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55-557: Godwin Karol Marian von Brumowsky (26 July 1889 – 3 June 1936) was the most successful fighter ace of the Austro-Hungarian Air Force during World War I . He was officially credited with 35 air victories (including 12 shared with other pilots), with 8 others unconfirmed because they fell behind Allied lines. Just before the war ended, von Brumowski rose to command of all his country's fighter aviation fighting Italy on

110-526: A German Albatros D.III with twin synchronized guns. On the 20th he scored once with the Albatros and twice with the Hansa-Brandenburg D.I . By the end of August the transition was complete; he would use the Albatros to score the rest of his victories. On 9 October 1917, he shot down and burned an observation balloon for his 22nd victory; it was the first of five balloons he would down. His Albatros that day

165-473: A combat sector of the Austro-Hungarian forces. They supplied hardware and supplies to the aviation units. They also served as repair depots for severely damaged aircraft; they would repair some airplanes that were damaged beyond a frontline unit's repair capabilities, and send the worst back to a factory. There were three Flars at war's beginning; there were eleven by war's end. Other midlevel units in

220-470: A gun mounted above and ahead of the pilot was more difficult than simply aiming the airplane at the enemy and firing a synchronized gun. As was customary with Austro-Hungarian units, Flik 41j had an assortment of aircraft types available. In June 1917 von Brumowski flew an Aviatik D.I with no combat success. The Austro-Hungarian Fliks were also hampered by a doctrine that tied them to escort of reconnaissance aircraft instead of freeing them to rove and hunt in

275-539: A letter suffix denoting the unit's mission. For instance: At the outbreak of war, Austro-Hungarian aircraft were brightly painted in red and white bands all along the fuselage. These were swiftly discarded, but the red/white/red bands on the wingtips and tail remained. Aircraft supplied from Germany generally arrived with the familiar black cross marking already applied, and this was adopted officially from 1916, though individual aircraft occasionally kept some red-white-red bands. Austria-Hungary produced 413 seaplanes during

330-533: A number of single-seat fighters as escorts on missions. This reflected the army high command's emphasis on tying fighters to defensive duty. During 1917, Austria-Hungary pushed its number of flying training schools to 14, with 1,134 trainees. The expansion program was stretched to 68 squadrons, and the Air Service managed to set up the 31 units needed. The Luftfahrtruppen began to lose its Italian campaign as Italian superior numbers began to tell. By 19 June 1917,

385-559: A pilot with Flik 1, despite the defective vision in his right eye that he corrected with a monocle. In November, he transferred to Flik 12 on the Italian Front. He helped down an Italian Caproni bomber on 3 December. On 2 January he became an ace when he was victorious over an Italian Farman two-seater while piloting a Hansa-Brandenburg C.I . It is notable that von Brumowski became an ace while still flying two-seater craft basically unsuited for air-to-air combat. The next month, when Flik 41J

440-471: A rare survivor of an in-craft fire. The fire ate the fabric off the upper wing and the inboard portions of the lower one, leaving only the scorched bare spars and struts of the wing roots. Three days later, while flying another Albatros he fought eight English fighters and took multiple machine gun hits. With his wings breaking up he still managed to land, though the Albatros flipped over and was totally destroyed. Brumowski fought on until 23 June 1918, when he

495-459: A relatively low degree of industrialisation . The Empire's agricultural economy militated against innovation. Such industry as it possessed was used to full extent for aircraft manufacture; instead of producing single types of aircraft from dedicated assembly lines, contracts were let to multiple factories, and individual factories were producing multiple types of aircraft. Shortage of unskilled labor also hampered production. Technological backwardness

550-760: A single combat sortie. On 3 June 1936, he died in a plane crash while instructing a Dutch student at Schiphol Airfield , in the Netherlands. His life was summarized thus by his daughter: "He was a very unique and interesting person either very much loved, or hated, and even considered crazy by many." See also Aerial victory standards of World War I Confirmed victories are numbered. Victories marked "u/c" were unconfirmed. Austro-Hungarian Air Force The Austro-Hungarian Aviation Troops or Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops ( German : Kaiserliche und Königliche Luftfahrtruppen or K.u.K. Luftfahrtruppen , Hungarian : Császári és Királyi Légjárócsapatok ) were

605-461: A slightly modified Turkish gun captured during the First Balkan War in 1912. This was the first occasion that a military aircraft was shot down with artillery ground-to-air fire. In late November 1915, Austrian aeroplanes bombarded columns of soldiers and refugees from Serbia , as they trekked across the snowy plain of Kosovo, in the first aerial bombardment of civilians. Italy's entry into

