Hans Gottfried von Häbler

Who was Hans Gottfried von Häbler?

Leutnant Hans Gottfried von Häbler was a World War I flying ace credited with eight aerial victories.

On 17 May 1893, Hans Gottfried von Häbler was born in Gross Schonau, the German Empire; subsequent changes in national boundaries mean that it is now Velký Šenov, the Czech Republic.

He enlisted in one of the Kingdom of Saxony's Guard Regiments on 1 October 1913. He served with the infantry for the first two years of World War I before volunteering for aviation duty in the Autumn of 1916. He trained at Fliegerersatz-Abteilung 9 before going operational with Flieger-Abteilung Flier Detachment 273.

Häbler received further training on single-seat fighters at Jastaschule 1, then joined Jagdstaffel 36 on 30 September 1917. He scored his first aerial victory on 7 October 1917; on 18 March 1918, he scored his eighth confirmed victory. On 22 March, while flying Fokker Triplane number 509/17, he engaged and bested a Sopwith Camel over Metz-en-Couture, though the victory went unconfirmed. He was subsequently hit by anti-aircraft fire. His triplane fell virtually undamaged behind British lines. Hans Gottfried von Häbler died of his wounds the following day while in British captivity.