wars; but if a major conflict ever erupts, communication nets and storage will be the first to suffer.

Bulldog90 · 27 April 2016, 05:09 PM

In many ways I think a lot of WW1 flyers weren't much different from 20 year old guys today; by and large not reflective bunch. When Lowenhardt scored most of his victories the pace of air operations was near constant. After flying three or four sorties a day I'm sure Erich was interested in a meal, a few drinks and maybe some time with a local mademoiselle. Would he have been likely to discuss his thoughts on tactical flying formations with Mom and Dad? Probably not. When I look at letters I wrote home at that age they are short, deal mainly with safe topics like weather and avoid any mention of things going wrong.

Bulldog90

MASTIFF · 27 April 2016, 05:27 PM

In "Above The Lines" by Franks, Bailey and Guest there is a brief but interesting biographical outline.

Cheers,
Tony

Askania · 29 April 2016, 02:32 PM

In many ways I think a lot of WW1 flyers weren't much different from 20 year old guys today; by and large not reflective bunch. When Lowenhardt scored most of his victories the pace of air operations was near constant. After flying three or four sorties a day I'm sure Erich was interested in a meal, a few drinks and maybe some time with a local mademoiselle.

You could not be more wrong. They were brought up in a time with a total different attitude towards their fellow human, and also regarding behaviour/ self control and thinking.

Askania

Bulldog90 · 29 April 2016, 08:26 PM

Uh huh, sure.

Zif · 2 May 2016, 01:43 AM

Hello. I think I have read somewhere, perhaps in this forum, that Loewenhardt memory was somehow jeopardized because he was one of the icon figure of Nazi party propaganda in the 30's years of 1900. He may have suffered from that.
It would be interesting to have a look on those Nazi documents, whatever they were (posters, articles, facts even inflated or unreal) at least to try to have a look on the sources.