kuk aviation troops

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The Austro-Hungarian Aviation Troops were the air forces of the Austro-Hungarian Army until the dissolution of the multi-ethnic state Austria-Hungary . During the First World War they fought on the Eastern Front against the Russian and on the Southern Front against the Italian and British air forces. The Austro-Hungarian Navy had its own air force with the kuk Seefliegern , the Imperial-Royal Landwehr and the Royal Hungarian Landwehr did not have their own air force.

The emblem of the kuk aviation troops 1913–1915 / 16
The national emblem of the aviation troops 1915 / 16-1918

history

Emergence

Military aviation in Austria-Hungary began with the establishment of the Austro-Hungarian Military Aeronautical Institute in 1892 on the grounds of the arsenal parade ground in Vienna. This dealt with the military use of balloons. In the following decade and a half, the Austro-Hungarian Army set up several balloon detachments. In October 1909, as part of a reorganization, the military aeronautical establishment was renamed the kuk Luftschifferabteilung and incorporated into the newly created transport brigade. The reason was the expanded field of activity through the acquisition of guided airships and the loss of importance of balloons for military purposes. The airship could not convince the Austro-Hungarian army administration. After two purchases each from home and abroad, the army administration renounced airships and used the budget to expand the aviation weapon. Until the First World War, the airship department was a pure aviation force.

With the reorganization in 1909, the airship department moved to a new area near Fischamend . Next on the airfield was Wiener Neustadt the Militäraviatische station created for the air force. The first unofficial military training flights took place there in the same year. From mid-1910, the first aircraft were stationed, which were gifts of various origins and officially began with the practice. After the visits of Emperor Franz Josef , the Chief of Staff Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf and the Minister of War Alexander von Krobatin , the army administration issued the first tender for army aircraft.

With the next reorganization in October 1911, the management of the Austro-Hungarian airship department was transferred to Lieutenant Colonel Milan (Emil) Uzelac , who was to shape the further development of the air force of the Austro-Hungarian Army. In the following time the army acquired Etrich-Tauben and Lohner dart fliers and the aviation forces were included in tactical considerations, which was also shown in the maneuvers up to the start of the war.

National emblem

In 1913, the red-white-red flag display on the rudder was set as a national emblem for the aviation troops . The (upper) wing tips were also marked red-white-red. At the beginning of the First World War, German machines with the sign of the Iron Cross from the factory came to the troops. The red-white-red Austrian markings were also attached.

The red-white-red markings offered the enemy air defense a good target. Mixing up the Austrian red-white-red, which is difficult to distinguish from the ground, with the Italian red-white-green probably also led to friendly fire , which is why the red-white-red markings were no longer applied and replaced by the black paw cross . This cross also had an Austrian tradition as an army or cannon cross from 1813. From 1917 only the black paw cross was used, which was modified again to the black bar cross in 1918 .

First World War

When the war broke out, the aviation troops were not ready for war. In August 1914 there were 48 aircraft - only a few of which were fit for war -, 12 tethered balloons and one airship and there was a lack of trained pilots. Immediately after the start of the war, the Austro-Hungarian Army Administration bought aircraft at home and abroad, especially from the German Reich, which inevitably led to a colorful mix of different types of aircraft. The condition of the aviation troops was put into perspective by the lack of air forces among the opponents in the Balkans and the poor condition of the Russian air forces.

The fact that only officers were allowed to become pilots and observers at that time had an additional negative effect. The first months of the war already brought severe defeats and a disproportionately high loss of officers. There was a shortage of officers in the whole army. It was only with difficulty that Uzelac succeeded in ensuring that NCOs could also become pilots. In the course of the war they quickly formed the majority, but observers were only allowed to become officers until the end of the war.

See also: Austria-Hungary fighter pilots in the First World War

organization

The armed forces at the front were divided into flying companies ( Flik for short ). The flight park ( Flep for short ) was used to supply the units with aircraft, engines, weapons and other necessary equipment . Each flight stage park was responsible for a specific section of the front and had to supply the Fliks stationed there. Repairs were also carried out here that were too costly for the aviation companies themselves. The pilot replacement companies ( Flek for short ) in turn were responsible for training and providing pilots , mechanics and auxiliary personnel for pilot companies. The Fleks were grouped into two replacement air battalions and were under the command of the replacement air force .

