ORIGINAL: cfircav8r
Godwin Brumowski?
That would be the man. While reading of Brumowski, I was struck by how much his background, etc., matched with Richthofens. Congratulations! You get to ask the next question. Thanks; Ernie P.
-Background-
Godwin Brumowski (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. Brumowski rose to command of all his country’s fighter aviation fighting Italy on the Isonzo front.[2]
Brumowski was born into a military family in Wadowice, Galicia, in what is now Poland. He attended the Technical Military Academy in Vienna and graduated as a leutnant (second lieutenant) on 18 August 1910. He was serving in the 6th Artillery Division and had just turned 25 when war was declared against Serbia on 28 July 1914. He served on the Eastern front against Russia, winning both a Bronze and Silver Military Medal for Bravery before transferring to air service in der kaiserliche und königliche Luftfahrtruppen (the Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops).
He was posted to Fliegerkompagnie 1 (abbreviated Flik 1) in July 1915; his flight log describes him as 1.77 meters (5 feet 10 inches) tall, with blue eyes and light blond hair. He was assigned as Hauptmann Otto Jindra’s observer.
On 12 April 1916 Jindra was his pilot when Brumowski participated in his first daring act in his new unit; they bombed 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 Brumowski became 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 Brumowski became an ace while still flying two-seater craft basically unsuited for air to air combat.
The next month, when Flik 41J was established on the Italian Front as Austro-Hungary’s first dedicated fighter squadron, Brumowski was chosen to command it. He spent nine days in March flying four sorties with the Germans of Jagdgstaffel 24 to learn German fighter tactics, before assuming his command. While here he met the Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen; Brumowski would later copy the baron's aircraft paint scheme for his own plane.
Brumowski continued amassing victories through May, ending 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 tricky craft to fly because it was easy to spin. at any altitude. Aiming and firing 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.
By October 1917, his Albatross had been painted red, and when airborne, his squadron was easily identified by the macabre insignia Brumowski designed: a white skull on a black background.
He died in a plane crash while instructing a student at Schipol Airfield, in Holland.