Frank Linke-Crawford
Encyclopedia
Oberleutnant Frank Linke-Crawford (18 August 1893 – 30 July 1918), was the fourth-ranking ace of the Austro-Hungarian empire during World War I
, with 27 victories.
n soldier; his mother, Lucy Crawford, was British. Despite this mixed background, he was a citizen of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
He entered the Wiener-Neustadt military academy in 1910. Upon graduation, he was commissioned Leutnant and assigned to the 6th Dragoon Regiment. On July 28, a month after the assassination of Austria-Hungary
's Archduke Franz Ferdinand
, his country declared war on Serbia
. This was the initial declaration of war that snowballed into World War I.
Linke-Crawford first saw battle on the Russian Front. In November, 1914, he was appointed commander of the infantry troop of the Sixth Dragoons. Between October 1914 and October 1915, he received several decorations; he also was hospitalized several times with malaria and dysentery.
In 1915, Linke-Crawford's fascination with the Luftfahrtruppen (Austro-Hungarian air service) led him to request a transfer for pilot training. His poor health is also mentioned as a reason for his transfer.
In September, 1916, after six active months flying as an observer, he retrained as a pilot.
In January, 1917, he was transferred to Fliegerkompanie 12 as chief pilot, which made him second in command of the unit. His new posting was still to a unit serving on the Isonzo Front in northern Italy. While his duties remained recon and bombing, he was now operating over mountainous terrain. He also flew some attack sorties in single seat fighters. On one of these missions, on 13 April, he shot down a Nieuport
that cartwheeled into a crash far behind the Italian lines. He did not bother to attempt to claim this victory, though he mentioned it in a letter home to his sister. On 25 May, his aircraft was badly shot up, taking 14 hits from a couple of Spad fighters. He then had another unconfirmed triumph on 25 June.
He gained a reputation for courage. On one of his long range reconnaissance missions, he was attacked by an Italian Spad, which riddled his Hansa-Brandenburg C.I
with 68 bullet holes over a half hour period. Nevertheless, he completed his mission.
On 2 August 1917, while flying his Aviatik C.I
with no rear gunner aboard to man the craft's single machine gun, he was shot down but uninjured as Pier Piccio's eighth victim.
On 4 August 1917, he was transferred to Fliegerkompanie 41, situated near Trieste
. Flik 41 was Austro-Hungary's most renowned air unit; it was commanded by the empire's top ace, Godwin Brumowski
. Linke-Crawford damaged his airplane upon landing at his new base, Sesana Airfield.
He began wearing a scarlet flying helmet and white trousers when he flew, leading to the nickname of "Redhead". He marked his plane with falcons painted on either side.
He scored his first confirmed aerial victory on 21 August 1917, using a Hansa-Brandenburg D.I
to down a Nieuport
. In the next five days, he scored three more confirmed wins using this plane, with one claim going unconfirmed.
The Hansa-Brandenburg D.I
had serious liabilities as a fighter plane; it spun easily, had poor forward visibility, and its machine gun was mounted well above the pilot's head on the top wing to fire above the propeller arc. It was nicknamed "the flying coffin" and killed more pilots in flying accidents than died in combat.
Linke-Crawford's switch to flying an Albatros D.III
mounted him in a fighter that not only offered him better field of vision, especially downward, but also armed him with twin Spandau
machine guns in front of him that were synchronized to fire through his propeller.
Flying the Albatros D.III
, he shot down a seaplane on 23 September 1917 to become an ace. Continuing to use the Albatros, he ran up a score of 13 by 13 December.
In late December, 1917, Linke-Crawford was appointed commander of Fliegerkompanie 60. This unit was stationed at Grigno in northern Italy until March, 1918. This airfield was located in a swampy mountainous basin and was prone to flooding. Flik 60j's seven pilots flew against an opposition of British, Italian, and French pilots.
Linke-Crawford's plane in Flik 60j was a Phonix D.I
. He used this slow but sturdy twin-gunned fighter to run up seven triumphs in the first three months of 1918. Flik 60 transferred to Feltre, also in northern Italy. This was a better airfield than Grigno.
Linke-Crawford scored his last victory in the Phonix on 11 March. In mid-March, he grounded all the Phonix's in his unit because of their unreliability.
Beginning on 10 May, Linke-Crawford switched to an Aviatik D.I. (115.32) At least five of these seven wins were over superior aircraft, such as the Sopwith Camel
and Bristol F.2 Fighter
s.
in a formation of four. He was shot down in flames by a pair of Italian Hanriot HD.1
fighters, with his plane disintegrating before impact.
Linke-Crawford had separated from his wingmen before engaging the Italians. His plane had spun out before engaging them; he had then recovered and been fired upon. His plane had then fallen apart in midair. Linke-Crawford was accredited as Caporale Aldo Astolfi's sole success as a fighter pilot. Given that the Aviatik was the first fighter manufactured entirely in Austria, and that it initially had a reputation for wing failures during violent aerial maneuvers, there was suspicion that Linke-Crawford had fallen afoul of a faulty airplane rather than an Italian pilot.
