Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg
| Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Melitta Schiller 9 January 1903 Krotoschin, Prussia (present-day Krotoszyn, Poland) |
| Died | 8 April 1945 (aged 42) Straubing |
| Occupation | Test pilot, Engineer |
| Spouse(s) |
Alexander Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (1937-1945, her death) |
| Children | none |
| Parent(s) | Michael Schiller, Margaret née Eberstein |
Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg, born Melitta Schiller (9 January 1903 – 8 April 1945), was an aviator who served as a test pilot in the Luftwaffe before and during World War II.
She was the second German woman to be awarded the honorary title of Flugkapitän (English: flight captain) and also flew over 2,500 test flights in dive bombers, the second most of any Luftwaffe test pilot. Von Stauffenberg was awarded the Iron Cross Second Class and the Gold Front Flying Clasp for Bombers with diamonds, for performing over 1,500 test flights in dive bomber aircraft. In 1944, she was arrested with other Stauffenberg family members on suspicion of conspiring with her brothers-in-law to assassinate Adolf Hitler, but she was later released to continue her test flight duties.
Countess von Stauffenberg died after being shot down by an Allied fighter plane on 8 April 1945.
Melitta was born in Krotoschin, Prussia. Her father was Michael Schiller, son of a Jewish fur-trading family, who had become a Protestant while young. Her mother was Margaret Eberstein. She had four siblings: Marie-Luise, Otto, Jutta and Klara. The family moved to Hirschberg in Silesia.
Melitta passed the diploma for university entrance in 1922. There she studied math, physics and engineering, eventually specialising in aeronautical engineering at the Technical University of Munich. In 1927 she graduated cum laude.
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