Today's installment of my wildly popular series on forgotten fighter pilots goes back to WWI with Godwin Brumowski, the top scoring pilot of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Brumowski was born in 1886 in the village of Wadowice, in the province of Galicia. He came from a military family and ended up going to the Technical Military Academy, near Vienna. Upon graduation he became an officer in the Austro-Hungarian artillery.
When WWI broke out Brumowski served on the Eastern Front against Russia until 1915, when he was assigned as an observer in the Austro-Hungarian Air Force, an occupation at which he soon excelled. In April 1916 he took part in a daring mission along with six other planes that bombed a military review that was attended by Tsar Nicholas II and General Brusilov. When the Russians sent planes to intercept, Brumowski shot down two of them.
Brumowski then received flying training, became a pilot, and was transferred to the Italian Front. He began flying Hansa-Brandenburg fighter planes and became an ace in January 1917 when he shot down his fifth plane. In March 1917, Brumowski went to the Western Front to gain operational experience from Germany. He flew four operational missions over the Western Front and met Manfred von Richthofen (the Red Baron) at this time.
When he returned to the Italian Front, Bromowski was given command of Flik 41J, one of Austria-Hungary's best squadrons. Flying an Aviatik D I, a Hansa-Brandenburg, and later an Albatros D III, Brumowski's score stood at 23 planes shot down by the end of 1917. In February 1918, Brumowski was involved in a savage dogfight with several Italian fighters. His plane was hit by 26 machine gun bullets and caught fire. Brumowski broke off the action and managed to make it back to base with large portions of the wing fabric burned away. Just three days later Brumowski was involved in another dogfight with eight English fighters. Again his plane was badly hit and he had to make a crash landing, but managed to escape without major injury.
Brumowski's score continued to rise until he shot down his 35th plane in June 1918. After that he was removed from duty, first for an extended leave and then for administrative duties until the war ended. Brumowski decorations included the Order of the Iron Crown, 3rd class; the Knight's Cross of the Order of Leopold; and the Gold Bravery Medal for Officers. With 35 kills he was Austria-Hungary's top scoring pilot.
After the war Brumowski tried to manage his wife's estate but wasn't well suited for the job. In 1930 he started his own flying school near Vienna, and in 1936 was fatally injured in a flying accident in the Netherlands.
Below is a photo of Brumowski's Albatros D III:
http://www.greatwarflyingmuseum.com/aircraft/images/germany/albatros_diii_pic.jpg
Source: Austro-Hungarian Aces of World War 1 ©2002 Osprey Publishing