Otto Koennecke

Leutnant Otto Koennecke (20 December 1892 - 25 January 1956) Pour le Merite, Golden Military Merit Cross, Knight's Cross with Swords of the House of Hohenzollern, was a leading German ace of World War I with 35 victories. He later became one of Lufthansa's founding pilots and assisted in development of the new Luftwaffe.

Early Life

Unlike many German aces, Otto Koennecke was of humble origin. He was born in Strasberg, a carpenter's son. He attended the Building Trade School in Frankfurt am Main and became an apprentice carpenter. He became bored with this life by his late teens and enlisted in Railroad Regiment 3, which was at Hanau. In 1913, he applied for pilot's training. He trained with Aviation Battalion 4 at Metz and received his pilot's wings. He served in various units and capacities, ending up in Jagdstaffel (Squadron) 25.

World War I

At the outbreak of war, Koennecke was serving as an instructor. Finally, on 3 December 1916, he was posted to Jasta 25 in Macedonia as a Vizefeldwebel or Sergeant pilot. He had an unconfirmed victory on 9 January 1917 and finally scored on 5 February 1917. He scored again the following day.

At the end of April, he was transferred to Jasta 5 on the Western Front. He did not have another victory until 28 May. He accumulated single victories over enemy aircraft until his score stood at 11 by the end of 1917. He often flew in conjunction with two other non-commissioned officers, Fritz Rumey and Josef Mai. The three aces, dubbed the Golden Triumvirate, would eventually total 108 victories among them, or more than 40% of the Jasta's triumphs.

Koennecke continued the same pattern of single victories through 1918 until 30 May, when he shot a double. On 8 August, he tallied three wins in three separate combats, at 9:05 AM, 11:45 AM, and 6:45 pm. The following day, he scored three more.

He had been awarded a Golden Merit Military Cross while still a Vizefeldwebel. On 15 June, he was commissioned a leutnant (lieutenant). On 20 July 1918, he was bequeathed the Knight's Cross with Swords of the House of Hohenzollern. On 26 September 1918, the day before Fritz Rumey was killed in action, Koennecke was awarded Germany's highest decoration, the Pour le Merite or Blue Max. He was one of the few former Vizewebels to receive the Blue Max. There were only five instances in which a pilot was awarded both the Golden Merit Military Cross and the Blue Max. He scored his 35th and final victory on 4 November 1918. His roll of victims was fairly evenly divided between opposing fighters and reconnaissance aircraft.

Post World War I

Koennecke was a pioneer of civilian air passenger transport. He joined Lufthansa in 1926 as one of its original pilots.

In 1927, he attempted to fly the Atlantic Ocean from Europe to North America, with the aim of establishing a passenger line. His chosen plane was a Caspar C32, dubbed "Germania". This biplane crop-duster had been extensively modified so it had a 50 hour flight endurance. The project was supposed to launch from Cologne and cross the Atlantic via the British Isles, Greenland, and Newfoudland. A storm system over the North Atlantic made Koennecke decide to reach America the long way about. On 20 September 1927, he left headed west, with a planned route over Hungary, Rumania, Turkey, and Persia (today's Iran) to India. From there, he planned his route to go to Korea, Japan, and the Kamchatka Peninsula, on to the American West Coast. Once in America, he figured he would fly on to New York and thence home to Germany. Problems with both plane and crew doomed the effort, which got no further than Calcutta.

He was influential enough in German aviation that in 1935, he was asked to help develop the new Luftwaffe. He rejoined the German military to command the Flying School at Scrau. He ended his military career as a major.

He died in Bad Abling in 1956, aged 64 years.

References/Outside Links

* http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/germany/konnecke.php Accessed 24/25 September 2008.
* http://www.pourlemerite.org/ Accessed 24/25 September 2008.
* http://www.beerymod.com/B-aces4.htm Accessed 24/25 September 2008.
* http://www.flug-revue.rotor.com/frtypen/FRCasC32.htm Accessed 24/25 September 2008.
* http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_K%C3%B6nnecke Accessed 24/25 September 2008. Translated via babelfish.
* Norman Franks, et al. Fokker D VII Aces of World War I: Part 2. Osprey Publishing, 2004.
* Norman Franks. Albatros Aces of World War I. Osprey Publishing, 2000.