Karl-Albrecht Mensching

Karl-Albrecht Mensching in 1913

Karl-Albrecht Mensching (born December 18, 1888 in Isernhagen , † July 10, 1966 in Cologne ) was a German officer , most recently Lieutenant General in the Air Force in World War II .

Life

Pre-war period

On February 20, 1908, Mensching joined the Guard Pioneer Battalion of the Prussian Army in Berlin as a flag junior . It was on October 18, 1908. Ensign in Pomeranian Engineer Battalion no. 2 in Szczecin appointed and on August 19 (1909 officer's August 17, 1908) for lieutenant promoted. From that day on he was platoon leader in the Badischer Pioneer Battalion No. 14 in Kehl until September 30, 1913 , but he was posted to the Military Technical Academy for the period from October 1, 1911 to July 15, 1913 . From October 1, 1913 to February 19, 1914, Mensching took part in a pilot training course at Albatros Flugzeugwerke in Johannisthal , after which he was deployed as a pilot at the Posen pilot station. There he was from February 20 to June 1, 1914 and from July 2 to August 1, 1914. In the meantime, he served in the Thorn Flieger-Half-Division .

First World War

After the start of the First World War , Mensching was a pilot in Feldfliegerabteilung 19 from August 2, 1914 to February 1, 1915 , after which he was transferred to Kampfgeschwader 5 until March 24, 1915 . At the end of March he was b. V. of the inspection of the air force (Idflieg) and then until October 4, 1915 in the Air Force Replacement Department 1. In the meantime, Mensching had been promoted to first lieutenant on January 27, 1915 . From October 5 to December 14, 1915 he flew as a pilot in Feldfliegerabteilung 42, then until June 15, 1916 as a pilot and technical officer in Kampfgeschwader 5 of the Supreme Army Command . He was then used for special assignments for the inspection of air troops and was appointed captain on November 25, 1916 , before he was transferred back to Kampfgeschwader 5 on September 30, 1917 and then to Air Force Department 36, where he remained until January 30, 1918 . After that he was commodore of Fliegerabteilung 225 (artillery) beyond the end of the war until February 14, 1919 and then on the staff of Pomeranian Pioneer Battalion No. 2. On June 30, 1919, Mensching retired from the army.

Weimar Republic

Mensching joined the police on October 2, 1919 and served until September 19, 1920 as an advisor and head of operations in the security police group in Gliwice . He was promoted to police captain on October 20, 1919 (RDA August 17, 1907). After his assignment in Gleiwitz, he worked from September 20, 1920 to June 30, 1923 as head of operations (Ia) in the protective police command in Breslau , but from March 1 to June 30, 1923, he attended a course at the Higher Police School in Potsdam -Oak staggered. From July 1, 1923, Mensching was on-call leader of the Waldenburg police station , before he was appointed on October 1, 1923 as the stand-by leader of the protection police in Berlin 2 / Spandau and on June 20, 1924 as the head of Police Inspection 44, Berlin-Wedding. In this latter post he remained until March 31, 1925. At the same time, he was posted from September 15, 1924 to February 17, 1925 for a course at the Higher Police School Potsdam-Eiche. On April 1, 1925, he became deputy head of the Police Inspection East of the Cologne Police Department and head of aerial reconnaissance in the Rhineland district. His promotion to police major followed on April 9 of the same year. From December 1, 1929 to June 30, 1935, Mensching was head of aerial reconnaissance in the Rhineland and a specialist in the Koblenz police department. He was made a lieutenant colonel on July 21, 1934.

The Potsdam-Eiche Police School was renamed an Air Force School immediately after the start of the war. It can be assumed that it was this before and that it was disguised as a police school only because of the Versailles Treaty . That would also make the repeated courses of the pilot man Mensching plausible.

Second World War

With the transfer from the police to the new air force as a support officer on July 1, 1935, Mensching was appointed lieutenant colonel ( RDA February 1, 1934). He served in Luftkreis-Kommando IV until April 1, 1936, became a colonel on April 1, 1937 and reactivated on October 1, 1937. He was later head of the air district command in Cologne until May 31, 1939 and headed the pilot training regiment 2 from February 1 to November 9, 1939. He was then in command of the pilot training regiment 12 until March 31, 1941 He became major general on December 1, 1940. From April 1, 1941, Mensching was the head of the Luftkreis-Kommando, Department for Special Tasks No. 20. In the course of the year he was appointed head of the Air Fleet Command Holland, which he remained until October 31, 1941. He then headed the Air Fleet Command Norway until March 8, 1944. During this time, he was promoted to Lieutenant General on April 1, 1943. From March 9 to July 6, 1944, he was supply manager of Air Fleet 5 in Norway , then until May 8, 1945 Commander of the airport area command 24 / III (Koflug) in Trondheim . Mensching was captured by the British on November 28, 1945 and interned under POW number 560397. On January 9, 1946, he was transferred to Special Camp 11 " Island Farm " in Bridgend , South Wales. In preparation for his release, he came to Camp 186 on May 12, 1948.

Awards

• Iron Cross 2nd and 1st class
• Cross of honor for combatants from the front 1914–1918
• German cross in silver
• War Merit Cross (1939) 2nd and 1st class with swords

During his service with the police from 1919 to 1935, Mensching was not included in the official rankings of the German army, in which medals were also listed. It is therefore not understandable whether he was awarded the Iron Cross or other awards in the First World War.

Web links

• Data about Mensching from Special Camp 11
• Operational order of battle May 10, 1945 on the Luftwaffe SIG homepage
• CV at www.buddecke.de