He was born in the village of Dobrichov in the Kouřim district on 8 July 1893. His father died in his childhood. In 1907-1910 he attended the secondary industrial school in Opatovice where he was trained as a machinist. After the outbreak of the war he enlisted in Infantry Regiment 36 (Infanterieregiment 36, IR 36) with a tradition since 1683. But at the turn of 1914-1915, due to his specialty, he is sent as a member of the ground staff to Flik 3. In the summer of 1915 he is sent to Flek 8 in Szombathely as a student pilot. On 10 April 1916 he receives the Austrian FAI pilot's diploma number 350. He remained at the school as an assistant flying teacher. However, he is soon sent to the Russian front to the newly founded Flik 29 under the command of Hauptmann Oskar Schaffar. On 19 August 1916, however, the commander was killed in action and Hauptmann Karel Huppner took command. On 26 August 1916, after passing the Field Flying Officer examinations, he is appointed as a (Feldpilot). In the spring of 1917 he falls ill and is sent to Vienna for treatment. Here he works again in the Flek 8 flying school as a flying teacher. At his own request and on the recommendation of his commander, he is assigned on 15 June 1917 to Flik 41J on the Italian front. It is commanded by Hauptmann Godwin Brumowski. He often flew there as a number to his commander Hauptmann Godwin Brumowski. He made 110 combat sorties here and engaged the enemy 43 times. He left the unit in the summer of 1918 and was promoted to Stabsfeldwebel on 19 September 1918.
Shortly after the establishment of independent Czechoslovakia, he enlisted in the Air Corps. He is recruited with the same rank he achieved in the Austro-Hungarian Air Force, i.e. Staff Schikovatel. He fought with the First Field Air Force in Těšín and Slovakia at the turn of 1918-1919. Among other things, on 22 November 1918, he made a flight with Lieutenant Kruliš as an observer over Trenčín and its surroundings, where they dropped promotional leaflets.
With a group of pilots he left for France on 23 April for retraining on French aviation equipment. In France he obtained a French pilot's licence. On his return, he worked at the Kbele airfield in the flight school until 1920, when he was demobilized. He was subsequently employed by the private airline Ikarus. On 15 August 1921, however, he obtained a position as a flying pilot at the Aero aircraft factory, where he soon gained the position of chief pilot. During his ten years there he made 3653 take-offs. During his tenure he flew 30 prototypes. He regularly participated in both domestic and foreign competitions. On April 5, 1930, he had a serious aviation accident. During a flight with the A-34 aircraft, a material defect occurred in the strength of the aircraft. And he and the aircraft ended up on the airfield prematurely. In addition to several fractures to his legs, arms and ribs, he also had a punctured lung. After ten months of treatments, he was able to return to flying the plane, to the profession of a pilot. But as a result of the damage to his lungs, he was vomiting blood during increased exertion, whereupon he died in a hospital in Prague's Bulovka district on 3 January 1934.
Honours: Silver Medal for Bravery 1st Class - 3x, Silver Medal for Bravery 2nd Class - 2x, Charles Military Cross 1916, Prussian War Merit Medal
Italian Voisin or Farman [colaa] between Monte Sabotino and Monte Santo
Probably shot down
18 Aug 1917
Flik 41J
Caudron
Italian positions [19. 08. 1917
Flik 41J
?
Caudron
Karbinje-Ivangrad
Notes: The Flik 41J had a passenger machine Albatros D.III. Oeffag numbers 153.137, with "J and N" on the upper wing and "Lil" on the fuselage.
Personal mechanic of the commander Flik 41J František Šimek claimed about Josef Novák and Hauptman Godwin Brumowski that Novák sold his kills to Brumowski. Receiving from him 500 crowns for each kill and 500 lire as a bonus from the army command, in total Novák was alleged to have given Brumowski 19 kills.
After the war, he received Czechoslovak pilot's diploma number 16.
poručík Josef Novák a kapitán Gustav Benesch a Aero A-30, které letělo v roce 1928 závod Kolem Malé dohody a Polska
Josef Novák pilotuje letoun Aero A-34 v roce 1929
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Novak-Josef-1893-1934-t90111#640133
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