Otto Kissenberth was a German First World War fighter ace credited with 20 confirmed aerial victories. He began his career as an ace in spectacular fashion; at a time when an aerial victory was still a marvel, he shot down three enemy airplanes in a single afternoon on 12 October 1916. Transferred to a fighter squadron, Jagdstaffel 16, he shot down two opposing airplanes, as well as an observation balloon. Promoted to command of Jagdstaffel 23, he shot down 14 more opposing aircraft before being sidelined by an aviation accident.The Aerodrome webpage on Otto Kissenberth

The victory list

Otto Kissenberth's victories are reported in chronological order, not the order or dates the victories were confirmed by headquarters. No.DateTimeFoeUnitLocation 1 12 October 1916 ca. 1520 hours Farman Escadrille F.123, Service Aéronautique Widensolen, France 2 October 1916 ca. 1521 hours Farman Escadrille F.123, Service Aéronautique Ihringen, Germany 3 October 1916 1659 hours Bréguet 5 No. 3 Naval Wing, RNAS Oberenzen, France 4 26 May 1917 SPAD Somme-Py, France 5 19 June 1917 Observation balloonBecause observation balloons were so important for intelligence gathering, they were protected from attack by antiaircraft guns, machine guns and fighter patrols.The Aerodrome webpage on balloon busters 38 Compagnie, Service Aéronautique Aubreville, France 6 16 July 1917 1235 hours SPAD S.VII Escadrille Spa.85, Service Aéronautique Morte Homme 7 12 August 1917 1810 hours SPAD S.VII Avecourt Wood 8 17 August 1917 Nieuport 17 Morte Homme 9 19 August 1917 1735 hours SPAD S.VII Morte Homme 10 20 August 1917 1015 hours SPAD S.VII Morte Homme 11 20 August 1917 1950 hours SPAD S.VII Escadrille Spa.84, Service Aéronautique Haumont, France 12 22 August 1917 1216 hours Paul Schmitt Hill 304, Verdun, France 13 6 September 1917 1402 hours SPAD S.VII Beaumont, France 14 19 September 1917 1640 hours SPAD S.VII Montzéville, France 15 22 September 1917 1430 hours SPAD S.VII Vaux, France 16 23 September 1917 0950 hours Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter Hill 304, Verdun, France Unconfirmed 23 September 1917 Caudron Fort Marre 17 23 September 1917 0815 hours SPAD S.VII East of Vaqois 18 2 October 1917 Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter South of Avecourt 19 25 January 1918 1250 hours SPAD Hill 304, Verdun, France 20 16 May 1918 1055 hours Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a Between Tilly and Neuville, FranceAbbreviations were expanded by the editor creating this list.

Footnote

Citations

Sources

Further reading Guttman, Jon. Balloon-Busting Aces of World War 1 . Osprey Publishing, 2005. ,