Spontoon Island
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Hermann von
Salza
& his I.V.L. A.22
Hansa floatplane
(licensed version of the Hansa-Brandenburg W.33 fighter)
| Name: Hermann von Salza Birth Home: Aachen, Germany Birthdate: 7 October, 1895 Named after a Teutonic Knight from the early 1200s, Hermann was always seeking adventure and became very interested in flight, which, at that time, was in its infancy, just as he was. He marveled at the work of Otto Lilienthal and the obscure craft of Werner Siemens of 1847. But much of the aviation pioneering was happening outside of his home Germany and he kept abreast of as much of it as he could. When the opportunity arose, he went to France, as part of his studies and there he was able to see many fantastic designs during his stay from 1912 to 1913, seeing such planes from noted aviators and engineers as Levasseur, Bechereau, & Breguet. But then the winds of war began to blow and Hermann returned to Germany and when the first shots of the Great War rang out, Hermann entered the flying service. While it was his dream to become an aviator, doing so under war conditions was not. Nevertheless, he did his best to excel. Unfortunately for Hermann, he was usually asked to be an air observer which, while important, did not have him behind the control stick. In time, he was beginning to lose interest until things began to go against Germany in the war. With the need for pilots, he was transferred to a hasty training school for observers to convert them into pilots. While the lessons were sparse, the school was given an allotment of Fokker D.VII, a plane which was potent and had a forgiveness for rookie pilots. After being posted to Jasta 61, Hermann moved to the newer Fokker D.VIII monoplane and scored his first two kills flying it. But his favorite aircraft was the Siemens-Schuckert D.IV with which he was to claim his last four kills, making him an ‘ace’ before the surrender. Hermann left Germany before the Arimistice was signed, using the last of his wartime earnings to have his D.IV smuggled out of Germany. He found his way to Spontoon Island, making a deal to obtain his floatplane, a Finnish I.V.L. A22 Hansa, to make a living with as a courier and airtaxi. He is currently saving to purchase the wreckage of the Gotha Ursinus floatplane fighter from 1916 which was recently discovered in a scrap yard. Pelzig -- 1999
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