Franz Piechulek

Franz Piechulek
Born	Unknown
Died	Unknown
Allegiance	Germany
Service / branch	Aviation
Rank	Leutnant
Unit	Kampfeinsitzerstaffel 5; Jagdstaffel 41: Jagdstaffel 56
Awards	Iron Cross First Class

Leutnant Franz Piechulek was a German World War I flying ace credited with 14 aerial victories.

World War I military service

He was assigned to Kampfeinsitzerstaffel 5 on 27 October 1917.[1] He scored his first aerial victory there, downing a Nieuport on 22 November.[2] He then moved on to Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 41 on 14 December.[1] On 5 January 1918, he set an enemy observation balloon afire for his second win.[2] Four days later, he moved to Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 56 to pilot an Albatros D.Va or a Fokker D.VII.[1] He arrived the same day as his new Staffelführer, Franz Schleiff.[3] Between 5 March and 4 October 1918, Piechulek rolled up another dozen triumphs,[1] outlasting both Schlieff and his replacement, Dieter Collin.[4]

Sources of information

1. Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps 1914 - 1918. pp. 179–180.
2. "Franz Piechulek". www.theaerodrome.com. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
3. Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps 1914 - 1918. pp. 200–201.
4. Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps 1914 - 1918. p. 94.

References

• Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps 1914 - 1918 Norman L. R. Franks, et al. Grub Street, 1993. ISBN 0-948817-73-9, ISBN 978-0-948817-73-1.