Carl Menckhoff
| Carl Menckhoff | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 14 April 1883 Herford, Westphalia, German Empire |
| Died | 11 January 1949 (aged 65) Switzerland |
| Allegiance |
 German Empire
|
| Service/branch | Imperial German Aviation Service |
| Years of service | 1914–1918 |
| Rank | Oberleutnant |
| Unit | Jagdstaffel 3 |
| Commands held | Jagdstaffel 72 |
| Awards | Pour le Mérite, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, Iron Cross First and Second Class |
| Other work | Businessman in Germany and Switzerland |
Carl Menckhoff (14 April 1883 – 11 January 1949) was a German First World War fighter ace, credited with 39 confirmed victories. Already in his 30s when he learned to fly, he was one of the oldest pilots in the Imperial German Air Service. He transferred from infantry service to aviation as a non-commissioned officer, but afterwards succeeded in being commissioned as an officer. He won the Pour le Mérite ("Blue Max"), and was given a squadron command.
Having been taken prisoner on 25 June 1918, he remained incarcerated until August 1919 when he escaped into Switzerland. He returned to Germany where he succeeded in business, but where he was arrested in 1938 for currency infringements. Following his release from custody he moved to Switzerland, where he remained until his death in 1949.
Carl Menckhoff was born in Herford, Westphalia, in the Kingdom of Prussia, the son of Friedrich Wilhelm Menckhoff (1853–1929) and his wife Luise née Siekmann (1856–1922). He was one of a family of at least eight and possibly ten siblings. His father ran a successful linen weaving mill, the Herforder Leinen-Verein Wilhelm Menckhoff, in which Carl was apprenticed and later (after a failed business enterprise of his own) employed.
As a young man, Menckhoff was keenly interested in motor cars, and probably participated in balloon flights with his brother Willi (who held a balloon pilot's licence): he believed that this background helped his later application to join the Air Corps.
Menckhoff reported for military service as a "one-year volunteer" at age 20 in 1903, but was invalided out after six weeks observation in a military hospital with suspected appendicitis.
In August 1914, on the outbreak of war, Menckoff – now aged 31 – enlisted in Infantry Regiment Nr. 106. He served on the Western Front, seeing action against the French in the vicinity of Châlons-en-Champagne and on the River Suippe, and later against the British in the vicinity of Armentières. He was wounded several times and received the Iron Cross First Class and Second Class for gallantry, both by the end of 1914.
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