List Of World War I Aces From Belgium
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List Of World War I Aces From Belgium
Although Belgium was neutral as the initial attacks of World War I were launched, it was soon invaded by Germany and partially overrun. The Belgian Air Force had been founded in 1909, and now found itself struggling to survive and expand under these severe conditions. Nevertheless, the tiny Belgian Air Force produced five flying aces, and a sixth one flew for the French ''Aéronautique Militaire''. The leading Belgian ace was also the premier balloon buster of the war. *Willy Coppens – 37 confirmed aerial victories. * Andre de Meulemeester – 11 confirmed aerial victories. * Edmond Thieffry – 10 confirmed aerial victories. *Fernand Jacquet – 7 confirmed aerial victories. * Adolphe DuBois d'Aische – 6 confirmed aerial victories. * Jan Olieslagers – 6 confirmed aerial victories. See also * Aerial victory standards of World War I References {{DEFAULTSORT:World War I Aces From Belgium, List Of Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; ...
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Belgian Air Force
The Belgian Air Component ( nl, Luchtcomponent, french: Composante air) is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force ( nl, Belgische Luchtmacht; french: Force aérienne belge). The Belgian military aviation was founded in 1909 and is one of the world's oldest air services. The commander is Major General Thierry Dupont, appointed on 17 September 2020. History Foundation and early years The Belgian military aviation was founded in 1909 as a branch of the Belgian Army, carrying the name . King Albert's interest in the military use of aircraft was the main impetus for its formation. Coincidentally, in the civil aviation sector, Baron Pierre de Caters earned the first civil pilot's brevet that same year. De Caters would promptly establish an aviation school. At approximately the same time, the War Ministry followed the French military's example and had pilots earn a civil pilot's brevet before their military one ...
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Flying Aces
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually considered to be five or more. The concept of the "ace" emerged in 1915 during World War I, at the same time as aerial dogfighting. It was a propaganda term intended to provide the home front with a cult of the hero in what was otherwise a war of attrition. The individual actions of aces were widely reported and the image was disseminated of the ace as a chivalrous knight reminiscent of a bygone era. For a brief early period when air-to-air combat was just being invented, the exceptionally skilled pilot could shape the battle in the skies. For most of the war, however, the image of the ace had little to do with the reality of air warfare, in which fighters fought in formation and air superiority depended heavily on the relative availability ...
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From Birth To "Torch", 1909-1942)
From may refer to: * From, a preposition * From (SQL), computing language keyword * From: (email message header), field showing the sender of an email * FromSoftware, a Japanese video game company * Full range of motion, the travel in a range of motion * Isak From (born 1967), Swedish politician * Martin Severin From (1825–1895), Danish chess master * Sigfred From Sigfred From (12 December 1925 – April 1998), was a Danish chess player. Biography From the begin of 1960s to the begin of 1970s Sigfred From was one of Danish leading chess players. He regularly played in Danish Chess Championships. Her best ... (1925–1998), Danish chess master * ''From'' (TV series), a sci-fi-horror series that debuted on Epix in 2022 {{disambig ...
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Balloon Buster
Balloon busters were military pilots known for destroying enemy observation balloons. These pilots were noted for their fearlessness, as balloons were stationary targets able to receive heavy defenses, from the ground and the air. Seventy-seven flying aces in World War I were each credited with destroying five or more balloons, and thus were balloon aces. The crucial role of observation balloons An observation balloon was both a vulnerable and a valuable target: the balloon was moored in a stationary position and was lifted by flammable hydrogen gas, whose use was necessitated by the scarcity of helium reserves among European powers. The artillery observer, suspended in the wicker basket beneath, typically had a wireless transmitter, binoculars and/or a long-range camera. His job was to observe actions on the front-line and behind it, to spot enemy troop movements or unusual activity of any sort, and to call down artillery fire onto any worthwhile targets. Balloon observers we ...
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Willy Coppens
Willy Omer François Jean baron Coppens de Houthulst (6 July 1892 – 21 December 1986) was Belgium's leading fighter ace and the champion "balloon buster" of World War I. He was credited with 37 confirmed victories and six probables. Early life Coppens was born in Watermael-Boitsfort, son of Omer Coppens, a Belgian impressionistic painter who studied in the Royal Academy of Ghent. He was conscripted into the army in 1912, to serve with the ''Premiere Regiment Grenadiers''. World War I In 1914, following the German invasion of Belgium, Coppens transferred to The Motor Machine Gun Corps. On 6 September 1915, he signed up for flight training in the Compagnie des Aviateurs. Ultimately, due to insufficiencies in Belgian training, he took eight weeks of leave to train to fly. He and 39 other Belgians learned to fly on their own expense in Britain. He received his pilot's certificate on 9 December 1915. After this training in Britain he had further training at the Farman Scho ...
