Karl Plauth


Leutnant Karl Plauth was a World War I flying ace credited with 17 aerial victories. After being wounded during the Battle of Verdun, he transferred to flying service. After a stint in FA 204, an artillery cooperation unit, he was assigned to fly a Fokker D.VII with Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 20 on 14 June 1918. Plauth scored his first triumph on 9 July 1918. A wound four days later didn't deter him from scoring again on the 31st. By 28 September, his tally stood at 10, the point at which he became an Überkanone, or "big gun". The following day, he became the Staffelführer of Royal Prussian Jasta 51. As their leader, he shot down seven more enemy aircraft during October, 1918, bringing his total to 17. However, he was no killer; he preferred to see his opponents survive.
He was piloting the Junkers A 32, which he helped design, on a test flight on 2 November 1927, when it failed to pull out of a loop. He died in the resultant crash.