# Karl Plauth

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Leutnant **Karl Plauth** was a German World War I [flying ace](/source/Flying_ace) credited with 17 aerial victories. He would crash a [Junkers A 32](/source/Junkers_A_32) to his death on a test flight.

## Biography

**Karl Plauth** was born on 27 August 1896 in [Munich](/source/Munich), Germany.[1]

Plauth originally served in a [pioneer](/source/Pioneer_(military)) battalion early in the First World War. After being wounded during the [Battle of Verdun](/source/Battle_of_Verdun) and earning a First Class [Iron Cross](/source/Iron_Cross),[2] he transferred to the flying service. After a stint in *Flieger-Abteilung 204* (Flier Detachment 204),[3] he was assigned to fly a [Fokker D.VII](/source/Fokker_D.VII)[4] with Royal Prussian *[Jagdstaffel 20](/source/Jagdstaffel_20)* (Fighter Squadron 20) on 14 June 1918. Plauth scored his first triumph on 9 July 1918.[1]

On 14 July, he was shot down, totaling his airplane, lacerating his head and blackening his eye. He was grounded for eight days because of the eye.[5] That did not deter him from scoring again on the 31st. By 28 September, his tally stood at 10. The following day, he became the *[Staffelführer](/source/Staffelf%C3%BChrer)* of Royal Prussian *[Jagdstaffel 51](/source/Jagdstaffel_51)*. As their leader, he shot down seven more enemy aircraft during October, 1918, bringing his total to 17.[1][3] However, he was no killer; he preferred to see his opponents survive.[4]

He was piloting the [Junkers A 32](/source/Junkers_A_32), which he helped design,[citation needed] on a test flight on 2 November 1927, when it failed to pull out of a loop. He died in the resulting crash.[4]

## End notes

1. *Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918*, p. 181

1. *Fokker D VII Aces of World War 1, Part 2*, pp. 11-12

1. ["Karl Plauth"](http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/plauth.php). *The Aerodrome*. Retrieved 4 January 2010..

1. *Fokker D VII Aces of World War 1, Part 2*, pp. 11–13

1. *Fokker D.VII Aces of World War I, Part 2*, p. 13

## References

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

- *Fokker D.VII Aces of World War I, Part 2*. Greg VanWyngarden, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2004. ISBN 978-1-84176-729-1

## Further reading

- *Junkers Aircraft and Engines, 1913-1945.* Antony L. Kay, Paul Couper. Naval Institute Press, 2004. ISBN 0-85177-985-9, ISBN 978-0-85177-985-0

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Karl Plauth](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Plauth) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Plauth?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.