Originally Posted by
Top_Gunn
Less well-known than Fonck, as well, I think. Here's this morning's clue, and a few additional words for Clue No. 1.
A name-the-pilot quiz. His name is far from being a household word, but he was very well known in his day.
1. The highest-scoring ace of his service, the highest-scoring ace ever born in what is now a particular country (though it was part of a different country when he was born), and possibly the highest scoring ace in one particular sort of aircraft, though there are no solid statistics about that. I have deliberately used the word "sort" in the previous sentence to avoid using a technical term. I have in mind something a little broader than "class," and much broader than "type." I don't know what specific airplane or airplanes he flew.
2. After the war, he lived in two countries which had been on the side against which he had fought.
3. He claimed a larger number of unconfirmed victories than confirmed ones. The unusually high ratio of unconfirmed to confirmed victories was probably attributable to the fact that he flew many of his missions unaccompanied by other aircraft.
4. He was awarded a medal which, at the time, had been given to only one other person who was not a general.
Okay; I'm finally fully awake now. I kept thinking about aces from countries that ceased to exist after WWI. The problem was, that list is kind of confusing and hard to search. And I finally put that with the idea of men who flew flying boats. Clue (4) rang a bell and I started looking until I found what I was looking for. I read about him a few years ago. Apparently, he deserved credit for many of the "unconfirmed" claims. After the war, a search of then enemy records often matched his claims. Thanks; Ernie P.
Answer: Gottfried Freiherr von Banfield
Gottfried Freiherr von Banfield (6 February 1890 – 23 September 1986) was the most successful Austro-Hungarian naval aeroplane pilot in the First World War. He was known as the 'Eagle of Trieste' and was the last person in history to wear the Military Order of Maria Theresa. He may have been the only flying ace who flew a flying boat to five or more victories. Wartime experience
At the start of the First World War, Banfield was posted to fly the Lohner flying boat E.21 allocated to the pre-dreadnought battleship SMS Zrínyi for aerial reconnaissance. He took part in the first aerial actions against Montenegro from the base of Cattaro. In the period following he worked as a test pilot and instructor at the airfield on the island of Santa Catarina off Pola. Once the Italians entered the war he was commissioned with building up a larger seaplane station near Trieste, and after its completion was named as its commanding officer. He retained his command until the end of the war. He won his first air-battles in a Lohner biplane seaplane against the Italians and their French allies in the gulf of Trieste in the month of June 1915, downing a balloon on the 27th. Even coming up against his old teacher Jean-Louis Conneau (better known as André Beaumont) in September 1915. Experimenting with a monoplane seaplane early in 1916, he won many victories and for a time held first place among the Austrian aces. He was wounded in combat in 1918. Decorations and military tally
Banfield's 9 confirmed and 11 unconfirmed air-kills make him the most successful Austro-Hungarian naval airplane fighter, and he holds a place among the most successful flying aces of Austro-Hungary. It was because he made most of his expeditions over the northern Adriatic, and therefore many of his attributed air-victories could not be confirmed, that accounts for his high tally of unconfirmed air-conquests. For his military services he was in 1916 decorated with the Large Military Merit Medal with Swords. Founded on 1 April 1916, this honour was intended for the "highest especially praiseworthy recognition" and was awarded only 30 times. 28 of its recipients were officers of general's rank; the other two were the cryptologistHermann Pokorny (1918) and Banfield himself. On 17 August 1917 Banfield was further honoured when he received the Military Order of Maria Theresa. Individuals who received the order and were not already members of the Austrian nobility were ennobled and received the hereditary title of 'Freiherr', meaning 'Baron' to their family name. At the time of his death in 1986, Freiherr von Banfield was the last living Knight of the Military Order of Maria Theresa.
Il Barone at Trieste
After the First World War, the city of Trieste was annexed by Italy, and Freiherr von Banfield was for a time imprisoned by the occupation police. In 1920 he emigrated to England and became a British subject. He married the Contessa Maria Tripcovich of Trieste (d. 1976). They settled in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, where their son Raphael Douglas, known to the world as the composer Raffaello de Banfield Tripcovich, was born in 1922. In 1926, Gottfried took Italian nationality and returned to Trieste to become Director of the Diodato Tripcovich and Co. Trieste Shipping-Company, which he took over from his father-in-law. Trieste Company ships then sailed under the Italian flag. Banfield became a celebrity of the city, usually called "Our Baron", Il nostro Barone] even winning a local tennis championship in 1927. Serving as the Honorary Consul of France at Trieste, he was decorated with the Legion d'Honneur in 1977. Freiherr von Banfield died in Trieste 23 September 1986, at the age of 96.