Oberleutnant Friedrich Ritter von Röth (29 September 1893 – 31 December 1918) was a German World War I fighter ace with 28 victories.

He was the most successful German pilot at the extremely hazardous practice of shooting down enemy observation balloons, and destroyed 20 of them.

Distressed by his nation's loss of the war, and by his religious compunctions against killing, he shot himself to death on 31 December 1918.

[1] Röth was assigned to command Jagdstaffel 16 on 8 April 1918, just four days after the previous Staffelführer, Heinrich Geigl, died in a midair collision with a Sopwith Camel.

It bore a white propeller spinner, yellow fuselage, and gray engine cowling, and wheel covers.

Painted on the fuselage's side even with the trailing edge of the cockpit was a large disk divided into white and black halves.

Picking a time when there were no enemy fighters in sight and the wind was in his favor, Röth set five balloons afire in 15 minutes without assistance.

[7] Röth received a new Fokker D.VII fighter in early August; he used this type airplane for his last 10 aerial victories.

[10][11] Röth awarded Germany's highest decoration for valor, the Pour le Mérite, on 8 September 1918.

On 11 November 1918, he was being piloted by a friend to observe the war's end against orders over the battlefield as the guns fell silent.