Paul Billik

Paul Billik (27 March 1891 – 8 March 1926) Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross was a World War I fighter ace credited with 31 victories. He was killed in a flying accident while pioneering civil aviation. Paul Billik was born in Haatsch in the Silesian region of what was then Germany, and is currently Czech Republic. His father Franz was a Jewish farmer. He attended school in Ratibor (Racibórz) until 1910. In 1911, he joined the 157th Infantry Regiment of the 12th Division and was based in Brzeg. He was promoted up to the rank of corporal during the next two years. He was still in this regiment when World War I started, and he went into battle with it. In November 1915, he received a commission, apparently on the battlefield,...