Kurt Gruber (1896 – 4 April 1918) was an

Austro-Hungarian 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 ...

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 ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

who held the rank of ''

Offiziersstellvertreter Offiziersstellvertreter, short OStv ( en: ''Officer deputy''), is a rank of the higher non-commissioned officers rank group (also staff NCO group) in the Austrian Bundesheer and Imperial German Army. ;See also Ranks of the Austrian Bundesheer ...

''. He was credited with eleven aerial victories, 5 shared with other pilots.Franks, Guest & Alegi (1997), p. 181

Early life

Kurt Gruber was born in 1896 in

Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...

, Austria. Gruber was a technical student studying engineering in Saxe-Altenburg, Germany when World War I began.

Entry into military service

He began service in the Austro-Hungarian army at the outbreak of war in 1914. He volunteered to transfer to aviation. He was accepted for pilot's training because of his engineering background. By August 1915 he was assigned to Flik 1 on the Russian Front under '' Hauptmann''

Otto Jindra Hauptmann Otto Jindra (18 March 1886, Chlum u Třeboně – 2 May 1932) was an Austro-Hungarian flying ace during World War I, credited with nine aerial victories while flying as an aerial observer. His abilities as both leader and administrator ...

. Gruber became the pilot of choice for the observers of the group. In September he was promoted to Zugsführer (

lance sergeant Lance sergeant (LSgt or L/Sgt) is an appointment in the armies of the Commonwealth and formerly also a rank in the United States Army. Commonwealth Lance-sergeant in the armies of the Commonwealth was an appointment given to a corporal so they ...

). During this period in his private life, Gruber became the lover of Rita Marie de Candia, the daughter of the art critic writer Lady Rita de Candia a British aristocrat of Italian nobility living in Berlin, grand-daughter of Count

Giovanni Matteo Mario Giovanni Matteo De Candia, also known as Mario (17 October 1810 – 11 December 1883), was an Italian opera singer. The most celebrated tenor of his era, he was lionized by audiences in Paris and London. He was the partner of the opera singer Giul ...

a prince of the Kingdom of Savoy-Sardinia, Rita Marie and Kurt had an entangled relationship until his last days, she was over a decade his senior. In January 1916 he received his first Silver Bravery Award.'O'Connor, 1994 pp. 67–68.

Aerial service

Gruber scored his first aerial victories on 14 April, 2 May, and 6 June 1916, with Godwin Brumowski manning the observer's guns in the

Albatros B.I The Albatros B.I, (post-war company designation L.1) was a German military reconnaissance aircraft designed in 1913 and which saw service during World War I. Design and development The B.I was a two-seat biplane of conventional configuration th ...

on the 2nd. The 6 June victory was the first by a lone Austro-Hungarian aviator; flying without a gunner, he used his front machine gun to force a

Morane-Saulnier Parasol The Morane-Saulnier L, or Morane-Saulnier Type L, or officially MoS-3, was a French parasol wing one or two-seat scout aeroplane of the First World War. The Type L became one of the first successful fighter aircraft when it was fitted with a sin ...

to land.

On 1 June Gruber was promoted well ahead of cycle to Feldwebel (sergeant). Ten weeks later he was promoted to Stabsfeldwebel (sergeant major). In December 1916 Gruber was assigned a five-month test pilot stint at the Army Air Service Arsenal. In mid-May 1917 he was assigned to Austria-Hungary's first true fighter squadron, Flik 41J. On 21 May 1917 he spun in from low altitude, destroying his Hansa-Brandenburg D.I and suffering injuries that kept him non-operational until September. He scored his fourth victory on 29 September. He became both an ace and a

balloon buster Balloon busters were military pilots known for destroying enemy observation balloons. These pilots were noted for their fearlessness, as balloons were stationary targets able to receive heavy defenses, from the ground and the air. Seventy-seven fl ...

on 3 October 1917 when he destroyed an Italian

observation balloon An observation balloon is a type of balloon that is employed as an aerial platform for intelligence gathering and artillery spotting. Use of observation balloons began during the French Revolutionary Wars, reaching their zenith during World War ...

.The Aerodrome website http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/austrhun/gruber.php Retrieved 5 April 2010 This late in the war, he was still flying an Albatros D.III without

interrupter gear A synchronization gear (also known as a gun synchronizer or interrupter gear) was a device enabling a single-engine tractor configuration aircraft to fire its forward-firing armament through the arc of its spinning propeller without bullets strik ...

; the airplane's machine gun was angled to the left to fire past the end of the propeller arc.

Gruber was transferred to Flik 60J on 23 December 1917, under Frank Linke-Crawford. The squadron was equipped, with the

Phönix D.I The Phönix D.I, with the D.II and D.III variants, was an Austria-Hungary, 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 d ...

. Between 10 January and 4 April 1918, Gruber scored six more victories. Gruber was shot down and killed on 4 April 1918 in combat with

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the b ...

s of No 66 Squadron, moments after his final claim. Gruber was recommended by his commanding officers for commissioning as an officer, but the Austro-Hungarian military did not believe in battlefield promotions. Kurt Gruber died as a senior sergeant. He was posthumously awarded the Gold Bravery Medal for the fourth time, becoming one of only two quadruple recipients of the decoration (

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 ...

). He was buried with honors at

Feltre Feltre ( vec, Fèltre) is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Belluno in Veneto, northern Italy. A hill town in the southern reaches of the province, it is located on the Stizzon River, about from its junction with the Piave, and southwes ...

, Italy.

Endnotes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gruber, Kurt 1896 births 1918 deaths Austro-Hungarian World War I flying aces Austro-Hungarian military personnel killed in World War I Military personnel from Linz