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660-629: A spell in Vienna, he farmed his widowed mother-in-law's land in Transylvania for ten years. As a city dweller lacking the Hungarian language skills to communicate with his farm workers, he bore serious handicaps. He had little success. Brumowski took the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire very hard. He indulged in hazardous pursuits, seeking the thrill of danger by racing automobiles about on

715-668: The K. u. K Luftfahrtruppen were the Fliegerersatzkompanie ("spare flier company"). These replacement depots served a dual purpose. They not only trained and supplied air crew and maintenance staff as replacements to frontline units; they also formed new units to be posted to the front. By war's end, there were 22 of these Fleks . Finally, there were the line units of the K. u. K Luftfahrtruppen . These Fliegerkompanies were understaffed, seldom having more than eight pilots per unit. There were 77 Fliks in existence by war's end. By 1917, their unit numbers were extended by

770-626: The Luftfahrtruppen before the IRAS ceased operations in mid-1917. The Austro-Hungarians requested, and received, aerial reinforcements from their German allies, especially in Galicia . On 30 September 1915, troops of the Serbian Army observed three Austro-Hungarian aircraft approaching Kragujevac . Soldiers shot at them with shotguns and machine-guns but failed to prevent them from dropping 45 bombs over

825-630: The Isonzo front . Godwin von Brumowski was born into a military family in Wadowice , Galicia (in present-day Poland). He attended the Imperial and Royal Technical Military Academy in Mödling near Vienna and graduated as a lieutenant commissioned into the 29th Field Artillery Regiment on 18 August 1910. He was serving in the 6th Artillery Division as regimental adjutant and had just turned 25 years of age when war

880-719: The Polish-Soviet War of 1919–20 in two fighter escadrilles (Nos. 7 and 13). Due to rare air encounters, they were primarily employed in ground-attack duties. The Poles thought so highly of the D.III that they sent a letter of commendation to the Oeffag factory. They remained in service until 1923. Poland also had 26 original Albatros D.III, mostly captured from former occupants, but they were withdrawn from use in December 1919 due to structural weaknesses. The new Czechoslovak Air Force also obtained and operated several Oeffag machines after

935-541: The air force of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the empire's demise in 1918; it saw combat on both the Eastern Front and Italian Front during World War I . The Air Service began in 1893 as a balloon corps ( Militär-Aeronautische Anstalt ) and would later be re-organized in 1912 under the command of Major Emil Uzelac , an army engineering officer. The Air Service would remain under his command until

990-476: The "V-strutter." After a Typenprüfung (official type test) on 26 September 1916, Albatros received an order for 400 D.III aircraft, the largest German production contract to date. Idflieg placed additional orders for 50 aircraft in February and March 1917. The D.III entered squadron service in December 1916, and was immediately acclaimed by German pilots for its maneuverability and rate of climb. Two faults with

1045-501: The 138, 149, or 168 kW (185, 200, or 225 hp) Austro-Daimler engines respectively. The Austro-Daimlers provided improved performance over the Mercedes D.IIIa engine. For cold weather operations, Oeffag aircraft featured a winter cowling which fully enclosed the cylinder heads. Austrian pilots often removed the propeller spinner from early production aircraft, since it was prone to falling off in flight. Beginning with aircraft 112 of

1100-583: The Austrian Albatros B.II reconnaissance aircraft of observer Baron Friedrich von Rosenthal and pilot Franz Malina from FLIK 11. Both planes crashed and all three airmen died. By the end of 1914, there were 147 operational aircraft deployed in 14 units. Just as Austria-Hungary fielded a joint army and navy, they also had army and naval aviation arms. The latter operated seaplanes ; Gottfried Freiherr von Banfield became an ace in one. The Adriatic Coast seaplane stations also hosted bombers. Lohners were

1155-523: The Austro-Hungarians' shortage of aircraft. By June 1918, the Luftfahrtruppen 's strength peaked at 77 Fliks but only 16 were fighter squadrons. By 26 October, a fighter mass of some 400 Italian, British, and French airplanes attacked in the air as the Italian army conducted an offensive. The depleted Austro-Hungarians could send only 29 airplanes in opposition. The local armistice on 3 November 1918

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1210-567: The Commander in Chief to present it to me. It is not my duty to ask or demand it." Austria-Hungary's leading fighter ace never received his nation's highest award. On 11 October even though he was still only a Hauptmann (Captain), he was named to command all Austro-Hungarian fighter squadrons on the Isonzo Front. World War I ended a month later. The end of the war left von Brumowski at loose ends. After

