Bidspirit auction | Great War fighter pilot Hans

Great War fighter pilot Hans Joachim von Hippel signed 5.5x3.5 inch photo postcard. Flying under a bridge in Koln, he has signed on back. Hans Joachim Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel was born on 12th September 1893 in Berlin, the second child of Prussian General Conrad von Hippel and his wife Else von Hippel. He joined Jagdstaffel 5 (fighter squadron) in 1917 at Boistrancourt in northern France, having earlier transferred from field artillery to the Luftstreitkräfte, the Imperial German Air Service. Although a relatively successful fighter pilot during the last years of the First World War, von Hippel was also an enthusiastic photographer and documented the pilots and aircraft from his time in Jagdstaffeln 5 and 71. At the time, German pilots could paint their aircraft to their own taste and the prominent lightning bolt ”Blitz” motif became most associated with von Hippel. Good condition Est.