Frank Linke-Crawford

Name:

Country:

Austro-Hungarian Empire

Rank:

Oberleutnant

Units:

Flik 12, 41J, 60J

Victories:

Born:

18 August 1893

Place of Birth:

Krakau (Cracow, Poland)

Killed In Action:

30 July 1918

Place of Death:

Near Guia

Cemetery:

Kommunalfriedhof, Salzburg, Austria

After serving with a calvary regiment on the Russian front, Frank Linke-Crawford transferred to the Army Air Service in December 1915 and attended pilot's school in September 1916. Posted to Flik 12 in January 1917, he flew numerous reconnaissance and bombing missions on the Isonzo front. Flying an Aviatik C.I (37.08) without an observer, he was shot down on 2 August 1917, probably by Pier Piccio. On 4 August 1917, Linke was posted to Flik 41J and scored 13 victories by the end of the year. He assumed command of Flik 60J at the end of December 1917 and he scored 14 more victories before he was killed in action on the morning of 30 July 1918. Flying an Aviatik D.I, der Falke von Feltre (the Falcon of Feltre) was shot down by two Italian Hanriot HD.1 fighters from 81a Squadriglia. After the war, Linke's body was recovered and reinterred in Austria.

"Linke was both a fine flier and a fine man. He gave his men full support and generally ignored the rules about officers and non-officers having little to do with each other. He often gave away victories to other, less experienced pilots. As you can imagine, the feelings of his men for him were quite strong." Julius Arigi to Dr. Martin O'Connor, 6 October 1977

Victories

	Date	Time	Unit	Aircraft	Opponent	Location
1	21 Aug 1917		Flik 41J	Hansa-Brandenburg D.I (28.40)	Nieuport Scout	Monte Santo
2	22 Aug 1917		Flik 41J	Hansa-Brandenburg D.I (28.40)	Savoia-Pomilio	Gorizia
3	23 Aug 1917		Flik 41J	Hansa-Brandenburg D.I (28.40)	Savoia-Pomilio	Bate
u/c	25 Aug 1917		Flik 41J	Hansa-Brandenburg D.I (28.40)	Sopwith 2
4	26 Aug 1917		Flik 41J	Hansa-Brandenburg D.I (28.40)	SPAD 1	Monte San Gabriele
5	23 Sep 1917	p.m.	Flik 41J	Albatros D.III (153.04)	Seaplane	Gulf of Trieste
6	09 Oct 1917	1700	Flik 41J	Albatros D.III (153.11)	Balloon	Shobba Estuary
7	23 Oct 1917	1630	Flik 41J	Albatros D.III (153.11)	Savoia-Pomilio	Hermada
8	05 Nov 1917		Flik 41J	Albatros D.III (153.11)	Macchi L3	W of Latisana
9	05 Nov 1917		Flik 41J	Albatros D.III (153.11)	Macchi L3	W of Latisana
10	23 Nov 1917		Flik 41J	Albatros D.III (153.11)	Nieuport Scout	Cortellazzo
11	23 Nov 1917		Flik 41J	Albatros D.III (153.11)	Nieuport Scout	Cortellazzo
12	10 Dec 1917		Flik 41J	Albatros D.III (153.16)	Sopwith Scout	Monastier di Treviso
13	13 Dec 1917		Flik 41J	Albatros D.III (153.16)	Balloon	Meolo
14	10 Jan 1918		Flik 60J	Phönix D.I (228.16)	SAML 2	Valstagna
15	10 Jan 1918		Flik 60J	Phönix D.I (228.16)	Nieuport Scout	Valstagna
16	29 Jan 1918		Flik 60J	Phönix D.I (228.14)	SIA 7b	Monte Lambara
17	02 Feb 1918		Flik 60J	Phönix D.I (228.06)	Two-seater	Campolongo
18	03 Feb 1918		Flik 60J	Phönix D.I (228.06)	Nieuport Scout	S of Monte Pertica
19	24 Feb 1918		Flik 60J	Phönix D.I (228.14)	Savoia-Pomilio	E of Cismon
20	11 Mar 1918		Flik 60J	Phönix D.I (228.14)	Sopwith Scout	S of Monte di Val Bella
21	10 May 1918	0640	Flik 60J	Aviatik D.I (115.32)	Bristol F.2b	Levico
22	10 May 1918		Flik 60J	Aviatik D.I (115.32)	Scout	Barcarola
23	11 May 1918	1015	Flik 60J	Aviatik D.I (115.32)	Sopwith Camel	Feltre
24	01 Jun 1918		Flik 60J	Aviatik D.I (115.32)	Sopwith Camel	Visone
25	15 Jun 1918		Flik 60J	Aviatik D.I (115.32)	Sopwith Scout	Rocca
26	21 Jun 1918	a.m.	Flik 60J	Aviatik D.I (115.32)	Sopwith Camel	Val Stizzone
27	29 Jul 1918		Flik 60J	Aviatik D.I (115.32)	Bristol F.2b	Valstagna

Books

Above the War Fronts: by Norman L. R. Franks, Russell Guest, Gregory Alegi / Hardcover / Grub Street (September 1997)
Air Aces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire 1914-1918: by Dr. Martin O'Connor / Hardcover / Flying Machines Press (January 1986)
Austro-Hungarian Aces of World War 1: by Chris Chant, Mark Rolfe (Illustrator) / Paperback / Osprey Publishing (February 25, 2002)

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