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Edmond Thieffry
Edmond Thieffry (28 September 1892 – 11 April 1929) was a Belgian First World War air ace and aviation pioneer. He made, with Léopold Roger and Jef de Bruycker, the first successful flight between Belgium and Congo (then the Belgian Congo). First World War Thieffry was born in Etterbeek, a municipality of Brussels, and went on to study law in Leuven (hence his nickname "The Flying Judge"). After qualifying he was conscripted into the Belgian Army, joining the 10th Regiment in 1913. At the start of the First World War he saw service as a staff attaché to General Leman, but was captured by the Germans. He escaped on a stolen motorcycle to the neutral territory of the Netherlands, where he was arrested by Dutch military police. Using his legal knowledge and Dutch language skills he managed to talk his way out of internment, and travelled to Antwerp to rejoin the Belgian army. In 1915, Thieffry joined the ''Compagnie des Ouvriers et Aérostiers'' —the Belgian Army Air ...
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Fernand Jacquet
Captain-Commandant Fernand Maximillian Leon Jacquet was a World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories. He was the first Belgian pilot to score an aerial victory, on 17 April 1915, and became the first Belgian ace on 1 February 1917. He was also the first Belgian pilot to fly the Belgian king Albert I to the front, in 1917. Additionally, he was the only Belgian honored by the British with a Distinguished Flying Cross. Background Jacquet was the son of a wealthy landowner. He joined the Belgian Army as a cadet in October 1907, and was educated at the Royal Military Academy; he was commissioned on 25 June 1910 and then assigned to the 4ème Régt de Ligne. He qualified as a pilot on 25 February 1913 with Brevet No. 68, and at the outbreak of World War I was serving with the Escadrille Demanet (I) in Liege. Involvement in World War I 1914 When neutral Belgium was invaded by Germany in August 1914, Jacquet flew reconnaissance missions near Namur, and reported the ha ...
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Adolphe DuBois D'Aische
Sergeant Adolphe Alois de Gonzague Marie Hubert Ghislain du Bois d'Aische was a Belgian World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories. Serving in the French Air Service, he was the oldest ace in the war, scoring his fifth (and sixth) victories when he was 43 years of age.The Aerodrome websitRetrieved 4 August 2020. Early life d'Aische was born in Brussels in 1874. He was a scion (lineal descendant) of Walloon nobility whose lineage dated back to the 15th century. d'Aische moved to the Belgian Congo when his father opposed his desire to study engineering and attempted to arrange a suitable bride for his son. In 1904, he enlisted in the French Foreign Legion where he learnt to speak German and became a French citizen. d'Aische was living in Paris and working as an engineer when the Great War began in August 1914. First World War d'Aische enlisted in the French army in 1914 and fought as an infantryman, seeing action on the First Battle of the Marne, Marne, the Argonne ...
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Jan Olieslagers
Lieutenant Jan Olieslagers was a Belgian motorcycle and aviation pioneer who set world records with both types of machinery. He became a flying ace during World War I despite his indifference in claiming victories; he was credited with six confirmed victories, seventeen unconfirmed, and an unknown number unclaimed. He later was instrumental in developing Antwerp's airport. Pre-World War I activities Lieutenant Jan Olieslagers turned in his bicycle to become an early motorcycle speed record holder; he was the first to go per hour, and was 1902 World Champion. In 1909, he purchased a Blériot monoplane, receiving Pilot's Brevet No. 5 in October. In 1910, he won the Meeting d'Aviation de Rheims. By 1913, he had set seven world aviation records. In June 1914, he proved himself as good an aerobaticist as Roland Garros. World War I At the beginning of World War I, when the Germans invaded his native Belgium, the German government tried to enlist Olieslagers in aerial observation duti ...
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Aerial Victory Standards Of World War I
Aerial may refer to: Music * ''Aerial'' (album), by Kate Bush * ''Aerials'' (song), from the album ''Toxicity'' by System of a Down Bands *Aerial (Canadian band) * Aerial (Scottish band) * Aerial (Swedish band) Performance art * Aerial silk, apparatus used in aerial acrobatics *Aerialist, an acrobat who performs in the air Recreation and sport * Aerial (dance move) *Aerial (skateboarding) *Aerial adventure park, ropes course with a recreational purpose * Aerial cartwheel (or side aerial), gymnastics move performed in acro dance and various martial arts *Aerial skiing, discipline of freestyle skiing *Front aerial, gymnastics move performed in acro dance Technology Antennas *Aerial (radio), a radio ''antenna'' or transducer that transmits or receives electromagnetic waves **Aerial (television), an over-the-air television reception antenna Mechanical *Aerial fire apparatus, for firefighting and rescue *Aerial work platform, for positioning workers Optical *Aeri ...
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Belgian World War I Flying Aces
Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German * Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language formerly spoken in Gallia Belgica * Belgian Dutch or Flemish, a variant of Dutch *Belgian French, a variant of French * Belgian horse (other), various breeds of horse * Belgian waffle, in culinary contexts * SS ''Belgian'', a cargo ship in service with F Leyland & Co Ltd from 1919 to 1934 *''The Belgian ''The Belgian'' is a 1917 American silent film directed by Sidney Olcott and produced by Sidney Olcott Players with Valentine Grant and Walker Whiteside in the leading roles. It is not known whether the film currently survives. Plot As descr ...'', a 1917 American silent film See also * * Belgica (other) * Belgic (other) {{Disambiguation ...
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