1265-526: The German fashion. In July 1917 Flik 41J lost eleven of the D.I fighters in accidents; the Hansa-Brandenburg's nickname became "the flying coffin". In August 1917 von Brumowski scored a remarkable streak of victories, being credited with 12 confirmed and 6 unconfirmed kills between 10 and 28 August. Two of these victories, on the 19th and 20th, were the result of a partial transition to a newer fighter plane,

1320-570: The Italian fighter force in the wake of the Battle of Caporetto . Then, when winter came on, shortages of coal and other crucial supplies further hampered production for the Empire's Air Service. Austro-Hungarian plans for 1918 called for increasing its aerial force to 100 squadrons containing 1,000 pilots. Production climbed to 2,378 aircraft for the year. Withdrawal of German air units to fight in France worsened

1375-542: The Johannisthal factory. In fact, the real cause lay in the sesquiplane arrangement taken from the Nieuport. While the lower wing had sufficient strength in static tests, it was subsequently determined that the main spar was located too far aft, causing the wing to twist under aerodynamic loads. Pilots were therefore advised not to perform steep or prolonged dives in the D.III. This design flaw persisted despite attempts to rectify

1430-521: The Russian Front. His flight log describes him as 1.77 meters (5 feet 10 inches) tall, with blue eyes and light blond hair. On 12 April 1916, Jindra and von Brumowski crewed one of the seven Austro-Hungarian planes that participated in bombing a military review attended by Czar Nicholas II. In the process, they shot down two of the seven Russian Morane-Saulnier Parasol two-seaters that attempted to drive them off. On 3 July 1916 von Brumowski became

1485-674: The armistice. They were scrapped by the Allies after the war. The K. u. K Luftfahrtruppen was organized into a trilevel organization. At the top was the Fliegerarsenal ("aviation arsenal"), a complex bureaucracy working for a civilian Ministry of War . New airplanes were shipped from the factory to a Flars group for acceptance. These groups were located: In turn, the Flars forwarded aircraft received to Fliegeretappenpark ("aviation parks"). These Fleps were each responsible for supplying

1540-456: The city, hitting military installations, the railway station and many other, mostly civilian, targets in the city. During the bombing raid, private Radoje Ljutovac fired at the enemy aircraft and shot one down. It crashed in the city and both pilots [Captain Kurt von Schäfer and his assistant, trainee officer Otto Kirsch] died from their injuries. The gun Ljutovac used was not an anti-aircraft gun but

1595-474: The empire, German models that were domestically manufactured by Austrian firms (often with modifications), and aircraft that were imported from Germany. These aircraft included: Although all of the European powers were unprepared for modern air warfare in the beginning of the conflict, Austria-Hungary was one of the most disadvantaged due to the empire's traditionalist military and civilian leadership combined with

1650-587: The end of World War I in 1918. The first officers of the air force were private pilots with no military aviation training. At the outbreak of war, the Air Service was composed of 10 observation balloons, 85 pilots and 39 operational aircraft. On 25 August 1914 (by the Old Style calendar still used in Russia)[8 September 1914 New Style], after trying various methods on previous occasions unsuccessfully, Pyotr Nesterov used his Morane-Saulnier Type G (s/n 281) to ram

1705-426: The factory. Before the war, the army also operated four airships at Fischamend : Militärluftschiff III was destroyed in a mid-air collision with a Farman HF.20 on 20 June 1914. This ended the airship program. During the war the military expressed interest in purchasing Zeppelins from Germany but failed to acquire any. The navy ordered four to be locally manufactured in 1917 but none were completed before

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1760-570: The guns on high altitude. This created a new problem; the Schwarzlose operated via blowback and the weapon contained a cartridge oiler to prevent cases from sticking in the chamber while the extractor ripped their rims off. With guns mounted directly in front of the pilot, oil released during firing interfered with aim. Oeffag engineers noted the wing failures of the D.III and modified the lower wing to use thicker ribs and spar flanges. These changes, as well as other detail improvements, largely resolved

1815-433: The month with a total of eight. By now, he was flying a single-seat fighter, the Hansa-Brandenburg D.I . Although better suited for air-to-air combat than the C.1, it still suffered three major disadvantages: the pilot's vision was partially obstructed; the single machine gun was not synchronized to fire through the propeller arc, and it was a difficult craft to fly because it was easy to spin at any altitude. Aiming and firing