His legacy was best described by one of his peers, Julius Arigi
, who was the second ranked Austro-Hungarian ace:
"Linke was both a fine flier and a fine man. He gave his men full support and generally ignored the rules about officers and non-officers having little to do with each other. He often gave away victories to other, less experienced pilots. As you can imagine, the feelings of his men for him were quite strong."
Although Frank Linke-Crawford was originally buried at Pobrežje Cemetery in Maribor, now Slovenia, after the war, in 1919, he was reinterred in Salzburg
.
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, with 27 victories.
Early life
Frank Linke-Crawford was born in Krakau (Cracow), in what is presently Poland. His father, Major Adalbert Linke, was a GaliciaKingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria was a crownland of the Habsburg Monarchy, the Austrian Empire, and Austria–Hungary from 1772 to 1918 .This historical region in eastern Central Europe is currently divided between Poland and Ukraine...
n soldier; his mother, Lucy Crawford, was British. Despite this mixed background, he was a citizen of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
He entered the Wiener-Neustadt military academy in 1910. Upon graduation, he was commissioned Leutnant and assigned to the 6th Dragoon Regiment. On July 28, a month after the assassination of Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
's Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
Franz Ferdinand was an Archduke of Austria-Este, Austro-Hungarian and Royal Prince of Hungary and of Bohemia, and from 1889 until his death, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia...
, his country declared war on Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. This was the initial declaration of war that snowballed into World War I.
Linke-Crawford first saw battle on the Russian Front. In November, 1914, he was appointed commander of the infantry troop of the Sixth Dragoons. Between October 1914 and October 1915, he received several decorations; he also was hospitalized several times with malaria and dysentery.
In 1915, Linke-Crawford's fascination with the Luftfahrtruppen (Austro-Hungarian air service) led him to request a transfer for pilot training. His poor health is also mentioned as a reason for his transfer.
Aerial service
Upon his completion of observer training at Wiener-Neustadt in March 1916, Linke-Crawford was posted to Fliegerkompanie 22 to fly reconnaissance and bombing missions in two seater airplanes.In September, 1916, after six active months flying as an observer, he retrained as a pilot.
In January, 1917, he was transferred to Fliegerkompanie 12 as chief pilot, which made him second in command of the unit. His new posting was still to a unit serving on the Isonzo Front in northern Italy. While his duties remained recon and bombing, he was now operating over mountainous terrain. He also flew some attack sorties in single seat fighters. On one of these missions, on 13 April, he shot down a Nieuport
Nieuport
Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars.-Beginnings:...
that cartwheeled into a crash far behind the Italian lines. He did not bother to attempt to claim this victory, though he mentioned it in a letter home to his sister. On 25 May, his aircraft was badly shot up, taking 14 hits from a couple of Spad fighters. He then had another unconfirmed triumph on 25 June.
He gained a reputation for courage. On one of his long range reconnaissance missions, he was attacked by an Italian Spad, which riddled his Hansa-Brandenburg C.I
Hansa-Brandenburg C.I
-See also:-References:# Munson, Kenneth - Bombers, Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft 1914 - 1919 ISBN 0 7537 0918 X# # # -External links:* ....
with 68 bullet holes over a half hour period. Nevertheless, he completed his mission.
On 2 August 1917, while flying his Aviatik C.I
Aviatik C.I
-References:*van Wyngarden, G. Early German Aces of World War 1. Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2006. ISBN 1-84176-997-5*Taylor, Michael J H. Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. Portland House, 1989. ISBN 0-517-69186-8...
with no rear gunner aboard to man the craft's single machine gun, he was shot down but uninjured as Pier Piccio's eighth victim.
On 4 August 1917, he was transferred to Fliegerkompanie 41, situated near Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
. Flik 41 was Austro-Hungary's most renowned air unit; it was commanded by the empire's top ace, Godwin Brumowski
Godwin Brumowski
Godwin Brumowski was the most successful fighter ace of the Austro-Hungarian Air Force during World War I. He was officially credited with 35 air victories, with 8 others unconfirmed because they fell behind Allied lines...
. Linke-Crawford damaged his airplane upon landing at his new base, Sesana Airfield.
He began wearing a scarlet flying helmet and white trousers when he flew, leading to the nickname of "Redhead". He marked his plane with falcons painted on either side.
He scored his first confirmed aerial victory on 21 August 1917, using a Hansa-Brandenburg D.I
Hansa-Brandenburg D.I
|-See also:-Bibliography:*Angelucci, Enzo . World Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft. London: Jane's, 1981. ISBN 0 7106 0148 4.*Gray, Peter and Thetford, Owen. German Aircraft of the First World War. London: Putnam, 1962....
to down a Nieuport
Nieuport
Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars.-Beginnings:...
. In the next five days, he scored three more confirmed wins using this plane, with one claim going unconfirmed.
