Colonel Alois Heldmann was a World War I flying ace credited with 15 confirmed aerial victories (plus three unconfirmed) while he was a Leutnant.

He later joined the nascent Luftwaffe in 1933 and was a flying school inspector until the end of World War II.

Heldmann joined the Imperial German Army on 3 January 1915, originally as an infantryman on the Russian Front.

[2][3] After switching to aviation, Heldmann served in a two-seater aerial reconnaissance unit, FA 57, beginning in August 1915.

He then upgraded to a Fokker D.VII,[2][4] which bore his initials painted on the top wing; its nose was yellow, its tail a checkerboard.