Stabsfeldwebel ''Stabsfeldwebel '' (StFw or SF; ) is the second highest Non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in German Army and German Air Force. It is grouped as OR-8 in NATO, equivalent to a First Sergeant in the United States Army, and to Warrant Office ...

'' Johann Risztics (alias Janos Risztics) (1895-1973) was an

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

World War I

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

credited with seven reliably confirmed aerial victories. After his wounding early in World War I, he switched to aviation duty as a mechanic. He went for pilot training in 1915. Once trained, he shot down seven enemy fighter planes, winning five Medals for Bravery in the process. Postwar, he became a record-setting test pilot for

Junkers Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG (JFM, earlier JCO or JKO in World War I, English language, English: Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works) more commonly Junkers , was a major German aircraft manufacturer, aircraft and aircraft engine manufactu ...

In the beginning

Johann Risztics (alias János Risztics or Ristic) was born on 11 January 1895The Aerodrome websit

Accessed on 20 November 2021 in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Hungary to South Slav parents. As World War I began, he joined Hungarian Infantry Regiment No. 44. The regiment went into action in the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...

on the Russian Front; Risztics was wounded on 23 November 1914.

Aviation service

Once healed, Risztics joined the Airship Detachment of the

Austro-Hungarian Aviation Troops The Austro-Hungarian Aviation Troops or Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops ( or , ) were the air force of the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Empire until the Dissolution of Austria-Hungary, empire's dissolution in 1918; it saw combat o ...

as a mechanic. He subsequently applied for heavier-than-air pilot training and was accepted in July 1915. On 2 December 1915, he was awarded Austrian Pilot Certificate No. 292. Once trained, he returned to the Russian Front in March 1916 to join ''Fliegerkompanie 22''. His service with this general service squadron brought him two awards of the Silver Medal for Bravery, with the Second Class award in August 1916 followed by the First Class award in December. On 10 February 1917, he was promoted to ''Feldwebel''. In April 1917, he was transferred to ''Fliegerkompanie 42J'' as a fighter pilot on the Italian Front. While fighting in the

Battles of the Isonzo The Battles of the Isonzo (also known as the Isonzo Front by historians, or the Soča Front - ) were a series of twelve battles between the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies in World War I mostly on the territory of present-d ...

, he used his Hansa-Brandenburg D.I fighter to shoot down an Italian

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. History Beginnings Originally formed as Nieuport-Duplex in ...

fighter on 30 June 1917 for his unit's first victory. During July and August, he shot down two more Nieuports and an Italian SPAD. By the end of the year, he was an ace. During this time, Risztics received his second First Class award of the Silver Medal for Bravery in July. In August, he received the more prestigious Gold Bravery Medal. Risztics formed a strong friendship with fellow pilots Fredrich Hefty and Ferdinand Udvardy, as all three of them won the Gold Medal for Bravery. These three awards prompted the airmen of ''Fliegerkompanie 42J'' to nickname the trio the ''Arany Triumviratus'' (Golden Triumvirate). Re-equipped with an

Albatros D.III The Albatros D.III was a biplane fighter aircraft used by the Imperial German Army Air Service () during World War I. A modified licensed version was built by Oeffag for the Austro-Hungarian Air Service (''Luftfahrtruppen''). The D.III was flown ...

fighter, Risztics scored two more victories in 1918, on 17 April and 4 May. Also in May, he received a rare second award of the Gold Medal for Bravery. Shortly thereafter, as he began to show signs of

combat fatigue Combat stress reaction (CSR) is acute behavioral disorganization as a direct result of the trauma of war. Also known as "combat fatigue", "battle fatigue", "operational exhaustion", or "battle/war neurosis", it has some overlap with the diagnosis ...

, he was pulled from combat duty to become an instructor for the remainder of the war.

Post World War I military service

As the Austro-Hungarian Empire dissolved into smaller nations, Risztics elected for

Hungarian citizenship Hungarian nationality law is based on the principles of jus sanguinis. Hungarian citizenship can be acquired by descent from a Hungarian parent, or by naturalisation. A person born in Hungary to foreign parents does not generally acquire Hungar ...

