Austro-Hungarian Air Service
Encyclopedia
The Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops (Kaiserliche und Königliche Luftfahrtruppen or K.u.K. Luftfahrtruppen) was the air force
of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire
until the empire's demise in 1918. It saw combat on both the Eastern Front
and Italian Front
during World War I
. Despite being much smaller and usually less technologically advanced than the German or British air forces, it performed with tenacity and bravery during the war.
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 the end of World War I in 1918. The first officers of the air force were private pilots with no prior military aviation training.
At the outbreak of war, the Air Service was composed of 10 observation balloons, 85 pilots, and 39 operable aircraft. By the end of 1914, they managed to have 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 seaplane
s; Gottfried Freiherr von Banfield became an ace in one. The Adriatic Coast seaplane stations also hosted bombers. Lohners were the most common variant; however, the K Series heavy bombers mounted a successful offensive against the Italians that suffered few casualties.
Austro-Hungarian pilots and aircrew originally faced off against the air forces of Romania
and Russia, while also fielding air units in Serbia
, Albania
, and Montenegro
. Only the Imperial Russian Air Service posed a credible threat, although its wartime production of 4,700 air frames gave it no logistical edge over the Luftfahrtruppen before the IRAS ceased operations in mid-1917. Nevertheless, the Austro-Hungarians requested, and received, aerial reinforcements from its German allies, especially in Galicia.
Italy's entry into 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 crashlanding in the mountains. To remedy Italy's initial shortage of fighter planes, France posted a squadron to defend Venice
and oppose the Austro-Hungarians.
The 1916 Austro-Hungarian aviation program called for expansion to 48 squadrons by year's end; however, only 37 were activated in time. Two-seater reconnaissance and bomber squadrons often had a number of single-seat fighters integrated into the unit to serve 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 activate the 31 units needed. Nevertheless, the Luftfahrtruppen began to lose its Italian campaign as Italian superior numbers began to tell. By 19 June 1917, 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 every day. Some of the disparity can be explained by the importation of four squadrons of the Royal Flying Corps
to augment 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 ramping up its aerial force to 100 squadrons containing 1,000 pilots. Production climbed to 2,378 aircraft for the year. However, withdrawal of German air units to fight in France worsened the Austro-Hungarian's shortage of aircraft. By June 1918, the Luftfahrtruppens strength peaked at 77 Fliks; only 16 were fighter squadrons. By 26 October, a fighter mass of some 400 Italian, British, and French airplanes attacked in the air even as Italian ground forces pushed for victory. The attrited Austro-Hungarians could only launch 29 airplanes in opposition. The local armistice on 3 November 1918 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.
models that were domestically manufactured by Austrian firms (often with modifications), and planes 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 a relatively low degree of industrialisation
. The Empire's agricultural economy mitigated against innovation. Such industry as it possessed was used wastefully for aircraft manufacture; instead of producing single typles of aircraft from dedicated assembly lines, contracts were let to multiple factories, and individual factories were producing multiple types of aircraft. Shortage of skilled labor also hampered production. Technological backwardness 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 synchronizer gear that would allow aiming the airplane's nose and firing its weaponry through the propeller arc.
Wartime production totaled 5,180 airplanes for four years of war; by comparison, Austria-Hungary's major foe, Italy, built about 12,000 in three years. Austro-Hungarian practice included inspection of completed aircraft by army officers before they left the factory.
. New airplanes were shipped from 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 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 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 Fliegercompanies 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 a letter suffix denoting the unit's mission. For instance:
Austria-Hungary produced 413 seaplanes during 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 the outboard ends of the wings also. There were also serial numbers on the hull.
Air force
An air force, also known in some countries as an air army, is in the broadest sense, the national military organization that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army, navy or...
of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
until the empire's demise in 1918. It saw combat on both the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War I)
The Eastern Front was a theatre of war during World War I in Central and, primarily, Eastern Europe. The term is in contrast to the Western Front. Despite the geographical separation, the events in the two theatres strongly influenced each other...
and Italian Front
Italian Campaign (World War I)
The Italian campaign refers to a series of battles fought between the armies of Austria-Hungary and Italy, along with their allies, in northern Italy between 1915 and 1918. Italy hoped that by joining the countries of the Triple Entente against the Central Powers it would gain Cisalpine Tyrol , the...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Despite being much smaller and usually less technologically advanced than the German or British air forces, it performed with tenacity and bravery during the war.