1870-622: The most common variant; the K Series heavy bombers mounted an offensive against the Italians that suffered few casualties. Austro-Hungarian pilots and aircrew originally faced the air forces of Romania and Russia , while also fielding air units in Serbia , Albania , and Montenegro . Only the Imperial Russian Air Service (IRAS) posed a credible threat, although its wartime production of 4,700 air frames gave it no numerical advantage over

1925-499: The new aircraft were soon identified. Like the later models of the D.II, early D.IIIs featured a Teves und Braun airfoil-shaped radiator in the center of the upper wing, where it tended to scald the pilot if punctured. From the 290th D.III onward, the radiator was offset to the right on production machines while others were soon moved to the right as a field modification. Aircraft deployed in Palestine used two wing radiators, to cope with

1980-444: The outboard ends of the wings also. There were also serial numbers on the hull. Albatros D.III Development of the prototype D.III started in late July or early August 1916. The date of the maiden flight is unknown, but is believed to have occurred in late August or early September. Following the successful Albatros D.I and D.II series, the D.III utilized the same semi- monocoque , plywood -skinned fuselage . However, at

2035-437: The pilot. The Schwarzlose proved to be somewhat less reliable than the 7.92 mm (.312 in) LMG 08/15 , mainly due to problems with the synchronization gear . The Schwarzlose also had a poor rate of fire until the 1916 model was provided with a modification developed by Ludwig Kral. At the request of pilots, the guns were relocated to the upper fuselage decking late in the series 253 production run. It helped to warm up

2090-444: The poor local roads, riding horses into exhaustion, hunting in the mountains. He threw parties, danced, swam, ice skated to distract himself. He finally left his wife and daughter and began a flying school in Vienna in 1930, and remarried. During the early 1930s, von Brumowski piloted aircraft on behalf of the conservative Heimwehr militia. During the brief Austrian Civil War in 1934 he flew several reconnaissance missions as well as

2145-488: The problem in the D.III and succeeding Albatros D.V. Apart from its structural deficiencies, the D.III was considered pleasant and easy to fly, if somewhat heavy on the controls. The sesquiplane arrangement offered improved climb, maneuverability, and downward visibility compared to the preceding D.II. Like most contemporary aircraft, the D.III was prone to spinning, but recovery was straightforward. Albatros built approximately 500 D.III aircraft at its Johannisthal factory. In

2200-514: The request of the Idflieg (Inspectorate of Flying Troops), the D.III adopted a sesquiplane wing arrangement broadly similar to the French Nieuport 11 . The upper wingspan was extended, while the lower wing was redesigned with reduced chord and a single main spar. V-shaped interplane struts replaced the previous parallel struts. For this reason, British aircrews commonly referred to the D.III as

2255-442: The series 153 production run, Oeffag introduced a new rounded nose that eliminated the spinner. Remarkably, German wind-tunnel tests showed that the simple rounded nose improved propeller efficiency and raised the top speed by 14 km/h (8.7 mph). All Oeffag variants were armed with two 8 mm (.315 in) Schwarzlose machine guns . In most aircraft, the guns were buried in the fuselage, where they were inaccessible to

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2310-463: The situation had deteriorated to the point where an Italian attack force of 61 bombers and 84 escorting planes was opposed by an Austro-Hungarian defense of only 3 fighters and 23 two-seaters. Within two months, the Luftfahrtruppen found itself facing over 200 enemy aircraft a day. Some of the disparity can be explained by the importation of four squadrons of the Royal Flying Corps to augment

2365-617: The spring of 1917, D.III production shifted to Albatros' subsidiary, Ostdeutsche Albatros Werke (OAW), to permit Albatros to concentrate on development and production of the D.V . Between April and August 1917, Idflieg issued five separate orders for a total of 840 D.IIIs. The OAW variant underwent its Typenprüfung in June 1917. Production commenced at the Schneidemühl factory in June and continued through December 1917. OAW aircraft were distinguishable by their larger, rounded rudders. Peak service

2420-493: The structural problems that had plagued German versions of the D.III. In service, the Oeffag aircraft proved to be popular, robust, and effective. Oeffag built approximately 526 D.III aircraft between May 1917 and the Armistice (586 in total according to other publications). After the Armistice, in early 1919 Poland bought 38 series 253 aircraft from the factory, ten more were rebuilt from wartime leftovers. Poland operated them in

2475-555: The war on 15 May 1915 opened another front and brought the Empire's greatest opponent into the air war. The new front was in the southern Alps, making for hazardous flying and near-certain death to any aviators crash-landing in the mountains. To remedy Italy's initial shortage of fighter planes, France posted a squadron to defend Venice from the Austro-Hungarians. The 1916 Austro-Hungarian aviation program called for expansion to 48 squadrons by year's end but only 37 were established. Two-seater reconnaissance and bomber squadrons often had

