SOLDIER TURNED PILOT
Hans Bethge was born in Berlin on December 6, 1890, the second son of Leutnant Wilhelm Bethge. Young Hans was raised in Friedrichshafen on Lake Constance. In 1911, while attending school in Ravensburg, his father Wilhelm died.
The younger Bethge could not enlist in the Imperial German Navy because of mild nearsightedness. Instead, he enlisted in Eisenbahnregiment 1 (Railway Regiment 1) and became an ensign. In 1912, Hans transferred to Eisenbahnregiment 4, underwent training, and became a commissioned officer.
When the Great War began in the summer of 1914, Bethge immediately went into action on the very first day of the conflict as the Western Front opened. Serving as a sapper, he suffered an ankle injury that sent him to hospital… first in Maubeuge, then back to Germany. While in recuperation, Bethge applied for pilot’s training.
After transferring to the Imperial German Air Service, Bethge began his trained in Posen, where he stayed for three months. His first assignment was flying LVG bombers with the world’s first strategic bombing unit, the so-called “Ostend Carrier Pigeon Detachment “. Then in early August 1916, Bethge switched to fighter planes, piloting a Fokker Eindecker for a few weeks. On August 23rd, he was selected to be one of the founding members of Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 1 (Jasta 1) under Martin Zander. Six days later, Bethge shot down a B.E.2c near Auchonvillers for his first victory. He followed it up with two more confirmed scores by the end of 1916.
With the dawn of 1917, Bethge was appointed commander (Staffelführer) of a brand new fighter squadron, the Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 30. He claimed his fourth win on March 28, 1917… and began a steady scoring pace that led to a tally of eighteen wins by November 1917.
During that stretch, Bethge claimed three opposing aces as victims. Royal Naval Air Service ace Philip Andrew Johnston died in a collision with a wingman on August 17th. Bethge also shot down the Bristol F.2 Fighter crew of Thomas Frederick Stephenson and Sidney Platel on October 31st.
Bethge commented about the death of Johnston:
“I have my 12th and 13th shot down. The aircraft crashed together and both were gone. I do not want to hurt anyone. But I fly with an iron will and deepest sense of duty…”
By early 1918, Bethge was equipped with a new Pfalz D.III fighter. It featured tapering longitudinal gray and white stripes (the length of the fuselage) with a dark gold diamond on the exterior cockpit walls. With the new machine, Bethge scored two more victories: his 19th on February 19th… and his 20th (and final win) on March 10th. With the latter triumph confirmed, Bethge was recommended for Imperial Germany’s highest award for valor, the Pour le Merite.
DEATH IN ACTION
On the morning of March 17, 1918, Bethge was once again leading his fighters into combat. Not more than one-eighth of a mile from the opposing British formation, Bethge’s Pfalz curved sharply downwards and out of sight. It was probable that he was hit by return fire from a D.H.4 of Number 57 Squadron.
Bethge’s body was found at Passchendaele (in Belgium) and laid out in the church in Phalempin not too far from the squadron base. His funeral procession took place a few days later; General Ernst von Hoeppner and Rittmeister Manfred von Richthofen attended the march to the railway station.
The late Hans Bethge was then sent home to Berlin, where he was buried in the cemetery of Jerusalem’s Church near the Halle Gate. The day after his death, Bethge’s mother was informed that Hans would receive the “Blue Max”. However, the application had not been approved before his untimely death.
Hans Bethge was just twenty-seven years old.