Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia (1893–1917)

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Prince Friedrich Karl
Born6 April 1893
Schloss Klein-Glienicke, Potsdam, German Empire
Died6 April 1917(1917-04-06) (aged 24)
Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, France
Names
Tassilo Wilhelm Humbert Leopold Friedrich Karl
HouseHouse of Hohenzollern
FatherPrince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia
MotherPrincess Louise Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg
Olympic medal record
Men's Equestrian
Bronze medal – third place 1912 Stockholm Team jumping

Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia (Tassilo Wilhelm Humbert Leopold Friedrich Karl; 6 April 1893 – 6 April 1917) was a German prince and competitive horseman who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics.[1]

Biography[edit]

Prince Friedrich Karl was born in Schloss Klein-Glienicke, Potsdam, Berlin. He was the son of Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia (1865–1931) and Princess Louise Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (1866–1952) and a grandson of Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia.

He was a member of the 1912 German Olympic equestrian team, which won a bronze medal in the team jumping event. His horse during the Olympic competition was "Gibson Boy".[2]

He fought in World War I as an aviator between 1914 and 1917. He commanded Fliegerabteilung (Artillerie) 258, an artillery spotting unit, but flew patrols in a single-seat fighter with Jasta Boelcke whenever possible. During one such patrol, on 21 March 1917, he was forced to land because of a bullet in his engine and with a slight wound to his foot. He landed his Albatros aircraft in no-man's land, but while running towards his own lines he was shot in the back and severely wounded by Australian troops.[3] He was taken into captivity, where he died from his injuries on 6 April 1917 (his 24th birthday) at Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray.[4]

Regimental Commissions[edit]

  • 1. Garderegiment zu Fuß (1st Regiment of Foot Guards), Leutnant à la suite from 1903; Leutnant by 1908.[5]
  • Fliegerabteilung (Artillerie) 258 (artillery aerial observer squadron), squadron commander, 1917.

Chivalric Orders[5][edit]

Military Decorations (1914-1917)[edit]

  • Iron Cross, Second Class
  • Iron Cross, First Class
  • Flugzeugführerabzeichen (Pilot's qualification badge), ca. 1917

Ancestry[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Friedrich Karl, Prince von Preußen". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  2. ^ "Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia". Olympedia. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  3. ^ "German royal airman's last fight". The Times. Times Newspapers Limited. 2017-05-09. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  4. ^ "Olympians Who Were Killed or Missing in Action or Died as a Result of War". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  5. ^ a b Schench, G. Handbuch über den Königlich Preuβischen Hof und Staat fur das Jahr 1908. Berlin, Prussia, 1907.

External links[edit]