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Wendelin Trenkle Signed Naval Art
Wendelin Trenkle
When asked some years ago, just how many aircraft he had test flown, Flugkapitan Trenkle replied : '... I really cannot say, I only know that my total flying time was about 15,000 hours, about 9,000 with MTT and about 5,000 on the Me109.' When further asked just how many Me109s that figure represented he stated that it was very difficult to give an accurate estimate as the flying time on an aircraft could vary from one to another, but he certainly flew some thousands in total of the different versions of the 109.
In addition he also tested, or was (as Chief Test Pilot) responsible for the testing of many other types of aircraft, inckuding the Me108, Me210, Me410, Me262 and Me323 four and six engine glider.
Following matriculation in 1931 he started training at the Deutsches Verkehrsfliegerschule (DVS) and obtained various certificates and licences, including that to pilot seaplanes. He spent a short time as co-pilot with Lufthansa and a short time as a soldier in Italy, where he learned to handle fighter aircraft. When speaking about this period of his career he mentioned that he was the only one on his particular course to remain a professional civil pilot.
At the end of 1933 he became a flying instructor with the DVS at Schleissheim and later with the Luftwaffe in Kitzingen, Fürth and at the Air Warfare School in Klotsche. In 1937 he became Chief TYest Pilot at the Messerschmitt-Zweigwerks in Regensburg, where he test piloted the first Me108 to be produced at Regensburg in the autumn of that years.
Then came the Me109. The demand for aircraft from the frontline became greater and greater and, by 1944, the peak was reached in August, when he flew 750 aircraft in the single month. At that time the production of the Me262 was just beginning to trickle through and he had, on average, 20 to 24 pilots under his control. Quite aprat from his actual flying activity he had responsibility for all test and for all transport flights of the aircraft to the dispersal airfields. Every day he had to drive by car some hundreds of kilometres to keep up with his busy schedule. In addition he had to cope with the usual, ever-increasing, mountain of paperwork!
In April 1945, flying an Me262, he encountered seven Lightnings and hit one which, it was reported had been shot dow. However, this was never confirmed as the war in Europe ended shortly after. Flugkapitan Trenkle's last flight with an Me262 took place on April 28th 1945 - from Regensburg to Munchen-Riem. After that, like so many of his compatriots, he was not allowed to fly again for a number of years. At one point the French tried to get him to become a pilot at one of their stations. In anticipation he rapidly learned French, but a change in the French government put an end to the whole project. Later, when the new German aircraft industry was evolving and aircraft were again being built in Germany he found that he had passed the age of 40 and had to re-take his licence tests. When asked if he would like to fly another Me109 he simply said '... That would be nice.' and added that one of the things he would have liked to have done was to have flown a helicopter. 'This is something I have never done' he said. It was in 1942, whilst serving at Regensburg, that Trenkle was granted the title of Flugkapitan at the age of 30 - the minimum age at which this honour was ever granted.
We know form the source of our signatures that Wendelin Trenkle was actively attending air shows until at least 1981, although we have no more information to add to this biography, published around that time. Our research suggests he died in 1998 - he would have been aged 76 - 77 at this time.
| Wendelin Trenkle - Signed Naval Art Naval Crew Signatures |
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| Text for the above items : |
Clipped Signature - Wendelin Trenkle. Chief Test Pilot at Messerschmitt in the key years from the development of the Me109 through to the end of the war and the Me262. He flew around 15,000 test flight hours across many types of Messerschmitt, about 5,000 of which were on the Me109. He died in 1998. Please note that this particular signature has been written in pen - not in pencil like most of our signatures. |
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