. In 1919, in defense of his new nation, he served with the 8th Fighter Squadron, Red Air Force during the ongoing turmoil post World War I.

Civilian test pilot

Risztics next became a

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

for

World Record Flights of the W33

In the late 1920s, he was well known for his record flights for the

Junkers W 33 The Junkers W 33 was a German 1920s single-engine low-wing monoplane transport aircraft that followed Junkers standard practice making extensive use of corrugated aluminium alloy over an aluminium alloy tube frame, that was developed from the s ...

. On July 5, 1927, Junkers pilots Risztics and Zimmermann achieved a new world record for continuous flight with a W33L of 65hrs and 25 minutes. Risztics and Edzard achieved the next W33 world record on August 3, 1927, with a W33. They flew for a distance of 4660 km a new distance world record, and needed 52hrs and 22 minutes for that flight.

First try of the east-west Atlantic crossing

On August, 14th 1927, Risztics, Edzard and the American journalist

Hubert Renfro Knickerbocker Hubert Renfro Knickerbocker (January 31, 1898 – July 12, 1949) was an American journalist and author; winner of the 1931 Pulitzer Prize for Correspondence for his series of articles on the practical operation of the Five Year Plan in the Soviet ...

on board the

"Europa", and Koehl, Loose and Huenefeld with the W 33 "Bremen", took off from Germany for the first approach of the crossing. This approach failed due to bad weather and engine troubles of "Europa".

The Challenge 1929-1930

Risztics took part at International Touring Aircraft Contests, the

Challenge 1929 The Challenge 1929 was the first FAI International Tourist Plane Contest (), that took place between August 4 and August 16, 1929 in Paris, France. Four Challenges, from 1929 to 1934, were major aviation events in pre-war Europe. Overview The co ...

and the

Challenge 1930 The International Touring Competition in 1930 () was the second FAI international touring aircraft contest, that took place between July 18 and August 8, 1930 in Berlin, Germany. Four Challenges, from 1929 to 1934, were major aviation events in pr ...

. The contest was conceived by the French Aero Club, inspired by the International Light Aircraft Contest in France in 1928. Four Challenges, from 1929 to 1934, were major aviation events in pre-war Europe. The first contest was opened on August 4, 1929, in Paris. It consisted of two parts: technical trials of aircraft and a rally over Europe. Since one of the aims of the Challenge was to generate a progress in aircraft building, it was not only pilots' competition, but technical trials also included a construction evaluation. Fifty-five aircraft entered the Challenge in 1929, from six countries. All planes flew with two-men crews, pilot and passenger or mechanic. Johann Risztics was 8th after the technical trials with his

Junkers A50 The Junkers A50 ''Junior'' is an all-metal sports plane designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Junkers. Designed by Hermann Pohlmann during the late 1920s, it incorporated the all-metal construction and various other princi ...

. However, just at the beginning of a rally over Europe, on 7 August 1929, he broke the

undercarriage Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include: *The landing gear of an aircraft. *The ch ...

and the

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

and was disqualified. He continued the rally off the contest, until

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. The second Challenge took place between July 16 and August 8, 1930, and started in Berlin, Germany. Germany organized the contest, because the German pilot Fritz Morzik won the previous contest in 1929. Sixty aircraft entered the Challenge in 1930, from six countries. The contest was open on July 16, 1930, at

Berlin-Staaken Staaken () is a locality at the western rim of Berlin within the borough of Spandau. History First mentioned in a 1273 deed as ''Stakene'' (from Middle Low German: ''staken'', "stakes") in the Mittelmark region of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, ...

airfield. It consisted of two parts: a rally over Europe and technical trials. Risztics finished the rally in 16th position and overall in 15th position, flying

ce.

Death

Johann Risztics died in

Duisburg Duisburg (; , ) is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine (Lower Rhine) and the Ruhr (river), Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruh ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

on 7 March 1973.

Citations

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Risztics, Johann 1895 births 1973 deaths Austro-Hungarian World War I flying aces Aviation record holders Hungarian aviators Military personnel from Budapest