Rudolf Berthold
Oskar Gustav Rudolf Berthold (24 March 1891 – 15 March 1920) was a German flying ace of World War I. Between 1916 and 1918, he shot down 44 enemy planes—16 of them while flying one-handed.
Rudolf Berthold | |
|---|---|
Rudolf Berthold c. 1918. The clutched gloves conceal his paralyzed hand. | |
| Nickname(s) | "Iron Eagle" |
| Born | 24 March 1891 Ditterswind, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire |
| Died | 15 March 1920 (aged 28) Harburg, Hamburg, Weimar Republic |
| Buried | Invalidenfriedhof Cemetery, Berlin, Germany |
| Allegiance | German Empire |
| Service/ | Luftstreitkräfte |
| Years of service | 1910–1919 |
| Rank | Hauptmann |
| Unit | FFA 23, |
| Commands held | KEK Vaux, Jagdstaffel 4, Jagdstaffel 14, Jagdstaffel 18, Jagdgruppe 7 Jagdgeschwader II, |
| Awards | -Prussia: Pour le Mérite; Iron Cross: 2nd class; Iron Cross: 1st class -Saxonia: Military Order of St. Henry, Class: Knight's Cross -Bavaria: Order of Military Merit: 4th class Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords |
In postwar Germany, Berthold organized a Freikorps and fought in the Latvian War of Independence. Upon return in 1920, Berthold refused to disarm and together with his Freikorps joined the Kapp Putsch with the goal to overthrow the German national government in Berlin and establish an autocratic government in its place. Berthold died of gunshot wounds during fighting in Harburg on 15 March 1920.
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