View source for Emil Meinecke

{{Infobox military person
| name          = Emil Meinecke
| image         =
| caption       =
| birth_date    = 20 July 1892
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1975|5|2|1892|7|20}}
| placeofburial_label =
| placeofburial =
| birth_place   = [[Mannheim]], [[Grand Duchy of Baden]], [[German Empire]]
| death_place   = [[St. Catharines]], Ontario, Canada
| placeofburial_coordinates = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LONG|display=inline,title}} -->
| nickname      =
| allegiance    = Germany
| branch        = Aviation
| serviceyears  =
| rank          = [[Leutnant]]
| unit          = ''Flieger-Abteilung 6''
| commands      =
| battles       =
| awards        = [[Iron Cross]] First and Second Class, <br> [[Military Karl-Friedrich Merit Order]], <br>[[Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe#World War I predecessors|Honor Goblet for Victory in Air Combat]], <br> Turkish [[Liakat Medal]] with Swords, <br> [[Gallipoli Star (Ottoman Empire)|Gallipoli Star]], <br> [[Pilot's Badge]]
| relations     =
| laterwork     = Longtime test pilot and mechanic for [[Fokker]]
}}

Leutnant '''Emil Meinecke''' (20 July 1892 – 2 May 1975) was a German [[flying ace]] during [[World War I]]. He was credited with six confirmed aerial victories. After the war, he stayed in aviation, rising to the post of chief [[test pilot]] for [[Fokker]]. His post there ended with Germany's defeat in [[World War II]]. Meinecke then returned to his trade as an [[aircraft mechanic]] during the [[Berlin Airlift]]. He eventually became a Canadian citizen in 1950.

==Biography==
Emil Meinecke was born in [[Mannheim]] in the [[Grand Duchy of Baden]] on 20 July 1892.<ref name=aero>Aerodrome website page on Meinecke [http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/meinecke.php] Retrieved 16 February 2012.</ref> He apprenticed as an [[aircraft mechanic]] as a teenager, qualifying in 1910. He then worked for German pioneer aviator [[Karl Jatho]] who taught him to fly. Meinecke finally soloed in 1913.<ref name=early>Early Aviators website page on Meinecke [http://earlyaviators.com/emeineck.htm] Retrieved 17 February 2012.</ref><ref name=lines163>''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918'', p. 163.</ref>

Emil Meinecke joined the German military aviation effort when World War I began in 1914. When he enlisted on 20 August 1914, he had not yet completed requirements for his International Flying Certificate, but carried a letter of recommendation for pilot training from Jatho. On 25 July 1915, Meinecke qualified for his Military Pilot's Certificate. He was then assigned to [[Johannisthal Air Field]] in Berlin as a flying instructor.<ref name=foundation>Vintage Aero Flying Museum webpage on Meinecke [http://www.lafayettefoundation.org/collection/German/EmilMeinecke.html] Retrieved 17 February 2012.</ref><ref name=lines1634>''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918'', pp. 163-164.</ref>

Meinecke was posted to duty training Turkish aviation cadets in the [[Ottoman Empire]] on 1 October 1915. Then, in April 1916, he was posted to Flieger-Abteilung 6 at San Stefan as a fighter pilot<ref name=foundation/> under [[Theodor Croneiss]].<ref name=early/> He scored six confirmed victories in a year and two days, starting with downing a [[Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2]]c with his [[Fokker E.III|Fokker Eindekker]] monoplane on 27 January 1917.<ref name=aero/> Aerial opposition to the mixed German-Turkish unit came from the Greek Air Services and the [[Royal Naval Air Service]].<ref>''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918'', p. 25.</ref>

==Honors and awards==
By war's end, Emil Meinecke had won a number of military honors. He had received the ''Ehrenbecher für den Sieger im Luftkampfe'', or [[Ehrenpokal der Luftwaffe#World War I predecessors|Honor Goblet for Victory in Air Combat]] as well as both the First and Second Class [[Iron Cross]].<ref name=foundation/>

On 24 September 1917, Meinecke's native [[Grand Duchy of Baden]] had awarded him the silver medal of the [[Military Karl-Friedrich Merit Order]] Medal,<ref>Frontflieger website (in German) [http://www.frontflieger.de/3-mkfvo.html] Retrieved 20 February 2012.</ref> as well as a Medal for Bravery.<ref name=foundation/>

His awards from the Ottoman Empire included the [[Pilot's Badge]], the [[Gallipoli Star (Ottoman Empire)|Gallipoli Star]], and the Silver [[Liakat Medal]] with Swords.<ref name=foundation/>

==List of aerial victories==
See also [[Aerial victory standards of World War I]]

