Suzanne Melk (March 17, 1908 — February 4, 1951) was a French pilot and female

aviation pioneer Aviation pioneers are people directly and indirectly responsible for the advancement of flight, including people who worked to achieve manned flight before the invention of aircraft, as well as others who achieved significant "firsts" in aviation a ...

. Melk received a pilot's license in 1935.

Early life

Melk was born in

Navenne Navenne () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Gallery File:Navenne Terrain de tennis.jpg File:Navenne Terrain de basket-ball.jpg File:Vesoul Tombes musulmanes du cimetièr ...

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (; , sometimes abbreviated BFC; Arpitan: ''Borgogne-Franche-Comtât'') is a region in Eastern France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions, from a merger of Burgundy and Franche-Comté. The new region c ...

, France. She grew up in both Navenne and

Vesoul Vesoul () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté located in eastern France. It is the most populated municipality of the department with inhabitants in 2014. The same year, the Communauté d'aggl ...

. Melk and her three siblings, a brother and two sisters grew up on a farm where their family made

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are ...

and grew

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ch ...

. Melk worked at a local hardware store in her teens. Her hobbies at the time included playing the piano and making artwork. At the age of 12 Melk grew fascinated with aviation after seeing biplanes flying near her childhood farm.

Aviation career

Melk began flying in 1935 and earned her

pilot's licence Pilot licensing or certification refers to permits for operating aircraft. Flight crew licences are regulated by ICAO Annex 1 and issued by the civil aviation authority of each country. CAA’s have to establish that the holder has met a specifi ...

that same year. She trained on a repaired

Hanriot HD.32 The Hanriot HD.32 was a military trainer aircraft built in France in the 1920s. Derived from the HD.14 and sharing the same basic configuration as it, the HD.32 was a substantially revised design, with redesigned tailplane, undercarriage, and win ...

and in 1937 she passed her exam to become an instructor. After this Melk trained dozens more women to fly at a field near

Orly Airport Paris Orly Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Orly), commonly referred to as Orly , is one of two international airports serving the French capital, Paris, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Melk volunteered as an

ambulance An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...

driver transporting injured members of the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

. Melk, along with

Élisabeth Boselli Élisabeth Thérèse Marie Juliette Boselli (11 March 1914 – 25 November 2005), was a French military and civilian pilot. She was the first female fighter pilot to serve in the French Air Force, and held eight world records for distance, altitud ...

, flew the

Nord Pingouin The Nord Pingouin (, ''Auk'') was a French-built, re-engined Messerschmitt Bf 108 ''Taifun'' produced by SNCAN (Société Nationale de Constructions Aéronautiques du Nord). Development In 1942 the manufacture of the Messerschmitt Bf 108 was ...

and others after this Melk joined the

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Ar ...

. She and Boselli were the only two women to ever fly the

Dewoitine D.520 The Dewoitine D.520 was a French fighter aircraft that entered service in early 1940, shortly after the beginning of the Second World War. The D.520 was designed in response to a 1936 requirement from the French Air Force for a fast, modern fi ...

. After flying fighters for a few years after the war, Melk grew more interested in gliders. In 1944 she received her glider license. In 1946 Melk began to be invited to European Gliding championships. On March 26, 1947, Melks won the European Gliding Duration championship with a flight of 16 hours and 3 minutes. Two days later she won the speed competition, reaching 311 mph. After competing in the European glider circuit Melk moved to the United States in July 1947 to compete in North America. When Melk moved to the US to compete she was usually the only women competing. In the final months of 1947, as Melk struggled to finish in the top ten at any gliding event, she had a breakthrough. At the 1948 Trophy of Sanford competition in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

Melk scored 128 points over two days finishing second and winning a $4,000 cash prize.

Death and legacy

Melk was in Durham, North Carolina for an event when she began feeling ill. She complained of a harsh pain in her stomach after a trip to the doctors office Melk was told she was just having

abdominal pain Abdominal pain, also known as a stomach ache, is a symptom associated with both non-serious and serious medical issues. Common causes of pain in the abdomen include gastroenteritis and irritable bowel syndrome. About 15% of people have a m ...

. On February 2 her pain increased and she was unable to walk. Later that day doctors determined that her

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; bloo ...

s were failing. Upon hearing the news a good friend donated blood and offered one of his kidneys; however on February 4, 1951, Melk died in hospital. After an

autopsy An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any dis ...

the cause of death was determined to be

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

Awards and records

Records

National records: * Longest Glider Flight — 16 hours, 43 minutes * Highest altitude in a Glider — 3,950 m (12,959 ft) ''approved'' World records: * Highest Altitude in a Glider — 4,200 m (13,779 ft) ''not approved'' ; International Honors * FAI Gold Air Medal nominee ; Domentic Honors *

Resistance Medal The Resistance Medal (french: Médaille de la Résistance) was a decoration bestowed by the French Committee of National Liberation, based in the United Kingdom, during World War II. It was established by a decree of General Charles de Gaulle on ...

Order of Civil Merit The Order of Civil Merit ( es, Orden del Mérito Civil) was established by King Alfonso XIII of Spain in 1926. The order recognizes "the civic virtue of officers in the service of the Nation, as well as extraordinary service by Spanish and fore ...

National Order of Merit An order of merit is conferred by a state, government or royal family on an individual in recognition of military or civil merit. Order of merit may also refer to: * FIFA Order of Merit, for significant contribution to association football * PDC O ...

Michelin Cup The Michelin Cup refers to a number of competitions sponsored by the French tyre manufacturer Michelin for long distance flight made in aeroplanes. The first Michelin prize was announced in March 1908. The principal prize, to be awarded annually fo ...

nominee

References