Gottfried von Banfield
Gottfried Banfield , from 1917 to 1919 Freiherr von Banfield, (born February 6, 1890 in Castelnuovo , Dalmatia , Austria-Hungary , † September 23, 1986 in Trieste ) was the most successful Austro-Hungarian naval aviator in the First World War . He went down in history as the “Eagle of Trieste” and the last living bearer of the Maria Theresa Order .
Life
Before the First World War
Gottfried Banfield was born in Castelnuovo in 1890. His ancestors came from Ireland , his mother was the daughter of the first Freiherr Mumb von Mühlheim. He attended the military secondary school in Sankt Pölten and the Naval Academy Fiume , on June 17, 1909, he was retired as a midshipman. In May 1912 he was promoted to frigate lieutenant. A month later he began pilot training at the flight school in Wiener Neustadt and received his flight license in August. At the sea flight station on the island of Santa Catarina off Pula , he trained sea flight. In an emergency landing in 1913, he injured his leg so badly that he was no longer operational until the outbreak of war.
Service in the First World War
At the beginning of the First World War , Banfield flew the reconnaissance aircraft assigned to SMS Zrinyi in reconnaissance and reconnaissance missions from the Kumbor naval air station . In the following time he worked as a test pilot and trainer on Santa Catarina. After Italy entered the war in 1915, he was commissioned to build another sea air station near Trieste and, after its completion, was appointed its commander. He held this position until the end of the war.
After Italy entered the war, Banfield was entrusted with the construction and management of its own seaplane base in Trieste. In this he was so successful that from the beginning of 1916 supply routes for the Italians could be bombed. Also Venice (the Arsenal , the Maritime Station and the main railway station Santa Lucia ) were among the strategic objectives. The bombing of Venice made Karl Kraus the subject of a scene in his drama " The Last Days of Mankind ". Banfield's assessment of Emperor Charles' ban on air raids on Venice (December 1916) was as follows: “Since air raids were not carried out, the Italian defense forces could be used elsewhere. The batteries were moved to the Isonzo, the squadrons that had previously been used defensively had a free hand to take the offensive, for example to attack the Austrian central war port of Pola, and the armaments factories in the Venice area were running at full speed without disruption. Consideration therefore brought moments of danger in the larger context and offered the opponent a specification. "
Banfield is confirmed with 9 and 11 unconfirmed victories the most successful Austro-Hungarian naval aviator and has the 6th place of the most successful aces Austria-Hungary . The fact that he flew most of the missions over the northern Adriatic and therefore many of his stated aerial victories could not be confirmed explains his high number of unconfirmed aerial victories. Liner of the line Gottfried Banfield achieved the first night aerial victory in aerial warfare on May 31, 1917. At 10:30 p.m. he forced an Italian seaplane to land near Miramare Castle .
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Banfield received high honors for his military merits: in 1916 he was awarded the Great Military Merit Medal, which was awarded to a total of only 30 people as the “special and highest recognition” of the emperor. Of the winners of this rare award, 28 were general, the other two were Banfield himself and the cipher expert Lieutenant Colonel Hermann Pokorny (1882-1960). In 1917 he was the only aviator to be awarded the Maria Theresa Order , which he received together with 24 other carriers on the occasion of the 180th doctorate of the Maria Theresa Order on August 17, 1917 by Emperor Karl in the Villa Wartholz . Due to the statutes of the order he was raised to the baron status.
After the First World War
After the First World War he went to England with his wife, Countess Maria Tripcovich, who came from Trieste, where his son Raffaello de Banfield was born in 1920 . On his return to Trieste Banfield manager was Tramp Maritime - Reederei Diodato Tripcovich and Co. , which he took over from his father.
Banfield died in Trieste in 1986 and was buried in the Tripcovich family vault. He was the last living Maria Theresa knight. In commemoration, the 1990 class of the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt , whose members mostly began their military service in Banfield's year of death, named themselves “Year Banfield”.
Works
- The eagle of Trieste. The last Maria Theresa knight tells his life. Commented by Gunther Martin. With a foreword by Rudolf Henz . Styria, Graz et al. 1984, ISBN 3-222-11530-3 .
Museum reception
In the Army History Museum in Vienna, in which the history of the Austro-Hungarian Navy is documented in detail, there is a painting by Karl Sterrer from 1918, which shows Lieutenant Gottfried von Banfield as commander of the sea flight station in Trieste, flanked by two men who died soon afterwards Pilots. Furthermore, a kuk seaplane pilot badge M.1915 from the possession of Gottfried von Banfield is on display.
Individual evidence
- ^ Gottfried Baron Banfield - Austrian State Archives 1914–2014 100 Years of the First World War
- ^ Reinhard Keimel : Aircraft construction in Austria. From the beginning to the present. Encyclopedia. Aviatic-Verlag et al., Oberhaching et al. 2003, ISBN 3-925505-78-4 , p. 14.
- ^ Manfried Rauchsteiner : The Army History Museum in Vienna. Photos by Manfred Litscher. Styria, Graz et al. 2000, ISBN 3-222-12834-0 , p. 92.
- ^ Army History Museum / Military History Institute (ed.): The Army History Museum in the Vienna Arsenal . Verlag Militaria , Vienna 2016, ISBN 978-3-902551-69-6 , p. 167
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Banfield, Gottfried von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Eagle of Trieste |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Austrian naval aviator, last bearer of the Maria Theresa Order |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 6, 1890 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Castelnuovo |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 23, 1986 |
| Place of death | Trieste |