Directly subordinated to the War Ministry was the aviation arsenal ( Flars for short ) for the procurement of all equipment. The aviation arsenal also tested new aircraft. The aircraft manufacturers were assigned building supervisors, mostly consisting of a single officer who checked a completed aircraft before it was sent to the Fleps. The aviation arsenal distributed the material to the aviation replacement companies and the aviation stage parks.

The flying company

Albatros (Oeffag) D.III of a kuk flying company

The flying companies were numbered consecutively in Arabic numbers. The target number of aircraft of a flying company was six aircraft and two reserve aircraft. The company was generally divided into a command, two platoons, a reserve platoon and the train . It had about ten officers, including four observation officers and 100 NCOs and men. As "cover" (security personnel) they were assigned a maximum of a half company of 60 men. The flying companies were very mobile and, if necessary, relocated within a very short time. There was no radio link to the aircraft.

From 1917 a specialization of the aviation companies started. To identify their task, they usually led a single capital letter after their number. The different types of flying companies therefore differed in the number and type of aircraft. The abbreviations were:

  • D - Divisionsfliegerkompanie , for artillery reconnaissance and command, infantry support and front-line reconnaissance in the close range, subordinated to a division command
  • K - Corps flying company (from 1918), reconnaissance unit, subordinated to a corps command
  • F - Long-range reconnaissance company , subordinated to an army command for reconnaissance in the enemy hinterland
  • G - large aircraft company , intended for the use of large twin-engined aircraft (bombers), due to a lack of such aircraft of type C were later used
  • J - Fighter pilot company , to fight all kinds of enemy flying objects, target position was 18 fighters
  • S - ground attack companies , (from 1918) used for infantry support
  • P - Photo reconnaissance company (from 1918) equipped with single-seaters
  • Rb - Serial image reconnaissance company (from 1917) Type C aircraft with serial image devices

The pilot replacement company

Before the war, the flying machine instruction department served to train personnel for the aviation forces. In order to compensate for the personnel losses at the beginning of the war, it was converted into a flying company and relocated to the front. The pilot replacement companies were founded in November 1914 for training purposes. The increasing number of companies because were all Fleks in March flier replacement battalion I summarized. By the end of the war, 22 replacement aircraft companies had been established, combined into two replacement aircraft battalions and subordinated to the command of the replacement aircraft troops .

Troop strength

At the time of the outbreak of war in 1914 there were nine aviation companies of 106 men each. In spring 1916 the Austro-Hungarian aviation troops had 24 flying companies. Then a certain upswing set in when the total number of companies increased to 57 by August 1917. 1000 aircraft and 500 replacement engines could be pushed in. The 66 aviation companies that existed at the end of 1917 continued to suffer from insufficient equipment, so that an actual number of only 66% could be achieved. By the end of the war, the number was increased to 79 aviation companies.

Supplementary system (as of 1917)

After completing two years of service in the troops, officers were assigned to pilot or observation service. They then stayed with the flying company assigned to them, with temporary service with their main unit. The team was largely determined from the recruitment contingent. Detachments from the units were rather rare. During the war, the flying companies were assigned to the higher command (army and corps). The names of the officers in military parlance were: "Aviation officers" and "Observation officers". Troop officers who previously had to complete a two-month "observation course" were designated as observation officers. Only officers could become observers, while crew or NCO ranks were also permitted for pilot training.

Use in the First World War

Eastern Front

Until Italy entered the war, the Russian Empire was the main enemy of the aviation troops. The Russian air force owned around 16 airships and 360 aircraft in August 1914, most of which were out of date. In addition, the units were spread over an enormous front length.

In contrast to other areas of the armaments industry, the production of aircraft started very slowly. Russia produced in similar numbers to Austria-Hungary, but lagged behind in the quality of the material and the training, only with the support of the Allies, especially France, did the Russian air force become stronger. With Romania's entry into the war on the Allied side, the Austro-Hungarian aviation troops faced a new air threat from the summer of 1916, which led to newly established Fliks, only with the armistice on the Eastern Front at the end of 1917 were they able to go to the Italian front.