Confirmed victories are numbered and listed chronologically. Unconfirmed victories are denoted by "u/c" and may or may not be listed by date.
{| class="wikitable" border="1" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|-
!No.
!Date/time
!Aircraft
!Foe
!Result
!Location
!Notes
|-
| align="center"| 1
| align="center"| 27 January 1917
| [[Fokker E.III|Fokker Eindekker]]
| [[Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2]]c
| Destroyed
| Vicinity of Yenishir
|
|-
| align="center"| 2
| align="center"| 12 February 1917
|
| [[Henry Farman F27]] serial number N3021
| Destroyed
| Vicinity of [[Çanakkale]], Turkey
|
|-
| align="center"| 3
| align="center"| 17 February 1917
|
| [[Bristol Scout]] s/n 8996
| Captured{{cn|date=October 2020}}
| Vicinity of Hamidge
| Victim: Lieutenant Gordon T. Bysshe
|-
| align="center"| 4
| align="center"| 20 January 1918
|
| [[Sopwith Baby]] s/n N1445
| Destroyed; set afire
| Off Nagara Point
| Sopwith was attacking a German warship<ref>Flieger album website [http://flieger-album.de/blog/index.php?rs_id=view&s=203] Retrieved 20 February 2012 {{dead link|date=October 2020}}</ref>
|-
| align="center"| 5
| align="center"| 23 January 1918
|
| [[Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter]]
|
| Maidos
| Victim: Greek Naval Lieutenant Spyros Hambras
|-
| align="center"|
| align="center"| 24 January 1918
|
| [[Sopwith Aviation Company|Sopwith]]
|
| [[Gulf of Saros]], Turkey
|
|-
| align="center"| 6
| align="center"| 29 January 1918
|
| [[Sopwith Camel]]
| Destroyed
| Vicinity of [[Şile]], Turkey<ref name=aero/><ref name=foundation/>
|
|-
|}

==Post World War I==
Meinecke was discharged from military service in December 1919. He was unable to find work in Germany, so he moved to the Netherlands to work as a mechanic for Fokker. As part of his job, he accompanied airplanes being sold to the Russians, and test flew them for acceptance trials.
<ref name=early/>

Meinecke also did considerable testing on the original [[Fokker S.I]] trainer before writing it off in an emergency landing in October 1921.{{cn|date=October 2020}}

Circa 1925-1927, Meinecke was in [[Bolivia]] as Fokker's technical representative for the [[Chaco War]] buildup.<ref>''Latin American Air Wars'', per Hagedorn. [http://docs4.chomikuj.pl/53908128,0,0,THE-CHACO-WAR---1928-1935.pdf] Retrieved 20 February 2012.</ref><!---Shaky credibility. Sub in better if possible.--->

On 22 February 1929, he tested the [[Fokker F.XIV]] at Schiphol, the Netherlands.<ref>Dutch Aviation webpage [http://www.dutch-aviation.nl/index5/Civil/index5-2%20F14.html] Retrieved 20 February 2012.</ref> He followed this up by testing the first Fokker with [[retractable landing gear]], the tri-motored [[Fokker F.XX]], on 3 June 1933 .<ref>Flickr webpage [https://www.flickr.com/photos/16118167@N04/6737508611/] Retrieved 20 February 2012.</ref> On 27 February 1936, Meinecke flew the maiden test flight of the [[Fokker DXXI]] from [[Eindhoven Airport|Welschap]] Airfield.<ref>Icarusgold webpage [http://www.icarusgold.com/Fokker-DXXI.htm] Retrieved 20 February 2012.</ref><ref>Aircraft Walkaround Center webpage [http://aircraftwalkaround.hobbyvista.com/fokkerxxi/fokkerxxi.htm] Retrieved 20 February 2012.</ref> In 1936, he flew a replica [[Fokker Spider]] for [[Wilhelmina of the Netherlands|Queen Wilhelmina]] at Schiphol.<ref name=early/>

During World War II, Meinecke remained in the Netherlands, serving as a ferry pilot and test pilot for Fokker. In one incident, on 5 May 1941, he flew as the chase plane pilot in a sortie of two [[Fokker G.1]]s; the test plane, flown by Hidde Leegstra and Piet Vos, two Dutch pilots, eluded him as they defected to England.{{cn|date=October 2020}}

The end of the war saw him once again working as a mechanic. In 1949, he mechanised for the 53rd Troop Carrier Squadron USAF during the [[Berlin Airlift]]. Meinecke emigrated to Canada in 1950, and became a Canadian citizen on 1 June 1956.<ref name=early/> He died in [[St. Catharines]], Ontario, Canada.<ref name=aero/>

==See also==
* Photos of Emil Meinecke at http://www.aeroconservancy.com/meinecke.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705160557/http://www.aeroconservancy.com/meinecke.htm |date=2008-07-05 }}
* Photo of Meinecke perched atop the second airplane he shot down, at http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4NsxaqK7h8E/S3MZ4CZaAOI/AAAAAAAAC4E/zcYhQ8L_lwo/s1600-h/meineckebristol.jpg
* Meinecke Memorabilia [http://earlyaviators.com/emeinec1.htm] Retrieved 17 February 2012.

==Endnotes==
{{reflist}}
==References==
* ''Above the Lines: The Aces and Fighter Units of the German Air Service, Naval Air Service and Flanders Marine Corps, 1914–1918''. [[Norman Franks]], Frank W. Bailey, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1993. {{ISBN|0-948817-73-9}}, {{ISBN|978-0-948817-73-1}}.
* ''Countdown to Freedom''. Willem Ridder. AuthorHouse, 2007. {{ISBN|1-4343-1229-1}}, {{ISBN|978-1-4343-1229-7}}.


{{wwi-air}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meinecke, Emil}}
[[Category:1892 births]]
[[Category:1975 deaths]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Mannheim]]
[[Category:German World War I flying aces]]
[[Category:German emigrants to Canada]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Silver Liakat Medal]]
[[Category:People from the Grand Duchy of Baden]]
[[Category:Members of the Early Birds of Aviation]]