Raoul Stojsavljevic
Encyclopedia
Hauptmann Raoul Stojsavljevic was a World War I flying ace
credited with ten aerial victories. His later career took him to postwar service in aviation both military and civilian.
on 18 August 1908 and commissioned a leutnant in Feldjaegerbataillon No. 21. By 1911, in addition to his duties as a company officer, he was a corps ski instructor. In 1913, he transferred into aviation. On 13 April, he began pilot's training. The First of May brought a promotion to Oberleutnant. On 2 July, he qualified as a pilot with Austrian certificate 114. On 14 October 1913, he participated in the first flight over the Alps from Vienna to Gorizia
. Stojsavljevic's appointment as a field pilot followed on 7 April 1914. On outbreak of war, he was in Flik 1, stationed on the northeastern front in Galicia.
on 11 September 1914. He was then assigned to Flik 13 as a recce pilot, senior pilot, and second in command in late November 1914. It was while flying his 49th sortie that he was brought down by a snow storm and captured by the Russians on 16 February 1915. He and his observer had managed to burn their plane; on the 22nd, they escaped. They spent the next two months dodging the Russians, finally repatriating themselves upon the successful Austro-Hungarian Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive
capture of Lemberg on 22 June. While amongst the missing, Stojsavljevic was awarded the Iron Cross
Second Class on 28 May 1915. The Military Merit Cross followed on 19 July 1915.
Stojsavljevic was then transferred to the Italian Front
to serve with Flik 17. He was promoted to Hauptmann on 1 September 1915, and transferred to Flik 17. He was appointed to its command in December. He led the squadron in its mission of flying reconnaissance missions with Hansa-Brandenburg
C.Is, and won the Order of the Iron Crown
on 20 June 1916. From 4 July through 1 September 1916, he managed to win four victories, three while teamed with Josef Friedrich
. He then requested permission to train as a fighter pilot.
As a result, Stojsavljevic was attached to Flik 34, which operated the Hansa-Brandenburg D.I
fighter. Although he mastered the H-D, it was at the cost of a lingering knee injury suffered during a landing accident. Still, he managed to become an ace flying an H-D, on 13 February 1917. At the end of his two months, he returned to Flik 16 and his C.I, and downed his sixth Farman
on 17 April. He gained further experience and training in fighter tactics with Jasta 6 on the Western Front
during May 1917, though he scored no victories there.
Upon his return to Italy and Flik 16, Stojsavljevic pioneered high-speed photo reconnaissance in a D.I. In the process, he scored triumphs over two more Farmans, on 14 and 23 July 1917. He scored his last victory with a D.I on 7 September 1917. He switched to an Albatros D.III
for his final victory on 21 November 1917.
On 12 January 1918, while flying a recce mission in a C.I, Stojsavljevic was shot down with a thigh broken by an enemy bullet. He managed to crash-land behind his own lines. While he was recuperating, he was awarded the Golden Bravery Medal for officers on 18 April. The medical prediction was that he would never walk again without the aid of a stick, but he struggled back to health by October 1918. He was appointed to command his old alma mater, the officers' school in Wiener-Neustadt.
n citizenship and became an Austrian. He served in the Volkswehr and Flugpolizei
until 1921. He made an attempt to start commercial air service between Vienna and Budapest, but was closed down by the Allied Control Commission. He returned to Feldjaegerbataillon No. 21 as a major in 1922. In 1925, he founded and directed the new Innsbruck airport. In 1927, he founded a commercial airline; the following year, he joined the pioneering airline ÖLAG.
On 2 September 1930, he flew a Junkers F.13
through thick fog into the Krottenkopf
mountain. He was buried with full honors.
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
credited with ten aerial victories. His later career took him to postwar service in aviation both military and civilian.
Pre-World War I
Stojsavljevic was born to an ethnically mixed marriage, his father being Croatian, his mother, Adelheid Hohenauer, being Austrian. He attended a military middle school before he graduated from the Theresian Military AcademyTheresian Military Academy
The Theresian Military Academy is an academy, where the Austrian Armed Forces train their officers. The Academy is located in the castle of Wiener Neustadt in Lower Austria.- History :...
on 18 August 1908 and commissioned a leutnant in Feldjaegerbataillon No. 21. By 1911, in addition to his duties as a company officer, he was a corps ski instructor. In 1913, he transferred into aviation. On 13 April, he began pilot's training. The First of May brought a promotion to Oberleutnant. On 2 July, he qualified as a pilot with Austrian certificate 114. On 14 October 1913, he participated in the first flight over the Alps from Vienna to Gorizia
Gorizia
Gorizia is a town and comune in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, and it is a local center of tourism, industry, and commerce. Since 1947, a twin...
. Stojsavljevic's appointment as a field pilot followed on 7 April 1914. On outbreak of war, he was in Flik 1, stationed on the northeastern front in Galicia.