2530-444: The war. These naval aircraft were more elaborately marked. Typically, a flying boat sported a black cross pattée on a box of white background for national insignia; the boxed crosses were found on top of upper wing surfaces both port and starboard , under both lower wing surfaces, and on the sides of the hull. Additionally, the rudder and elevators were blocked out in red and white; broad red and white bands were sometimes applied to

2585-605: The warmer climate. More seriously, the new aircraft immediately began experiencing failures of the lower wing ribs and leading edge, a defect shared with the Nieuport 17 . On 23 January 1917, a Jasta 6 pilot suffered a failure of the lower right wing spar. On the following day, Manfred von Richthofen suffered a crack in the lower wing of his new D.III. On 27 January, the Kogenluft ( Kommandierender General der Luftstreitkräfte ) issued an order grounding all D.IIIs pending resolution of

2640-519: The wing failure problem. On 19 February, after Albatros introduced a reinforced lower wing, the Kogenluft rescinded the grounding order. New production D.IIIs were completed with the strengthened wing while operational D.IIIs were withdrawn to Armee-Flugparks for modifications, forcing Jastas to use the Albatros D.II and Halberstadt D.II during the interim. At the time, the continued wing failures were attributed to poor workmanship and materials at

2695-487: Was declared against Serbia on 28 July 1914. He served on the Eastern Front against Russia, winning both a Bronze and Silver Medal for Bravery before transferring to air service in the Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops ( k.u.k. Luftfahrtruppen ). He was posted to Fliegerkompagnie 1 (Flik 1) at Czernowitz , commanded by Hauptmann Otto Jindra , in July 1915; von Brumowski was thus initially assigned as an aerial observer on

2750-632: Was established on the Italian Front as Austro-Hungary's first dedicated fighter squadron, von Brumowski was chosen to command it. He spent nine days in March flying four sorties with the Germans of Jagdstaffel 24 to learn German fighter tactics, before assuming his command. While here he met the Red Baron , Manfred von Richthofen ; von Brumowski would later copy the baron's aircraft paint scheme for his own plane. Brumowski continued amassing victories through May, ending

2805-917: Was in November 1917, with 446 aircraft on the Western Front. The D.III did not disappear with the end of production, however. It remained in frontline service well into 1918. As of 31 August 1918, 54 D.III aircraft remained on the Western Front. In the autumn of 1916, Oesterreichische Flugzeugfabrik AG (Oeffag) obtained a licence to build the D.III at Wiener-Neustadt . Deliveries commenced in May 1917. The aircraft were officially designated as Albatros D.III (Oeffag) , but were known as Oeffag Albatros D.III in Austro-Hungary, and just Oeffag D.III in Poland. The Oeffag aircraft were built in three main versions (series 53.2, 153, 253) using

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2860-558: Was not limited to the usage of handicraft construction instead of assembly lines. For instance, the most widely used Austro-Hungarian fighter, the Hansa-Brandenburg D.I , lacked the gun synchronization gear that would allow aiming the airplane's nose and firing its weaponry through the propeller. Wartime production totaled 5,180 airplanes for four years of war; by comparison, Austria-Hungary's major foe, Italy, built about 18,000 in three years. Austro-Hungarian practice included inspection of completed aircraft by army officers before they left

2915-635: Was ordered on extended leave. His last successful fight was on 19 June; he scored his 35th victory and suffered 37 hits in his plane. He had flown 439 combat sorties, but his combat career was ended. Also on 23 June he was invited by Generaloberst (Colonel-General) Ferdinand to make the customary mandatory application for Austria-Hungary's highest decoration, the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa . Brumowski's reply: "If I have earned this award through my service, then it should be cause enough for

2970-461: Was painted all red, in emulation of von Richthofen, with the addition of mustard-colored skulls on either side of the fuselage. This paint scheme would become characteristic of his aircraft until war's end. On 1 February 1918, von Brumowski became involved in a fight with eight enemy fighters. Some of the 26 bullets striking his Albatros ignited the fuel tank built into the upper wing. He managed to land at his home field without serious injury, becoming

3025-443: Was the effective end of the Luftfahrtruppen , as its parent nation passed into history. Luftfahrtruppen strength had peaked at only 550 aircraft during the war, despite having four fronts to cover. Its wartime losses amounted to 20 percent of its naval fliers killed in action or accident, and 38 percent of its army aviators. The aircraft employed by the Air Service were a combination of Austro-Hungarian designs built within

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