Rudolf Matthaei
German flying ace (1895-1918)
Leutnant Rudolf Matthaei (10 November 1895 – 17 April 1918) was a German World War I flying ace credited with ten aerial victories.
Early life
Rudolf Matthaei was born in Hildesheim, Saxony, on 10 November 1895.
Military service
Matthaei joined Saxon Field Artillery Regiment No. 46 as an officer candidate on 13 February 1914. His first wartime service was in France. He was commissioned on 23 April 1915. He shipped out with his regiment to the Eastern Front. After a transfer to Infantry Regiment No. 79, Matthaei returned to France in September 1915. In early 1916, he began aviation training.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Rudolf Matthaei” is german flying ace (1895-1918). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Rudolf, Matthaei and German, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “german flying ace (1895-1918)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7377260. The first chronological checks are 1895, 1918, 1914 and 1915.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Rudolf Matthaei”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Rudolf Matthaei primary sources, Rudolf Matthaei archive and Rudolf research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Rudolf Matthaei”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Rudolf Matthaei” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.