Godwin von Brumowski Godwin von Brumowski ( 26 July 1889 – 3 June 1936 ) was the most successful fighter ace of the Austro - Hungarian Air Force during World War I . He was officially credited with 35 air victories , ( including 12 shared with other pilots ) with 8 others unconfirmed because they fell behind Allied lines . Just before the war ended , von Brumowski rose to command of all his country ’ s fighter aviation fighting Italy on the Isonzo front . Life before entry into air service . On 26 July 1889 , Godwin von Brumowski was born into a military family in Wadowice , Galicia , in what is now Poland . He attended the Technical Military Academy in Vienna and graduated as a lieutenant commissioned into the 29th Field Artillery Regiment on 18 August 1910 . He was serving in the 6th Artillery Division and had just turned 25 years of age when war was declared against Serbia on 28 July 1914 . He served on the Eastern front against Russia , winning both a Bronze and Silver Military Medal for Bravery before transferring to air service in " der kaiserliche und königliche Luftfahrtruppen " ( the Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops ) . Aerial Service . He was posted to Fliegerkompagnie 1 ( Flik 1 ) at Czernowitz , commanded by " Hauptmann " Otto Jindra , in July 1915 ; von Brumowski was thus initially assigned as an aerial observer on the Russian Front . His flight log describes him as 1 . 77 meters ( 5 feet 10 inches ) tall , with blue eyes and light blond hair . On 12 April 1916 Jindra and von Brumowski crewed one of the seven Austro - Hungarian planes that participated in bombing a military review attended by Czar Nicholas II . In the process , they shot down two of the seven Russian Morane - Saulnier Parasol two - seaters that attempted to drive them off . On 3 July 1916 von Brumowski became a pilot with Flik 1 , despite the defective vision in his right eye that he corrected with a monocle . In November , he transferred to Flik 12 on the Italian Front . He helped down an Italian Caproni bomber on 3 December . On 2 January he became an ace when he was victorious over an Italian Farman two - seater while piloting a Hansa - Brandenburg C . I . It is notable that von Brumowski became an ace while still flying two - seater craft basically unsuited for air to air combat . The next month , when Flik 41J was established on the Italian Front as Austro - Hungary ’ s first dedicated fighter squadron , von Brumowski was chosen to command it . He spent nine days in March flying four sorties with the Germans of Jagdstaffel 24 to learn German fighter tactics , before assuming his command . While here he met the Red Baron , Manfred von Richthofen ; von Brumowski would later copy the baron ' s aircraft paint scheme for his own plane . Brumowski continued amassing victories through May , ending the month with a total of eight . By now , he was flying a single seat fighter , the Hansa - Brandenburg D . I . Although better suited for air to air combat than the C . 1 , it still suffered three major disadvantages : the pilot ' s vision was partially obstructed ; the single machine gun was not synchronized to fire through the propeller arc , and it was a tricky craft to fly because it was easy to spin at any altitude . Aiming and firing a gun mounted above and ahead of the pilot was more difficult than simply aiming the airplane at the enemy and firing a synchronized gun . As was customary with Austro - Hungarian units , Flik 41j had an assortment of aircraft types available . In June 1917 von Brumowski flew an Aviatik D . I with no combat success . The Austro - Hungarian Fliks were also hampered by a doctrine that tied them to escort of reconnaissance aircraft instead of freeing them to rove and hunt in the German fashion . In July 1917 Flik 41J lost eleven of the D . I fighters in accidents ; the Hansa - Brandenburg ' s nickname became " the flying coffin " . In August 1917 von Brumowski scored a remarkable streak of victories , being credited with 12 confirmed and 6 unconfirmed kills between the 10 and 28 August . Two of these victories , on the 19th and 20th , were the result of a partial transition to a newer fighter plane , a German Albatros D . III with twin synchronized guns . On the 20th he scored once with the Albatros and twice with the Hansa - Brandenburg D . I . By the end of August the transition was complete ; he would use the Albatros to score the rest of his victories . On 9 October 1917 he shot down and burned an observation balloon for his 22nd victory ; it was the first of five balloons he would down . His Albatros that day was painted all red , in emulation of von Richthofen , with the addition of mustard colored skulls on either side of the fuselage . This paint scheme would become characteristic of his aircraft until war ’ s end . On 1 February 1918 von Brumowski became involved in a fight with eight enemy fighters . Some of the 26 bullets striking his Albatros ignited the fuel tank built into the upper wing . He managed to land at his home field without serious injury , becoming a rare survivor of an in - craft fire . The fire ate the fabric off the upper wing and the inboard portions of the lower one , leaving only the scorched bare spars and struts of the wing roots . Three days later , while flying another Albatros he fought eight English fighters and took multiple machine gun hits . With his wings breaking up he still managed to land , though the Albatros flipped over and was totally destroyed . Brumowski fought on until 23 June 1918 , when he was ordered on extended leave . His last successful fight was on 19 June ; he scored his 35th victory and suffered 37 hits in his plane . He had flown 439 combat sorties , but his combat career was ended . Also on 23 June he was invited by Generaloberst ( Colonel - General ) Ferdinand to make the customary mandatory application for Austria - Hungary ' s highest decoration , the Knight ' s Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa . Brumowski ' s reply : Austria - Hungary ' s leading fighter ace never received his nation ' s highest award . On 11 October even though he was still only a Hauptmann ( Captain ) , he was named to command all Austro - Hungarian fighter squadrons on the Isonzo Front . World War I ended a month later . Post war career . The end of the war left von Brumowski at loose ends . After a spell in Vienna , he farmed his widowed mother - in - law ’ s land in Transylvania for ten years . As a city dweller lacking the Hungarian language skills to communicate with his farm workers , he bore serious handicaps . He had little success . Brumowski took the dissolution of the Austro - Hungarian Empire very hard . He indulged in hazardous pursuits , seeking the thrill of danger by racing automobiles about on the poor local roads , riding horses into exhaustion , hunting in the mountains . He threw parties , danced , swam , ice skated to distract himself . He finally left his wife and daughter and began a flying school in Vienna in 1930 , and remarried . During the early 1930s von Brumowski piloted aircraft on behalf of the conservative Heimwehr militia . During the brief Austrian Civil War in 1934 he flew several reconnaissance missions as well as a single combat sortie . On 3 June 1936 , he died in a plane crash while instructing an Austrian student at Schipol Airfield , in Holland . His life was summarized thus by his daughter : " He was a very unique and interesting person either very much loved , or hated , and even considered crazy by many . " List of aerial victories . See also Aerial victory standards of World War I Confirmed victories are numbered . Victories marked " u / c " were unconfirmed .