The Hansa-Brandenburg D.I
Hansa-Brandenburg D.I
|-See also:-Bibliography:*Angelucci, Enzo . World Encyclopedia of Military Aircraft. London: Jane's, 1981. ISBN 0 7106 0148 4.*Gray, Peter and Thetford, Owen. German Aircraft of the First World War. London: Putnam, 1962....
had serious liabilities as a fighter plane; it spun easily, had poor forward visibility, and its machine gun was mounted well above the pilot's head on the top wing to fire above the propeller arc. It was nicknamed "the flying coffin" and killed more pilots in flying accidents than died in combat.
Linke-Crawford's switch to flying an Albatros D.III
Albatros D.III
The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service and the Austro-Hungarian Air Service during World War I. The D.III was flown by many top German aces, including Manfred von Richthofen, Ernst Udet, Erich Löwenhardt, Kurt Wolff, and Karl Emil Schäfer...
mounted him in a fighter that not only offered him better field of vision, especially downward, but also armed him with twin Spandau
Spandau
Spandau is the fifth of the twelve boroughs of Berlin. It is the fourth largest and westernmost borough, situated at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers and along the western bank of the Havel, but the least populated.-Overview:...
machine guns in front of him that were synchronized to fire through his propeller.
Flying the Albatros D.III
Albatros D.III
The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service and the Austro-Hungarian Air Service during World War I. The D.III was flown by many top German aces, including Manfred von Richthofen, Ernst Udet, Erich Löwenhardt, Kurt Wolff, and Karl Emil Schäfer...
, he shot down a seaplane on 23 September 1917 to become an ace. Continuing to use the Albatros, he ran up a score of 13 by 13 December.
In late December, 1917, Linke-Crawford was appointed commander of Fliegerkompanie 60. This unit was stationed at Grigno in northern Italy until March, 1918. This airfield was located in a swampy mountainous basin and was prone to flooding. Flik 60j's seven pilots flew against an opposition of British, Italian, and French pilots.
Linke-Crawford's plane in Flik 60j was a Phonix D.I
Phönix D.I
-Bibliography:...
. He used this slow but sturdy twin-gunned fighter to run up seven triumphs in the first three months of 1918. Flik 60 transferred to Feltre, also in northern Italy. This was a better airfield than Grigno.
Linke-Crawford scored his last victory in the Phonix on 11 March. In mid-March, he grounded all the Phonix's in his unit because of their unreliability.
Beginning on 10 May, Linke-Crawford switched to an Aviatik D.I. (115.32) At least five of these seven wins were over superior aircraft, such as the Sopwith Camel
Sopwith Camel
The Sopwith Camel was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter introduced on the Western Front in 1917. Manufactured by Sopwith Aviation Company, it had a short-coupled fuselage, heavy, powerful rotary engine, and concentrated fire from twin synchronized machine guns. Though difficult...
and Bristol F.2 Fighter
Bristol F.2 Fighter
The Bristol F.2 Fighter was a British two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War flown by the Royal Flying Corps. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter or popularly the "Brisfit" or "Biff". Despite being a two-seater, the F.2B proved to be an agile aircraft...
s.
Death and legacy
On July 30, the day after his final victory , he was flying an early model Aviatik D.IAviatik D.I
-References / external links:* Munson, Kenneth - Fighters, Attack and Training Aircraft 1914-19 ISBN 0-7537-0916-3* *-See also:...
in a formation of four. He was shot down in flames by a pair of Italian Hanriot HD.1
Hanriot HD.1
|-References:* Bruce, J.M. The Hanriot HD 1 Leatherhead: Profile Publications* Cheesman E.F. Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War Letchworth, Harletford Publications, 1960 pp. 82-83- External links :*...
fighters, with his plane disintegrating before impact.
Linke-Crawford had separated from his wingmen before engaging the Italians. His plane had spun out before engaging them; he had then recovered and been fired upon. His plane had then fallen apart in midair. Linke-Crawford was accredited as Caporale Aldo Astolfi's sole success as a fighter pilot. Given that the Aviatik was the first fighter manufactured entirely in Austria, and that it initially had a reputation for wing failures during violent aerial maneuvers, there was suspicion that Linke-Crawford had fallen afoul of a faulty airplane rather than an Italian pilot.
His legacy was best described by one of his peers, Julius Arigi
Julius Arigi
Julius Arigi was a flying ace of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in World War I with a total of 32 credited victories. He was Austro-Hungary's most highly decorated ace. His victory total was second only to Godwin Brumowski. Arigi was considered a superb natural pilot...
, who was the second ranked Austro-Hungarian ace:
"Linke was both a fine flier and a fine man. He gave his men full support and generally ignored the rules about officers and non-officers having little to do with each other. He often gave away victories to other, less experienced pilots. As you can imagine, the feelings of his men for him were quite strong."
Although Frank Linke-Crawford was originally buried at Pobrežje Cemetery in Maribor, now Slovenia, after the war, in 1919, he was reinterred in Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
.