World War I
While spending a period of seasoning flying reconnaissance for Flik 1, he survived a landing accident on 31 July 1914. He was awarded the Bronze Military Merit MedalMilitary Merit Medal (Austria-Hungary)
The Military Merit Medal was a military decoration of the Empire of Austria-Hungary. It was founded by Emperor Franz Joseph I on March 12, 1890...
on 11 September 1914. He was then assigned to Flik 13 as a recce pilot, senior pilot, and second in command in late November 1914. It was while flying his 49th sortie that he was brought down by a snow storm and captured by the Russians on 16 February 1915. He and his observer had managed to burn their plane; on the 22nd, they escaped. They spent the next two months dodging the Russians, finally repatriating themselves upon the successful Austro-Hungarian Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive
Gorlice-Tarnów Offensive
The Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive during World War I started as a minor German offensive to relieve Russian pressure on the Austro-Hungarians to their south on the Eastern Front, but resulted in the total collapse of the Russian lines and their retreat far into Russia...
capture of Lemberg on 22 June. While amongst the missing, Stojsavljevic was awarded the Iron Cross
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
Second Class on 28 May 1915. The Military Merit Cross followed on 19 July 1915.
Stojsavljevic was then transferred to the Italian Front
Italian Campaign (World War I)
The Italian campaign refers to a series of battles fought between the armies of Austria-Hungary and Italy, along with their allies, in northern Italy between 1915 and 1918. Italy hoped that by joining the countries of the Triple Entente against the Central Powers it would gain Cisalpine Tyrol , the...
to serve with Flik 17. He was promoted to Hauptmann on 1 September 1915, and transferred to Flik 17. He was appointed to its command in December. He led the squadron in its mission of flying reconnaissance missions with Hansa-Brandenburg
Hansa-Brandenburg
Hansa und Brandenburgische Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturing company that operated during World War I. It was created in May 1914 by the purchase of Brandenburgische Flugzeugwerke by Camillo Castiglioni, who relocated the factory from Libau to Brandenburg am Havel...
C.Is, and won the Order of the Iron Crown
Order of the Iron Crown
The Imperial Order of the Iron Crown was established June 5, 1805 by Napoleon Bonaparte . It took its name from the ancient Iron Crown of Lombardy, a medieval jewel with an iron ring, forged from what was supposed to be a nail from the True Cross as a band on the inside. This crown also gave its...
on 20 June 1916. From 4 July through 1 September 1916, he managed to win four victories, three while teamed with Josef Friedrich
Josef Friedrich
Oberleutnant Josef Friedrich was a World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories. He was born in Cvikov, Česká Lípa District. He scored most of his victories while flying as an observer with Raoul Stojsavljevic.-References:...
. He then requested permission to train as a fighter pilot.
As a result, Stojsavljevic was attached to Flik 34, which operated 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....
fighter. Although he mastered the H-D, it was at the cost of a lingering knee injury suffered during a landing accident. Still, he managed to become an ace flying an H-D, on 13 February 1917. At the end of his two months, he returned to Flik 16 and his C.I, and downed his sixth Farman
Farman
Farman Aviation Works was an aeronautic enterprise founded and run by the brothers; Richard, Henri, and Maurice Farman. They designed and constructed aircraft and engines from 1908 until 1936; during the French nationalization and rationalization of its aerospace industry, Farman's assets were...
on 17 April. He gained further experience and training in fighter tactics with Jasta 6 on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
during May 1917, though he scored no victories there.
Upon his return to Italy and Flik 16, Stojsavljevic pioneered high-speed photo reconnaissance in a D.I. In the process, he scored triumphs over two more Farmans, on 14 and 23 July 1917. He scored his last victory with a D.I on 7 September 1917. He switched to 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...
for his final victory on 21 November 1917.
On 12 January 1918, while flying a recce mission in a C.I, Stojsavljevic was shot down with a thigh broken by an enemy bullet. He managed to crash-land behind his own lines. While he was recuperating, he was awarded the Golden Bravery Medal for officers on 18 April. The medical prediction was that he would never walk again without the aid of a stick, but he struggled back to health by October 1918. He was appointed to command his old alma mater, the officers' school in Wiener-Neustadt.
Post World War I
Upon the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Stojsavljevic declined YugoslaviaYugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
n citizenship and became an Austrian. He served in the Volkswehr and Flugpolizei
Flugpolizei
The Flugpolizei is a unit of the Federal Ministry of the Interior of Austria.-Role:The Flugpolizei coordinates air operations in the support of the Polizei in criminal matters, in connection with major events and to assist with traffic control...
until 1921. He made an attempt to start commercial air service between Vienna and Budapest, but was closed down by the Allied Control Commission. He returned to Feldjaegerbataillon No. 21 as a major in 1922. In 1925, he founded and directed the new Innsbruck airport. In 1927, he founded a commercial airline; the following year, he joined the pioneering airline ÖLAG.
On 2 September 1930, he flew a Junkers F.13
Junkers F.13
The Junkers F.13 was the world's first all-metal transport aircraft, developed in Germany at the end of World War I. It was an advanced cantilever-wing monoplane, with enclosed accommodation for four passengers. Over 300 were sold...
through thick fog into the Krottenkopf
Krottenkopf
The Krottenkopf , , is a mountain within the Ester Mountains in the Bavarian district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen.-See also:*List of mountains of the Alps*List of Alpine peaks by prominence...
mountain. He was buried with full honors.
Reference
- Austro-Hungarian aces of World War 1 Christopher Chant. Osprey Publishing, 2002. ISBN 1841763764, 9781841763767.