Karl Patzelt
Oberleutnant Karl Patzelt was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories.
Patzelt's birthplace is often incorrectly given as Crajova, Bohemia. This was caused by an error in his Austrian personal documents deposited in Vienna, which state "Crajova, Böhmen". In fact, no such place exists in Bohemia. According to Patzelt's qualification document deposited in Prague, he was born in Craiova, Romania, and his legal domicile was Mladá Boleslav, Bohemia, where his father came from. The same source also gives his exact date of birth as 3 February 1893, and spoken languages as German, Romanian and Czech.
Patzelt was killed in action on 4 May when his Albatros D.III was shot down during a skirmish over Montello, a hill in the Treviso province of Italy. The credit for the victory has been disputed. At least one author gives it to Corpo Aeronautico Militare pilot Sergente Giovanni Nicelli of 79a Squadriglia and another credits Royal Air Force pilot Lt. Gerald Birks of 66 Squadron.
