Friedrich Sternberg (1884-1917) was a Jewish Imperial German Air Service leutnant during World War I. A close friend of Manfred von Richthofen, he was shot down and killed over France in 1917.
Biography[]
Richthofen finding Sternberg's body
Friedrich Sternberg was born in Kassel, German Empire in 1884 to a Jewish family, and he attended Eton College in England. He enlisted in the Imperial German Air Service early into World War I, and he served in Manfred von Richthofen's squadron in France. Sternberg painted a Star of David on his plane's nose, and Sternberg was awarded the Pour le Merite for his services. Sternberg was a close friend of his superior officer, Richthofen, and he flew alongside him during his 1917 mission, which saw Richthofen shoot down Canadian ace Roy Brown a second time. However, Sternberg's plane was shot down in the battle, and he died when his plane crash-landed, having waved goodbye to the other fighter pilots. Richthofen was devastated at the sight of his friend's wrecked plane and his body, and his younger brother Lothar von Richthofen later criticized him for this, as Sternberg was a soldier, and Manfred von Richthofen was a superior officer who could not afford to mourn.