Balkans

The Balkan front was the front with the least air activity. Although air forces had started to be built up in Serbia shortly before the war, when the war began the kingdom had only three operational aircraft. The militia army of Montenegro had no air forces, so the crews of the Austro-Hungarian aviation troops had air control over the Balkans in the first months of the war. That changed with the stationing of Italian squadriglias in southern Albania . When the Entente Powers (France provided the largest contingent) landed in Salonika in autumn 1915 with an expeditionary army and numerous air units and opened a new front , the initiative passed to the Allies. The Austro-Hungarian aviation troops had to continue to fight alone against the increasing Italian presence in the south of Albania. From autumn 1916 German airmen of the Mackensen Army Group stationed in Bulgaria were deployed together with the Austro-Hungarian Fliks in the north against Romania . In the south, Austro-Hungarians had to compete with a few Bulgarian crews against a large number of French pilots.

Italian front

Italy had expansionist goals from its inception . In the London Treaty (April 26, 1915), a secret treaty, Italy entered into an alliance with Great Britain, France and Russia. For its entry into the war against the Central Powers , Italy was promised large territorial gains after the end of the war. On May 23, it declared war on Austria-Hungary (in 1916 also on its ally, the German Reich).

With the Corpo Aeronautico Militare (the Italian air force) Austria-Hungary faced the materially strongest opponent. It was not until 1916, however, that they succeeded in gaining control of the air over the front, when the material superiority began to take full effect. Four units of the British Royal Flying Corps were added after the twelfth Battle of the Isonzo. To a small extent, French air forces were stationed on the Italian front near Venice and in Albania.

When the war with Italy began in 1915, there was one flying company with four aircraft in Carinthia and four flying companies with 16 aircraft on the Isonzo. There were two aviation companies on the Tyrolean front. Almost only two-seater observation aircraft were used on the high mountain front. Fighter planes and bombers , on the other hand, were used almost exclusively on the Isonzo , the Piave and around the Monte Grappa .

The center of gravity of the aviation troops shifted more and more to this front. After Soviet Russia left the war, almost all the aviation companies were stationed on the Italian front. In 1917 and 1918 the average number of pilots consisted of only 500 to 600 men, whereby a loss of 100% (!) Was taken into account as realistic. The survival time of an Austro-Hungarian field pilot was four months in 1917. As a result, in the last year of the war, there were just about 200 machines ready for action on this scene (compared to about 6500 on the Italian side).

Airfields:

(Isonzo Front)

  • Gorica 1911-1914
  • hidrobaza comfort
  • Žavlje
  • hidrobaza Pulj
  • hidrobaza Kotež
  • Ajševica 1915-1916
  • Maribor (Tezno) 1915-1918
  • Ajdovščina 1916-1918
  • Podnanos 1915-1917
  • Beljak 1915-1918
  • Prosek 1916-1917
  • Vipava / Podraga 1916-1917
  • Divača 1916-1917
  • Sežana 1917
  • Log 1917
  • Trata 1917
  • Logatec 1917
  • Bled 1917
  • Lesce 1917
  • Stražišče pri Kranju 1917
  • Ljubljana (v Polju) 1915
  • Ljubljana (Šentvid, Bežigrad) 1917
  • Brezovica 1917
  • Reka 1917-1918
  • Ljubljana (Šiška) 1918–1924

Karniafront

  • Villach

Tyrol Front

  • Cirè
  • Romagnano
  • Gardolo
  • Campo Maggiore (Lomaso)
  • Croviana
  • Neumarkt
  • Bolzano
  • Vahrn
  • Brunico

Piavefront

  • Feltre
  • Roveredo
  • Pordenone

Used aircraft types

In the two-seater types, B-types from the companies Lohner , Albatros , Aviatik and Lloyd were initially used. In the course of 1916, the aviation troops used Brandenburg-CI aircraft for the first time. This model was used for all types of use. In the field of aerial reconnaissance and bombing operations, it remained the backbone of the aviation troops until the end of the war. The last generation of the two-seat multi-purpose aircraft was initially made up of the CI models from Aviatik and later from Phönix and Ufag. The latter were equal to the opposing material.

When the concept of single-seaters for the fight against enemy aircraft prevailed, Fokker monoplane from the German Reich were initially purchased in 1915 due to the lack of their own types. Towards the end of 1916 these were replaced by the also imported Hansa-Brandenburg DI - combat double-decker , called KD. In the later course of the war, the standard fighter aircraft were the Albatros (Oeffag) D.III , built and improved under license by Oeffag , the purely Austro-Hungarian single- seater Aviatik DI Berg and the Phönix DI, D.II and D.IIa.

