Early life and service

Bönsch studied mechanics at the State Trade School. He originally joined the army in 1915, but after completing basic training transferred to aviation. His original assignment was as a mechanic with Fliegerersatzkompagnie 6.

Flying service

He requested flight training in 1917. He completed it at Flek 8 on 22 June 1917. His promotion to corporal followed six days later. In August, he was assigned to Flik 51 on the Italian front; he scored his first victory shortly thereafter, on 1 September, teamed with Franz Wognar

Franz Wognar

Offizierstellvertreter Franz Wognar was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories.-List of aerial victories:-References:...

. He became a balloon buster

Balloon buster

Balloon busters were military pilots known for destroying enemy observation balloons. These pilots were noted for their fearlessness. Seventy-six fighter pilots in World War I were each credited with destroying five or more balloons, and thus were balloon aces....

 with his next triumph, on 28 September; it took several firing passes at 700 meters altitude through heavy ground fire, dodging a couple of enemy fighters, to down the balloon. In the next thirteen months, his victory skein would include five more balloons, making him the Austro-Hungarian's leading balloon killer. He received his first Medal for Bravery for this victory. He also downed a Nieuport

Nieuport

Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars.-Beginnings:...

 the following day.

Bönsch began the new year of 1918 by surviving being shot down by anti-aircraft fire. He also added other dimensions to his flying repertoire. On 10 March, he led such a determined assault on an escorted of Italian Caproni

Caproni

thumb|right|300px|[[Caproni Ca.316]] seaplane at its moorings.Caproni was an Italian aircraft manufacturer founded in 1908 by Giovanni Battista "Gianni" Caproni....

s that the bombers aborted the mission. The next day, Bönsch began a week of low-level raids on the Italian airfields at Marcon

Marcon

Marcon is a comune in the province of Venice, the region of Veneto, Italy.It contains the hamlets of Gaggio and San Liberale. It is bordered by Mogliano Veneto, Quarto d'Altino, and Venice.-External links:...

 and Treviso

Treviso

Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...

, and the port of Portegrandi. The next few months, from April through October, Bönsch carried out a hectic double load of air-to-air combat intermixed with ground attack strikes, including at the Battle of the Piave.

On 8 October 1918, he became one of the few World War I pilots to survive being set afire; he parachuted to safety. He made his way back to his home airfield from enemy territory and returned to battle. He scored his final four victories after this incident. By 24 October, the Battle of Vittorio Veneto

Battle of Vittorio Veneto

The Battle of Vittorio Veneto was fought between 24 October and 3 November 1918, near Vittorio Veneto, during the Italian Campaign of World War I...

 had worn the local Austro-Hungarian air force down to only 29 planes. Bönsch was one of the remaining pilots, and scored two victories on the 27th, and one each on the 28th and 29th.

Post World War I

After the war, he was an innkeeper. When World War II began, he returned to duty and was appointed Hauptmann because of his prior experience. He then served at Oschatz Air Base in Saxony.

Reference

• Balloon-Busting Aces of World War 1. Jon Guttman. Osprey Publishing, 2005. ISBN 1841768774, 9781841768779
• Austro-Hungarian aces of World War 1 Christopher Chant. Osprey Publishing, 2002. ISBN 1841763764, 9781841763767.