Franz Rudorfer | |
|---|---|
 Franz Rudorfer.jpg | |
| Born | 29 August 1897 Vienna, Austria |
| Died | 13 November 1919 Turin, Italy |
| Allegiance | Austro-Hungarian Empire |
| Service/ | Infantry; aviation |
| Years of service | 1914–1919 |
| Rank | Oberleutnant |
| Unit | Flik 19D, Flik 51J |
| Awards | Order of the Iron Crown, Military Merit Cross |
| Other work | Pioneered European civil aviation |
Oberleutnant Franz Rudorfer (1897-1919) was an Austro-Hungarian World War I flying ace credited with eleven confirmed and two unconfirmed aerial victories. [1]
Franz Rudorfer was born on 29 August 1897 in Vienna, Austria, when it was still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. [2] [3]
Rudorfer had volunteered for service before World War I began. [4] He was posted to Infanterieregiment No. 59 as a new leutnant in August 1916. In May 1917, he requested transfer to aviation. His first posting after observer training at Wiener-Neustadt was Flik 19J on the Italian front, under the command of Adolf Heyrowsky. Here he scored his first victory, becoming a balloon buster on 15 November 1917. It was also during his Flik 19J assignment that Rudorfer began to teach himself to fly. [1] [4] He would become a pilot without undergoing formal training. [5]
In April 1918, he was posted to Flik 51J to fly Albatros D.III fighters. [1] Between 17 April and 27 October 1918, he reeled off confirmed victories over eight enemy airplanes and two more observation balloons, along with two unconfirmed. [4] During the crucial Battle of Vittorio Veneto, Rudorfer was one of the few Austro-Hungarians flying, bringing down a balloon on 24 October, and a couple of Sopwith Camels on the 27th. He would score no more victories before the war ended on 11 November 1918. [1]
On 30 December 1918, Franz Rudorfer received Austrian Pilot's Certificate No. 2647.[ citation needed ]
In December 1918, as a volunteer, he joined the ranks of the Ukrainian Galician Army, the military force of the West Ukrainian People's Republic, where he continued as a fighter pilot in the 1st Air Company and took part in the fighting of the Polish-Ukrainian War. Here he clashed with former Austro-Hungarian pilots who participated in the war on the Polish side. After the successful Polish offensive, which captured Lviv in May 1919, and the rapid advance of the Polish army further east, Rudorfer together with another pilot Ivan Zharsky deserted with their planes and landed at the airport in Košice in then Czechoslovakia on 25 May 1919. [6] They were arrested by the local authorities but released soon afterwards. After this incident Rudorfer returned to Vienna. [6]
Franz Rudorfer died in a plane crash near Turin in Italy on 13 November 1919. [7] [8]
Stefan Stanisław Stec was a Polish aviator and military pilot, one of the pioneers of Polish aviation. He is also credited as the originator of the Polish Air Force checkerboard.
Julius Arigi was a flying ace of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in World War I with a total of 32 credited victories. His victory total was second only to Godwin von Brumowski. Arigi was considered a superb natural pilot. He was also a technical innovator responsible for engineering changes in the aircraft he flew.
Godwin Karol Marian von Brumowsky was the most successful fighter ace of the Austro-Hungarian Air Force during World War I. He was officially credited with 35 air victories, 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 the Isonzo front.
Oberleutnant Béla Macourek was a Austro-Hungarian World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. He entered the First World War as a mounted artillery officer. Two years campaigning brought him a Bronze Military Merit Medal. In mid-1916, he volunteered as an aerial observer. Over the next two years, he would progress to pilot, deputy commander, then commander while destroying five enemy airplanes. He was awarded the Silver Military Merit Medal and the Military Merit Cross.
OberleutnantRudolf Szepessy-Sokoll Freiherr von Negyes et Reno was a Hungarian World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. He began his military career as a cavalryman as the war began in 1914. After winning the Silver Medal for Bravery and being promoted into the officers' ranks, he transferred to the Austro-Hungarian Aviation Troops in mid-1915 as an aerial observer. On 14 February 1916, while participating in a historic strategic bombing raid on Milan, he scored his first aerial victory. After shooting down another airplane and an observation balloon, Szepessy-Sokoll was transferred to a fighter unit after pilot training. After shooting down a pair of Macchi L.3s on 5 November 1917, he was killed in action the next day.
Franz Wognar (1890-1943) was an Austrian-Hungarian World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. Wognar joined the Austro-Hungarian Armed Forces in 1913 as a trained mechanic. As the war broke out in 1914, he transferred to the Austro-Hungarian Aviation Troops. After pilot training, he was posted to fly two-seater reconnaissance aircraft over the early Battles of the Isonzo in northern Italy. Wognar flew reconnaissance, aerial photo, and artillery direction missions throughout 1916. Between 26 January and 16 September 1917, Wognar would score five victories. His fifth victory, over an Italian observation balloon, was extraordinary because very few pilots succeeded in balloon busting with a two-seater plane. Wognar was reassigned to test pilot duty. He ended the war with one Gold and four Silver awards of the Medal for Bravery.
