Joseph Hipper

26 February 2001, 05:30 AM

Hallo there,

this is the first time I show up here so please forgive me, if I am misbehaving or asking all to obviously silly questions.

I am trying to find out more about my great-uncle Joseph Hipper. As far as I know, from what his father wrote about him, he joined the Bavarian air force (or the 1917 equivalent thereof) and after training at Lager Lechfeld (Augsburg) returned to the Western Front where he was, as my great-grandfather writes, an "Infanterieflieger" in the Staffel of Hauptmann Kriegelsteiner.

Can any of you give me some idea where I can start researching? Is there anything handily available on these not so famous pilots?

I would very much appreciate your help.

Thanks a lot,
Melissa (a Hun!)

Rick · 26 February 2001, 05:46 AM

Melissa,

At the time, Reinhard Kriegelsteiner was only an Oblt. Your great-uncle obviously served as a Gunner in his unit. This unit was Schutzstaffel 26b (b for Bavarian), which Kriegelsteiner led from 1 Jan 17 to 25 Aug 17. Flieger Schule Lager Lechfeld was the training school for air gunners, which is why I think Joseph Hipper would have been such.

Give me about three more months, and I will have your great-uncle's service record at hand. If you wish to obtain it yourself, write Dr. Fuchs at the Bavarian Military Archives in Münich. Contact me off line using my E-Mail and I will be happy to discuss Joseph Hipper further.

Rick