Roman Oto Kažimir Schmidt or Roman Šmidt (1893-1959) was a
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
flying ace
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...
of the
Austro-Hungarian Aviation Troops
The Austro-Hungarian Aviation Troops or Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops (german: Kaiserliche und Königliche Luftfahrtruppen or , hu, Császári és Királyi Légjárócsapatok) were the air force of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the e ...
(air force), credited with six aerial victories.
Biography
Early life and artillery service
Roman Schmidt was born on 1 November 1893 in
Varaždin
)
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,
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
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. He attended a technical university and completed his education despite being called for his mandatory military service in 1913. As World War I began, he was a
fahnrich (officer candidate) in the 36th Artillery Regiment. He was commissioned and promoted to ''oberleutnant''. He transitioned to aviation as an aerial observer.
Aviation service
His first aerial victory was scored on the Russian front, whilst posted with ''Fliegerkompanen'' 7 (Flik 7, for
Aviation Company 7), and flying a
Hansa-Brandenburg C.I
The Hansa-Brandenburg C.I, also known as Type LDD, was a 2-seater armed single-engine reconnaissance biplane designed by Ernst Heinkel, who worked at that time for the parent company in Germany. The C.I had similarities with the earlier B.I (Typ ...
, when he together with pilot Paul Hablitschek on April 13, 1917, shot down a Russian
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 ...
Scout in the vicinity of Bohorodzany. (In accordance with Austro-Hungarian practice as Oberleutenant and officer Schmidt was acting as observer and gunner.) Later that year he was transferred to Flik 13, which was also fighting on the Russian front. On September 8, over Razbita in a twin-seater type
Oeffag C.II, he and Oberleutenant
Miroslav Navratil
Miroslav (Friedrich) Navratil (19 July 1893 – 7 June 1947) was a Croatian soldier, pilot, and general who served in the armies of Austria-Hungary, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and the Independent State of Croatia.
Until the end of World War I
...
downed a Russian Nieuport fighter. On October 4, flying a Lloyd 40.11 twin-seater with the pilot Zugsführer Adolf Wiltsch, they shot down another a single-seat fighter, marking Schmidt's third kill in 1917.
[Grosz, 1993. p 204, 472.]
Schmidt flew with Flik 30J on the Italian front from May 1918. On July 12, whilst flying a
Phönix D.I
The Phönix D.I, with the D.II and D.III variants, was an Austro-Hungarian First World War biplane fighter built by the Phönix Flugzeug-Werke and based on the Hansa-Brandenburg D.I.
Development
The Phönix D.I was the second design developed ...
numbered 128.12, he downed an Italian twin-seater (type SAML) over enemy territory. His fifth kill occurred eleven days later, on July 23, when he shot down an RAF
Bristol F.2 Fighter
The Bristol F.2 Fighter is a British First World War two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft developed by Frank Barnwell at the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter, ''"Brisfit"'' or ''"Biff"' ...
from 139th Squadron over
Godega di Sant'Urbano
Godega di Sant'Urbano, also known simply as Godega, is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Treviso in the Italian region Veneto, located about north of Venice and about northeast of Treviso.
Godega di Sant'Urbano borders the following ...
; both the pilot and the observer perished in the crash.
[Chant, 2002. p 94.] During that period, Flik 30J was based at the San Pietro di Campo airfield.
[Grosz, 1993. p 119.] His sixth and last victory was gained on October 27, 1918, when he shot down an Italian
Caproni Ca.3
The Caproni Ca.3 is an Italian heavy bomber of World War I and the postwar era. It was the most produced version of the series of aircraft that began with the 1914 Caproni Ca.1 and continued until the more powerful 1917 Caproni Ca.5 variant.
...
heavy bomber in the area around
Belluno
Belluno (; lld, Belum; vec, Belùn) is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about north of Venice, Belluno is the capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomites regi ...
.
Post World War I
Schmidt died on 5 April 1959.
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Roman
1893 births
1959 deaths
Austro-Hungarian World War I flying aces
Croatian aviators
People from Varaždin