FeldwebelAndreas Dombrowski was an Austro-Hungarian World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories scored on three different fronts. He was conscripted into the Austro-Hungarian military in 1915. Dombrowski underwent pilot's training, gaining his license in June 1916. Posted to the Russian Front during the Brusilov Offensive to fly reconnaissance, he was credited with his first victory on 17 August 1916. In September, 1916 he was transferred to the Romanian Front. Still flying a reconnaissance aircraft, he fought four more successful engagements during 1917, becoming an ace. Transferred to the Italian Front in April 1918, he flew an Albatros D.III for his former observer, Karl Patzelt. On 4 May 1918, Dombrowski scored his sixth and final victory, then took a bullet to the face and crashlanded. Once healed, he went to a photographic reconnaissance unit for the rest of the war.
FeldwebelAlexander Kasza was an Austro-Hungarian World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories.
Franz Peter was an Austrian flying ace credited with six aerial victories in World War I while flying for Austria-Hungary's Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops.
OberleutnantLudwig Hautzmayer was an Austro-Hungarian World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories. He was a prewar reserve infantry officer; when war broke out, he fought until suffering a severe leg wound on 8 September 1914. When recovered, he transferred to the Austro-Hungarian Aviation Troops as an aerial observer in March, 1915. After 40 combat missions on the Eastern Front, he underwent fighter pilot training. Once qualified, he was posted to the Isonzo Front, where he became an ace. Appointed commander of his own fighter squadron, Flik 61J, he was one of the few reserve officers so entrusted as a leader. After scoring two more victories, he ended the war with multiple decorations, up to the Order of Leopold. Postwar, he flew as an airline pilot for Malert until killed in a crash at Croydon, England on 9 December 1936.
Hauptmann József von Maier, after 1922 József Modory, was an Austro-Hungarian World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories.
OberleutnantAlexander Tahy was a Hungarian World War I flying ace credited with eight aerial victories while serving with the Austro-Hungarian Aviation Troops. He began the war as an artilleryman, winning the Silver Medal for Bravery in May 1915. In early 1916, he transferred to aviation duty as an aerial observer. Between 3 December 1916 and 26 June 1917, he was credited with five aerial victories for Fliegerkompanie 19, earning another three decorations. Having taught himself to fly, he transferred to a fighter unit, Fliegerkompanie 51J for his last three victories. On 7 March 1918, Tahy died in a flying accident. His greatest honor came after his death, when he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Leopold with War Decorations and Swords.
Károly Kaszala was an Austro-Hungarian World War I flying ace credited with eight aerial victories, thus winning his nation's highest honor, the Gold Medal for Bravery. Joining the military in 1914, he volunteered for aviation duty after recruit training. After pilot's training, he was posted to Fliegerkompanie 14, where he refused to fly his assigned aircraft. He was transferred for his insubordination; as he gained experience in his new unit, he and his observers managed to score three aerial victories from his reconnaissance two-seater. He was then upgraded to single-seat fighters, winning four more victories by the end of 1917. He was then posted to test pilot duties until war's end. In addition to the Gold Medal for Bravery, he had won three Silver Medals for Bravery and a German Iron Cross.
Leutnant Franz Gräser (1892-1918) was an Austro-Hungarian World War I flying ace credited with 18 aerial victories. Initially commander of a machine gun unit, he transferred to aviation as an observer. Remarkably, he learned to fly without going through aviation training. Coached by a friendly pilot, he became a fighter pilot without a pilot's license. He would be credited with 18 victories before dying in a flaming shootdown.
Hauptmann Otto Jindra was an Austro-Hungarian flying ace during World War I, credited with nine aerial victories while flying as an aerial observer. His abilities as both leader and administrator led to his accelerated promotion and appointments to command of aviation units despite his lack of pilot's credentials. After World War I and Austria-Hungary both ended, Jindra became a major mover in founding a Czechoslovakian air arm, which he eventually rose to command.
Oberst Adolf Heyrowsky, was a career officer in the Austro-Hungarian military who turned to aviation. He became an accredited flying ace during World War I, with twelve aerial victories scored despite the fact he was a reconnaissance pilot instead of flying fighters. The units he flew in and commanded had long range recon and ground attacks as their primary mission.
Kurt Gruber was an Austro-Hungarian flying ace during the First World War who held the rank of Offiziersstellvertreter. He was credited with eleven aerial victories, 5 shared with other pilots.
Oberleutnant Ernst Strohschneider was an Austro-Hungarian flying ace during World War I. He was credited with 15 confirmed aerial victories during his rise to the simultaneous command of two fighter squadrons. He died in a flying accident on 21 March 1918.
Feldwebel Stefan Fejes was an Austro-Hungarian flying ace credited with 16 confirmed and 4 unconfirmed aerial victories during World War I. By war's end, he had not only received numerous decorations, he had been personally promoted by his emperor.
Stabsfeldwebel Ferdinand Udvardy was a Hungarian conscript into the military of the Austro-Hungarian Empire who became a flying ace credited with nine aerial victories. Upon the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, Udvardy became a Hungarian citizen, and in the aftermath of World War I, defended his new nation against invasion.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
