Leutnant Friedrich Theodor Noltenius (8 January 1894 – 12 March 1936) was a German flying ace during the First World War, with a total of 21 official victories. From July 1914 to July 1917, he served with distinction as an artilleryman. He transferred to the Luftstreitkräfte (Imperial German Air Force) and became a fighter pilot. After his aerial combat career began with a horrifying incident, Noltenius began shooting down enemy observation balloons and airplanes on 10 August 1918. His battle claims were sometimes unsuccessfully disputed with other pilots, including his commanding officers. Despite the resulting transfers between units, Noltenius continued his success, being credited with his 21st victory on 4 November 1918. Only the war's end a week later barred him from receiving Germany's highest award for valor, the Pour le Mérite. Noltenius became a medical doctor after the war ended. He married and moved to South America. After his return to Germany in 1933, he died in a flying accident. Early life and service Friedrich Theodor Noltenius was born in Bremen on 8 January 1894, the son of a professor of medicine. The younger Noltenius graduated from high school in Bremen. The beginning of World War I then interrupted his university medical studies. Noltenius enlisted in the Kingdom of Württemberg's Field Artillery Regiment No. 13 at the outbreak of war, on 4 August 1914. He served on the Eastern Front from November through December 1914 before transferring to the Western Front in France. On 17 November 1915, he was awarded the Iron Cross Second Class. He received the Iron Cross First Class on 10 May 1917. He was commissioned as an officer in October 1916 and was wounded on 16 April 1917. He was awarded Württemberg's Knight's Cross of the Military Merit Order on 5 July 1917. Aerial service In the beginning While it is unknown when Noltenius transferred to flying service in the Luftstreitkräfte (Imperial German Air Force), he began ground school on 3 November 1917. In February 1918, he began actual flight training. By early June, he was flying his first artillery direction missions with Flieger-Abteilung (Artillerie) 234 (Flier Detachment (Artillery) 234). Shortly thereafter, he was sent to fighter training in late June. Upon graduation, he was assigned to Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 27, one of the fighter squadrons of Bruno Loerzer's Jagdgeschwader III wing. Once he received his assigned Fokker D.VII, he had his personal insignia painted