Helmut Steinbrecher

Helmut Steinbrecher was born in Dresden, Germany on 30 June 1896.[2]

Steinbrecher enlisted in the German military on 20 August 1914, and was posted to a Jaeger battalion. He was sent into action on the Western Front in 1915, only to be transferred to Galilee in 1916. After selection for pilot's training in February, 1917, he qualified as a pilot and was assigned first to Flieger-Abteilung 17 (Flight Detachment 17) to fly two-seaters for reconnaissance duty, then subsequently to Flieger-Abteilung (Artillerie) 274 (Flight Detachment (Artillery) 274 as an artillery spotter.[2]

On 25 December 1917, he was picked to undergo further training as a fighter pilot. After completing that course, he was assigned to Jagdstaffel 46 on 12 March 1918.[2] He shot down his first British airplane that same day, a Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a. A second followed on 31 May. In turn, on 27 June 1917, his airplane was set afire during a dogfight. He survived by bailing out, in the first known use of a parachute in military history.[1] Three days later, he downed a Sopwith Camel for his third win.[2]

Steinbrecher would shoot down two more enemy airplanes to become an ace. He was awarded both classes of the Iron Cross.[2]

• Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918. Norman Franks, Frank W. Bailey, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1993. ISBN 0-948817-73-9, ISBN 978-0-948817-73-1.