Godwin Karol Marian von Brumowsky (26 July 1889 – 3 June 1936) was the most successful fighter ace of the Austro-Hungarian Air Force during World War I.

Just before the war ended, Brumowski rose to command of all his country's fighter aviation fighting Italy on the Isonzo front.

He attended the Imperial and Royal Technical Military Academy in Mödling near Vienna and graduated as a lieutenant commissioned into the 29th Field Artillery Regiment[2] on 18 August 1910.

He was serving in the 6th Artillery Division as regimental adjutant and had just turned 25 years of age when war was declared against Serbia on 28 July 1914.

[1] He served on the Eastern Front against Russia, winning both a Bronze and Silver Medal for Bravery before transferring to air service in the Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops (k.u.k.

[1] He was posted to Fliegerkompagnie 1 (Flik 1) at Czernowitz, commanded by Hauptmann Otto Jindra, in July 1915; Brumowski was thus initially assigned as an aerial observer on the Russian Front.

[1] On 12 April 1916, Jindra and Brumowski crewed one of the seven Austro-Hungarian planes that participated in bombing a military review attended by Czar Nicholas II.

The next month, when Flik 41J was established on the Italian Front as Austro-Hungary's first dedicated fighter squadron, Brumowski was chosen to command it.

Although better suited for air-to-air combat than the C.1, it still suffered three major disadvantages: the pilot's vision was partially obstructed; the single machine gun was not synchronized to fire through the propeller arc,[8] and it was a difficult craft to fly because it was easy to spin[9] at any altitude.

[11] The Austro-Hungarian Fliks were also hampered by a doctrine that tied them to escort of reconnaissance aircraft instead of freeing them to rove and hunt in the German fashion.

[7] Also on 23 June he was invited by Generaloberst (Colonel-General) Ferdinand to make the customary mandatory application for Austria-Hungary's highest decoration, the Knight's Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa.

He indulged in hazardous pursuits, seeking the thrill of danger by racing automobiles about on the poor local roads, riding horses into exhaustion, hunting in the mountains.