History
The Air Service began in 1893 as a balloonHot air balloon
The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology. It is in a class of aircraft known as balloon aircraft. On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first untethered manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air...
corps (Militär-Aeronautische Anstalt) and would later be re-organized in 1912 under the command of Major Emil Uzelac
Emil Uzelac
Milan Emil Uzelac was a Croatian soldier and military commander who was a leading figure in the air forces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Independent State of Croatia.-Life:...
, an army engineering officer. The Air Service would remain under his command until the end of World War I in 1918. The first officers of the air force were private pilots with no prior military aviation training.
At the outbreak of war, the Air Service was composed of 10 observation balloons, 85 pilots, and 39 operable aircraft. By the end of 1914, they managed to have 147 operational aircraft deployed in 14 units. Just as Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
fielded a joint army and navy, they also had army and naval aviation arms. The latter operated seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
s; Gottfried Freiherr von Banfield became an ace in one. The Adriatic Coast seaplane stations also hosted bombers. Lohners were the most common variant; however, the K Series heavy bombers mounted a successful offensive against the Italians that suffered few casualties.
Austro-Hungarian pilots and aircrew originally faced off against the air forces of Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and Russia, while also fielding air units in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, and Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
. Only the Imperial Russian Air Service posed a credible threat, although its wartime production of 4,700 air frames gave it no logistical edge over the Luftfahrtruppen before the IRAS ceased operations in mid-1917. Nevertheless, the Austro-Hungarians requested, and received, aerial reinforcements from its German allies, especially in Galicia.
Italy's entry into 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 crashlanding in the mountains. To remedy Italy's initial shortage of fighter planes, France posted a squadron to defend Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
and oppose the Austro-Hungarians.
The 1916 Austro-Hungarian aviation program called for expansion to 48 squadrons by year's end; however, only 37 were activated in time. Two-seater reconnaissance and bomber squadrons often had a number of single-seat fighters integrated into the unit to serve 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 activate the 31 units needed. Nevertheless, the Luftfahrtruppen began to lose its Italian campaign as Italian superior numbers began to tell. By 19 June 1917, 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 every day. Some of the disparity can be explained by the importation of four squadrons of the Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
to augment the Italian fighter force in the wake of the Battle of Caporetto
Battle of Caporetto
The Battle of Caporetto , took place from 24 October to 19 November 1917, near the town of Kobarid , on the Austro-Italian front of World War I...
. 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 ramping up its aerial force to 100 squadrons containing 1,000 pilots. Production climbed to 2,378 aircraft for the year. However, withdrawal of German air units to fight in France worsened the Austro-Hungarian's shortage of aircraft. By June 1918, the Luftfahrtruppens strength peaked at 77 Fliks; only 16 were fighter squadrons. By 26 October, a fighter mass of some 400 Italian, British, and French airplanes attacked in the air even as Italian ground forces pushed for victory. The attrited Austro-Hungarians could only launch 29 airplanes in opposition. The local armistice on 3 November 1918 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.
Aircraft
The aircraft employed by the Air Service were a combination of Austro-Hungarian designs built within the empire, GermanGerman Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
models that were domestically manufactured by Austrian firms (often with modifications), and planes that were imported from Germany. These aircraft included:
- Etrich Taube
- Lohner L
- Lohner C.I
- Fokker A.III
- Fokker E.IIIFokker E.III|-See also:...
- Knoller C.IIKnoller C.II-External links:*...
- Hansa-Brandenburg B.IHansa-Brandenburg B.I|-See also:-External links:*...
- Hansa-Brandenburg C.IHansa-Brandenburg C.I-See also:-References:# Munson, Kenneth - Bombers, Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft 1914 - 1919 ISBN 0 7537 0918 X# # # -External links:* ....
- Hansa-Brandenburg D.IHansa-Brandenburg D.I|-See also:-Bibliography:*Angelucci, Enzo . World Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft. London: Jane's, 1981. ISBN 0 7106 0148 4.*Gray, Peter and Thetford, Owen. German Aircraft of the First World War. London: Putnam, 1962....
