Heinrich Henkel was born in
Hamburg, the
German Empire on 11 May 1896. On 1 September 1914, Henkel volunteered for military service in Reserve Fusilier Artillery Regiment Nr. 3. He went into battle with them at Nancy, France, at
Antwerp, and at
Ypres. On 1 July 1915, he was transferred to the infantry. He was
wounded in action on 25 September 1916. He was subsequently promoted to the
officer's ranks as a
Leutnant in December 1916. He volunteered for aviation duty and began training at
Fliegerersatz-Abteilung (Replacement Detachment) 1 in February 1917. Henkel would also undergo
fighter pilot's training at
Valenciennes, France before joining
Jagdstaffel 37 in May 1918. He scored his first aerial victory on 9 July, and had scored seven more by 31 October 1918. Three of his eight victories were shot-down
observation balloons, making him a "
balloon buster". Heinrich Henkel survived the war, having won the
Iron Cross for his gallantry, but faded into obscurity. ==Sources of information==