Most domestic aircraft manufacturers also tried building large aircraft. However, the models did not get beyond the prototype stage. They were either rejected by the army administration or the project was discontinued by the company itself. So had to be imported again from the German Reich. Only Gotha G.IV was used in numbers. Most of the bombing operations continued with Hansa-Brandenburg CI aircraft adapted for this purpose .

At the beginning of the war, Lohner "Pfeilflieger" were used in small numbers by the aviation troops

Numbering scheme

On February 8, 1915, the kuk aviation troop introduced a numbering scheme to clearly identify each aircraft. Each aircraft manufacturer that produced in quantities for the aviation troops received a number (see under aviation industry). Followed by a running number for each type of aircraft produced by this company, with the number 0 reserved for prototypes. If this model was built with significant changes, such as a different engine, this was noted with an additional number in front of the previous two-digit number. The serial production number followed after a period.

For example, the number 153.07 stood for the seventh (07) aircraft of the type Albatros D.III (number 3) produced by Oesterreichische Flugzeugfabrik AG (number 5). The Albatros D.III was the third aircraft type produced by this aircraft manufacturer. However, compared to the original series (53), changes were made in the design or motorization. This was noted with the leading number “1”.

Aircraft names

The aircraft names are made up of the manufacturer's name (e.g. Albatros), a capital letter to designate the aircraft type and a Roman number as the model number. If the aircraft was produced under license, this was noted by the company's abbreviation in brackets. The Aviatik DI was the first construction of a single-seater biplane by the company Aviatik. This type was also used by Lohner (Lo), the Hungarian Lloyd Flugzeugfabrik (Ll), the Wiener Karosserie Fabrik (Wkf), the Ungarische Allgemeine Maschinenfabrik (Mag) and Thöne & Fiala (Th) built under license. The designations could differ from the factory designations. In the case of aircraft from the German Reich, they could also differ from the names used there.

The coding of the aircraft types was:

  • A - monoplane, mostly unarmed school machines
  • B - double decker, two-seater, older models up to about 150 hp
  • C - double-decker, two-seater, newer types from 160 hp
  • D - biplane, combat single-seater
  • E - monoplane, combat single-seater type Fokker
  • F - double-decker, 350 hp, as a long-range reconnaissance aircraft (prototypes only)
  • G - biplane, large twin-engine aircraft
  • R - biplane, giant multi-engine aircraft

Aviation industry

Production and employment figures in the aviation industry in Austria-Hungary 1914–1918
year Planes Aircraft engines Workers
Austria Hungary Austria Hungary Austria Hungary
1914 40 30th 50 22nd 849 577
1915 195 143 300 140 2338 1717
1916 517 414 650 204 3824 3024
1917 1050 664 900 330 5285 4100
1918 1600 778 1300 450 7650 4300
total 3402 2029 3200 1156
5431 4356

In addition to domestic products and licensed buildings, aircraft and engines were also imported. The country of origin was always the German Reich . Especially at the beginning of the war, imports had to be carried out, as domestic production was insufficient. Around the end of 1916, the aircraft imports stopped because the German Reich needed all the aircraft it produced itself due to the increasing intensity of the air war on the Western Front. The import of engines, which is more important for Austria-Hungary, continued until the end of the war and compensated for the domestic underproduction of aircraft engines compared to aircraft.

Aircraft manufacturer for the aviation forces
Aircraft manufacturer Headquarters of the aircraft factory Start of aircraft production Official abbreviation Digit in the numbering scheme
Albatros Flugzeugwerke Ges.mbH Berlin-Johannisthal Alb 0 1)
Austro-Hungarian Aviation Aircraft Factory Vienna-Heiligenstadt and Vienna-Essling 1914 Av 3
Hansa-Brandenburg Aircraft Factory AG Brandenburg, Briest an der Havel and Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel Br 6th
Airplane factory of the kuk aviation arsenal Fischamend 1913 Fd 7th
Fokker aircraft works Schwerin-Görries Focus 0 1)
Jacob Lohner & Co. Vienna-Floridsdorf 1910 Lo 1
Hungarian Lloyd aircraft and engine factory Budapest-Aszód 1914 Ll 4th
Magyar Általános Gépgyár (Hungarian General Machine Factory) Budapest 1916 Like 9
Österreichische Flugzeugfabrik AG Wiener Neustadt 1915 Oef 5
Phönix Flugzeugwerke AG 2) Vienna-Stadlau 1914 Ph 2
Thöne & Fiala Vienna-Alsergrund and Brigittenau 1916 Th 10
Ungarische Flugzeugwerke AG (Ufag) ( Camillo Castiglioni ) Budapest-Albertfalva 1912 U 6th
Viennese body and aircraft factory Dr. W. v. Gutmann Vienna favorites 1915 Wkf 8th