- Hansa-Brandenburg G.IHansa-Brandenburg G.I|-References:...
- Aviatik B.IIIAviatik B.III-See also:...
- Aviatik D.IAviatik D.I-References / external links:* Munson, Kenneth - Fighters, Attack and Training Aircraft 1914-19 ISBN 0-7537-0916-3* *-See also:...
- Albatros B.IAlbatros B.I|-See also:...
- Albatros D.IIAlbatros D.II|-See also:...
- Albatros D.IIIAlbatros D.IIIThe Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service and the Austro-Hungarian Air Service during World War I. The D.III was flown by many top German aces, including Manfred von Richthofen, Ernst Udet, Erich Löwenhardt, Kurt Wolff, and Karl Emil Schäfer...
- Phönix D.IPhönix D.I-Bibliography:...
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 a relatively low degree of industrialisation
Industrialisation
Industrialization is the process of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial one...
. The Empire's agricultural economy mitigated against innovation. Such industry as it possessed was used wastefully for aircraft manufacture; instead of producing single typles of aircraft from dedicated assembly lines, contracts were let to multiple factories, and individual factories were producing multiple types of aircraft. Shortage of skilled labor also hampered production. Technological backwardness 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 synchronizer gear that would allow aiming the airplane's nose and firing its weaponry through the propeller arc.
Wartime production totaled 5,180 airplanes for four years of war; by comparison, Austria-Hungary's major foe, Italy, built about 12,000 in three years. Austro-Hungarian practice included inspection of completed aircraft by army officers before they left the factory.
Organization
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 WarMinistry of War
A Ministry of War or Ministry for War is an administrative, supply and services agency of an army, as opposed to the entire military establishment. Both Mexico and Brazil both still maintain a War Department for the support of their armies...
. New airplanes were shipped from factory to a Flars group for acceptance. These groups were located:
- No. I at AspernAspernAspern is part of Donaustadt, the 22nd district of Vienna.In 1904, the formerly independent village was incorporated into Vienna as part of the 21st district, Floridsdorf. Only in 1946 did it become part of the newly created 22nd district, Donaustadt. The area is known because of the Battle of...
, Austria - No. II at Budapest, Hungary
- No. III at Wiener-Neustadt (later moved to the AnatraAnatraAnatra was an aircraft manufacturer founded by Artur Antonovich Anatra at Odessa, Ukraine, then Russian Empire in 1913 which manufactured several light aircraft designs from then to 1917....
plant in OdessaOdessaOdessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,... - No. IV at CampoformidoCampoformidoCampoformido is a town and comune in the province of Udine, in north-eastern Italy, notable for the Treaty of Campo Formio.The village of Rivolto , in the comune of Codroipo, hosts the Italian Air Force acrobatic flight squadron, the Frecce Tricolori....
, Italy - An unnumbered group in Berlin to accept German aircraft
In turn, the Flars forwarded aircraft received to Fliegeretappenpark ("aviation parks"). These Fleps were each responsible for supplying 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 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 Fliegercompanies 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 a letter suffix denoting the unit's mission. For instance:
- 'J' denoted Jagdfliegercompanie, a fighter squadron
- 'P' meant Photoeinsitzerkompanie, or a single-seater photographic reconnaissance squadron. 'Rb' designated a squadron capable of flying photo sequences and mosaics.
- 'D' meant a squadron was a Divisionsfliegerkompanie flying short range reconnaissance for an army division.
- 'K' showed that the Korpsfligerkompanie was flying short range recon for a corps.
- 'F', by contrast, was a long range recon unit.
- 'S' was attached to ground support squadrons; they were often repurposed 'D' squadrons.
- 'G' denoted a bomber squadron.
Markings
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 the war. These naval aircraft were more elaborately marked. Typically, a flying boat sported a black Cross pattée
Cross pattée
A cross pattée is a type of cross which has arms narrow at the centre, and broader at the perimeter. An early English example from the start of the age of heraldry proper A cross pattée (or "cross patty", known also as "cross formée/formy") is a type of cross which has arms narrow at the...
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 the outboard ends of the wings also. There were also serial numbers on the hull.