Draft:Karl Semmelrock

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Karl Semmelrock was an Austro-Hungarian military aviator who served during the First World War. He flew on both the Eastern Front and the Italian Front, and was credited with three aerial victories before being killed in action on 5 February 1918.

Early life and family

Karl Semmelrock was born in 1895 in Budapest, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During his youth, he spent part of his life in Kikinda, in the Banat region, where he attended the local grammar school.

His father, Alfonz Semmelrock, originally from Lower Austria, worked as a mill builder. His mother, Franziska Semmelrock (née Meyer), was a housewife from Rohrau-Gerhaus. Because of his father’s work, the family moved frequently and lived in several parts of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, including Austria, Hungary, the Banat, Transylvania, and from 1914 onward in Svätý Kríž (present-day Žiar nad Hronom, Slovakia).

Semmelrock had three siblings: the sisters Irene and Paula, and a brother, Alfons.

Military aviation career

At the outbreak of the First World War, Semmelrock entered military service in the Austro-Hungarian armed forces. In the autumn of 1915, he began flight training in Fischamend, Lower Austria. His training continued during the winter and spring of 1916 in Briest-Brandenburg, Germany.

After completing his training, and holding the rank of Corporal, he was assigned to Fliegerkompanie 30 (Flik 30), an Austro-Hungarian aviation unit operating on the Eastern Front. The unit was based at Slatinské Doly (present-day Solotvyno), then in Galicia.

Aerial victories

Semmelrock achieved his aerial victories while serving on the Eastern Front.

His first confirmed success came on 6 September 1916, when, together with observer Lieutenant Weissensteiner, he forced an enemy Farman aircraft to land.

His second victory followed on 8 November 1916, when he shot down a two-seat Nieuport aircraft.

His third and final aerial victory was recorded on 12 May 1917, when, flying with observer Lieutenant Schwarz, he forced another enemy Farman aircraft down to below 50 metres.

Transfer to the Italian Front

Following Russia’s withdrawal from the war at the end of 1917, Semmelrock was transferred to the Italian Front. He was assigned to Jagdfliegerkompanie 51J (Flik 51J), a fighter unit based at Ghirano di Pordenone.

Death

On 5 February 1918, Feldwebel Karl Semmelrock flew his final mission. During a reconnaissance flight between Oderzo and San Polo di Piave, he encountered the Canadian airmen Billy Barker and Harold Hudson, both flying Sopwith Camel fighters.

During the engagement, Semmelrock was pursued by Hudson and forced to descend from an altitude of approximately 5,200 metres to about 60 metres. He was killed when his aircraft crashed at high speed approximately 3 kilometres northwest of Oderzo, in the direction of San Polo di Piave.

Burial

Semmelrock was initially buried in the municipal cemetery at Ghirano di Pordenone. After the war, the military graves from that cemetery were exhumed and reinterred in the ossuary of the municipal cemetery in Pordenone.

References

• (en) Wayne Ralph, William Barker VC: The Life, Death & Legend of Canada's Most Decorated War Hero, Doubleday Canada (ISBN 978-0385256827)