''Stabfeldwebel'' Johann Lasi (born 1890, date of death unknown) was a World War I Austro-Hungarian

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 ...

, a

Croat The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, Ge ...

by ethnicity, credited with five aerial victories on 22 Aug 1916, while acting as an unauthorized rear gunner for

Julius Arigi Julius Arigi (3 October 1895 – 1 August 1981) was a flying ace of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in World War I with a total of 32 credited victories. His victory total was second only to Godwin von Brumowski. Arigi was considered a superb natur ...

Biography

Johann Lasi was born in

Kać Kać () is a suburban settlement of the city of Novi Sad, Serbia. The town has a Serb ethnic majority and its population was 11,612 at the 2011 census. Name In Serbian, the town is known as ''Kać'' or Каћ, in Croatian as ''Kać'', in Hunga ...

, Bács-Bodrog,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(present day Serbia) in 1890. After completing school, he trained as a

wheelwright A wheelwright is a craftsman who builds or repairs wooden wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the word "wright", (which comes from the Old English word "''wryhta''", meaning a worker or shaper of wood) as in shipwright and arkwr ...

. Lasi was fluent in German, Hungarian, and

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia an ...

. In 1911, he joined the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

, then requested transfer to the Airship Section. As World War I began in 1914, Lasi became the chief mechanic for a new airplane squadron, Flik 6. On 22 August 1916, a formation of six Italian

Farman Farman Aviation Works (french: Avions Farman) was a French aircraft company 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 national ...

two-seaters attacked the naval air station at Durazzo.

of Flik 6 was poised in his Hansa-Brandenburg C.I to intercept the enemy formation, but could not find an observer. By regulation, only an officer could man the rear gun, but Arigi could not find one that day, and asked 25-year-old Lasi to fly with him. The unauthorized gunner was credited with shooting down five of the six attackers, becoming an

ace in a day The term "ace in a day" is used to designate a pilot who has shot down five or more airplanes in a single day, based on usual definition of an "ace" as one with five or more aerial victories. World War I Ace in a day on two occasions A Bristol F ...

(although the Italians reported only two losses that day). This action garnered him a Silver

Medal for Bravery The Medal for Bravery (Serbo-Croatian: ''Медаља за Храброст'', Macedonian: ''Медал за Xраброст'') was a Yugoslav military award created in 1943 for achievements in the line of duty during World War II. It was initial ...

to add to his previously awarded Silver Military Merit Cross with Swords. The Aerodrome websit

Accessed 3 November 2021. Shortly afterwards, Lasi went for pilot training, and ended up as an instructor for the rest of the war.

References

Sources

* * * 1890 births Year of death missing Austro-Hungarian World War I flying aces {{Authority control