Remarks:

  • 1) Number “0” was used for all remaining aircraft manufacturers
  • 2) founded as Österreichische Albatros-Werke Ges.mbH in Vienna-Stadlau

Museum reception

In the Army History Museum in Vienna, the history of the Austro-Hungarian aviation troops is discussed. Objects in the museum's permanent exhibition cover the period from the emergence of military aviation in Austria to the end of the First World War. For example, models of the Etrich Taube and the Lohner Arrow Flier as well as various types of aircraft engines are on display. In the exhibition hall of the First World War there is a completely preserved reconnaissance and training aircraft Albatros B.II as well as early bombs, drop arrows, aircraft adjustments and anti-aircraft cannons .

See also

literature

  • BMLVS (ed.): The third dimension. Military aviation exhibition Zeltweg. Vienna 2013, ISBN 978-3-902551-41-2 .
  • Christopher Chant: Osprey Aircraft of the Aces - Austro-Hungarian Aces of World War 1. Osprey Publishing, Oxford 2002, ISBN 1-84176-376-4 .
  • Reinhard Karl Desoye: The Austro-Hungarian Aviation Troops - The emergence, construction and organization of the Austro-Hungarian Army Air Force. 2 vol., Diploma thesis, Vienna 1994.
  • Olaf Groehler : History of the Air War 1910 to 1980. Military publishing house of the GDR, Berlin 1981.
  • Peter M. Grosz among others: Austro-Hungarian Army Aircraft of World War One . Flying Machines Press, 1993, ISBN 0-9637110-0-8 ; Reissued by Paladin Press, 2002, ISBN 1-891268-05-8 .
  • Heinz von Lichem : The Tyrolean High Mountain War 1915–1918 in aerial photographs. Steiger Verlag, Berwang (Tyrol) 1985, ISBN 3-85423-052-4 .
  • Erwin Hauke, Walter Schroeder, Bernhard Tötschinger: The aircraft of the kuk aviation troops and sea pilots 1914-1918. H. Weishaupt Verlag, Graz 1988, ISBN 3-900310-46-7 .
  • Gerald Penz The Austro-Hungarian Air Force on the Carnic Front 1915–1917. Lecture at the symposium of ARBOS - Society for Music and Theater, Nötsch-Arnoldstein 2007.
  • Gerald Penz: Kuk airfields in and near Villach. Lecture at the symposium of ARBOS - Society for Music and Theater, Villach 2008.
  • Matjaž Ravbar: Avstro-Ogrsko letalstvo na soški fronti 1915–1917. Cesarska in kraljeva letališka infrastructure v zaledju soške fronte. Univerza, Ljubljana 2011.
  • Ernst Peter: The Austro-Hungarian airship and aviation troops 1794–1919. Motorbuch Verlag, 1995, ISBN 3-87943-743-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hauke, Schroeder, Tötschinger: The aircraft of the kuk Luftfahrttruppe and Seeflieger 1914–1918. P. 138f.
  2. ↑ www.austro-hungarian-army.co.uk (English)
  3. ^ Philip J. Haythornthwaite: The World War One Source Book. Arms and Armor Press, London 1992, ISBN 1-85409-102-6 , p. 289.
  4. ↑ Reinhard Karl Desoye: The kuk aviation troops . Volume 1, p. 108.
  5. ↑ Matjaž Ravbar: Avstro-Ogrsko letalstvo na soški fronti 1915-1917. Cesarska in kraljeva letališka infrastructure v zaledju soške fronte. Univerza, Ljubljana 2011.
  6. ↑ Hauke, Schroeder, Tötschinger: The aircraft of the kuk Luftfahrttruppe and Seeflieger 1914–1918. P. 9.
  7. ↑ Reinhard Karl Desoye: The kuk aviation troops . Volume 2, pp. 218f.
  8. ↑ Reinhard Karl Desoye: The kuk aviation troops . Volume 2, p. 207.
  9. ^ Manfried Rauchsteiner , Manfred Litscher (Ed.): The Army History Museum in Vienna. Graz / Vienna 2000, p. 68.