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 creation and advancement of human flight capability, including people who worked to achieve manned flight before the invention of aircraft, as well as others who achieved si ...

. Melk received a pilot's license in 1935.

Early life

Melk was born in

Vesoul Vesoul ( ) is a Communes of France, commune in the predominantly rural Haute-Saône department, of which it is the Prefectures in France, prefecture, or capital, in the Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté located in eastern Franc ...

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 ...

, France. She grew up in both Navenne and

. 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 made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

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 ...

. 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 A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a ...

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 issued by the civil aviation authority of each country, which must establish that the holder has met minimum knowledge and experience before issui ...

that same year. She trained on a repaired Hanriot HD.32 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 (, ) is one of two international airports serving Paris, France, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly and partially in Villeneuve-le-Roi, south of Paris. It serves as a sec ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Melk volunteered as an

ambulance An ambulance is a medically-equipped vehicle used to transport 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 ...

driver transporting injured members of the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

. 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, altitu ...

, flew the Nord Pingouin and others after this Melk joined the

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (, , ) is the air force, air and space force of the French Armed Forces. Formed in 1909 as the ("Aeronautical Service"), a service arm of the French Army, it became an independent military branch in 1934 as the Fr ...

. She and Boselli were the only two women to ever fly the Dewoitine D.520. 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 woman 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 U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

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 Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

for an event when she began feeling ill. She complained of a harsh pain in her stomach after a trip to the doctor's 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. Since the abdomen contains most of the body's vital organs, it can be an indicator of a wide variety of diseases. Given th ...

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

kidney In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and rig ...

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 (also referred to as 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 deat ...

the cause of death was determined to be

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), 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 fa ...

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 ; Domestic Honors *

Resistance Medal The Resistance Medal (, ) 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 9 February 1943 "to recognize the ...

Order of Civil Merit The Royal Order of Civil Merit (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OMC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and the Order ...

* National Order of Merit *

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 f ...

nominee

References