Theodur osterkamp biography of william

German fighter pilot

Theodor "Theo" Osterkamp (15 April 1892 – 2 January 1975) was a German fighter pilot during World War I and World War II. A flying ace, he achieved 32 victories in World War I.

In World War II, he led Jagdgeschwader 51 up to the Battle of Britain and claimed a further six victories during World War II, in the process becoming one of only a few men to score victories and become an ace in both world wars.

Early life and World War I

Osterkamp was born in Rölsdorf near Düren, West Germany, and grew up in Aschersleben, modern day Saxony-Anhalt. He was born in 1892 as the second son of the factory owner Hermann Osterkamp and Anna Wilhelmine née Blank.

Osterkamp received his Abitur from the Gymnasium in Dessau. His schoolmates in Dessau included the future pilots Oswald Boelcke and Gotthard Sachsenberg.

When the First World War started he was studying forestry but decided to enlist in the German Army.

He was rejected for service due to