Carl “Charly” Degelow was born in Münsterdorf (in Prussian Schleswig-Holstein) on January 5, 1891. A couple years before the Great War began, Degelow worked in the United States (presumably in Chicago and El Paso) as an industrial chemist. His specialty was the manufacture of cement.
Degelow returned to Germany just before the war started and enlisted in the Nassau Infantry Regiment Number 88. There, he initially served with distinction in both republican France and Tsarist Russia. Degelow won both classes of the 1914 Iron Cross and was promoted from Gefreiter to Vizefeldwebel. He was also wounded in the arm while fighting in the East. On the last day of July 1915, Degelow was commissioned with the rank of Leutnant.
In 1916, Degelow transferred to the air service and began pilot training. One year later, he was given his first assignment with Flieger-Abteilung (Artillerie): Flier Detachment (Artillery) 216 as an artillery spotter. His job was directing and correcting artillery fire from an Albatros C.V.
On May 22, 1917, Degelow claimed a French Caudron G.IV, but it was unconfirmed. Three days later, he shot down another Caudron… and he was credited with his first victory.
In August 1917, Degelow was reassigned to Prussian Jagdstaffel 36. With this unit, he transitioned into flying Pfalz D.III fighters, but his stay lasted fewer than four days! In an attempt to zero in the aircraft’s machine guns at firing range. Degelow accidentally wounded a member of his own unit! And so on August 17th, he was hastily reassigned to Prussian Jagdstaffel 7. There, he flew a Pfalz D.III under the leadership of Leutnant Josef Jacobs.
The reason Degelow chose to fly a Pfalz was because, at the time, the Albatros D.V had a reputation for losing its wings in a dive. He began his string of victories with Jagdstaffel 7 under a cloud of uncertainty. Degelow reported three widely-spaced consecutive victories that were unconfirmed… because the enemy planes landed on the Allied side of the front lines. By German regulations, the trio could not be considered as confirmed aerial victories.
In September 1917, Degelow was almost grounded by a Bristol F.2 fighter. A machine gun blast pierced Degelow’s oil tank, misting his goggles and blurring his vision! Only intervention by Josef Jacobs saved Degelow’s life. Although it was claimed that Jacobs destroyed the attacker, the victory was not confirmed.
On January 25, 1918, Degelow was finally credited with his second victory after four unconfirmed claims! Two months later (March 23rd), Degelow escaped injury after upsetting and destroying his aircraft while attempting to land in a 19-mph wind. The photo of Degelow’s inverted plane showed that he sported a running stag insignia.
Victory number three for Degelow did not come until April 21, 1918, the day the great “Red Baron” Manfred von Richthofen was shot down and killed. On May 16th, Degelow scored his fourth victory… and transferred to the Royal Saxon Jagdstaffel 40. He eventually became squadron commander upon the death of Helmut Dilthey on July 11, 1918.
Degelow became an ace on June 18, 1918. Exactly one week later, he took his new Fokker D.VII on a test flight… and came upon a dogfight between D. VIIs (of another Jasta) and Sopwith Camels. Degelow shot down one of the Camels for victory number six.
The Fokker D.VII remained Degelow’s mount for the remainder of the war. The front three-quarters of the fuselage was painted black; the rear quarter white. Emblazoned on the side was a white running stag with gold antlers and hooves. Its head was pointed towards the propeller.
In July, Degelow scored six wins. On August 9th, he was awarded the Knight’s Cross with Swords of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern. In September, he earned six victories yet again! The month of October saw Degelow notch ten victories on ten different days! On the 4th, he downed Captain John Greene, a Canadian naval ace from Number 213 Squadron.
Degelow scored his final victory on November 4th, one week before the signing of the armistice. With thirty confirmed victories (and four unconfirmed), he was the last German pilot (and final German serviceman) to be awarded the Order Pour le Merite. Degelow received the “Blue Max” on November 9, 1918, the day Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated and went into exile. As a result, all imperial decrees and orders (including service decorations) came to an end.
In the postwar aftermath of the Weimar Republic, Degelow helped found the Hamburger Zeitfreiwilligen Korps to battle Communism in Germany. He also wrote his war memoirs entitled “With the White Stag Through Thick and Thin” in 1920. Nearly sixty years later, they were published in English as “Germany’s Last Knight of the Air” by Peter Kilduff (who added some additional commentary).
Degelow remained in the reserves during the interwar period. In the first days of the Third Reich, he was jailed for failing to give the Nazi salute on parade. When someone recognized the Pour le Merite on his uniform, Degelow was released in a matter of days.
By the time the Second World War began, Degelow was a captain. Eventually, he became a major with the Luftwaffe.
Carl “Charly” Degelow died in Hamburg at age seventy-nine on November 9, 1970… exactly fifty-two years after being officially recognized as “the last air knight of the Great War”.