How was the air force of Austria-Hungary different from the German air force?

Answer 1

Austria-HungaryThe Austro-Hungarian Empire, also known as Austria-Hungary, was a dual-monarchic union state from 1867 to 1918, ruled by the Habsburg dynasty, which was dissolved at the end of World War I. Therefore, the Austrian air force was separate from the German air force. The airplanes they used were some made in their country or German planes built under license in Austria.

Since their role included flying missions across the Adriatic Sea, their navy operated a variety of seaplanes. The Austrian pilots were issued parachutes like the Germans(but not the Allies). On August 22, 1918, Friedrich Hefty became the first A-H pilot to save his life with a parachute.

The Austro-Hungarian uniform was different, as well as the medals and awards the aces earned. Some A-H airplanes were painted in a mottled paint pattern that produced an effective camoflage scheme, which is seldom found on WW1 aircraft.

The Navy aircraft usually had hughe Red/White/Red stripes painted on wing tips or on the tail surfaces. One point of interest is the National markings used on the Austro-Hungarian airplanes were slightly different than those on German a/c.

Late in the war when Germany adopted the straight cross, some A-H aircraft were painted with the same cross as seen on WW2 German aircraft.

Top 5 Austro-Hungarian Aces1- Godwin Brumowski - 35 kills. He later flew an Albatros D-III which he painted all-red to copy the German ace Manfred Richthofen, who first flew an all-red Albatros. Brumowski added skulls painted behind the cockpit. He died in 1936 in an airplane crash.

2- Julius Argia - 32 kills. He was one of 4 winners of the Gold Medal for Bravery. He believe that his extra large nose gave him a sixth sense of weather conditions before a mission. During World War 2, he was an instructor pilot and the commander of a fighter pilot school at Schwechat where he taught Major Nowotny(258 kills) and Oberleutnant Hans-Joachim Marseille(158 kills). He died in his sleep in 1981.

3- Benno Fiala - 28 kills . A great fighter pilot and avaition enthusiasts who served 40 years in avaiation. After the war, he became an assistant at the Junkers firm and later became the chief engineer. He was sent to Japan to setup the Mitsubishi Aircraft Company in their production of all-metal aircraft. During WOrld War 2, he would not renounce his Austria citizenship to become a German. He was a base commander during the World War 2.

4- Frank Linke-Crawford - 27 kills. He wore a red flying helmet; this his nickname "red head". At 24, he was shot down by an Italian flying a Hanroit HD-1.

5- Josef Kiss - 19 kills. On Jan 27, 1918, he was shot through the abdomen and had part of his bowels removed. Miracously he recovered and went back into combat only to be shot down on May 24, 1918.

Reference source: "Air Aces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, 1914-1918" by Dr. Martin O'Connor.