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Mathieu Tenant De La Tour
Capitaine Mathieu Marie Joseph Antoine Tenant de la Tour (5 December 1883 - 17 December 1917) was a French World War I flying ace credited with nine aerial victories. He scored one of the first aerial victories over an observation balloon. Biography Early life He was born on 5 December 1883 in Paris. Military service Tenant de la Tour began his military service in the cavalry. He became an air force pilot on 6 May 1915 when he was awarded Military Pilot's Brevet No. 1919. He underwent advanced training, then survived an accident on 30 October 1915. On 29 December 1915, he was assigned to '' Escadrille 57''. On 25 January 1916, flying in a literal fog of war, de la Tour helped down a German kite balloon, setting it afire. He pressed his attack down to an altitude of fifty meters in one of the first air-to-air wins over an observation balloon. The feat earned him the ''Legion d'honneur''.''Nieuport Aces of World War 1'', p. 47 He was wounded in action on 25 April 1916. After he he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auchel
Auchel (; pcd, Auchez) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. Geography An ex-mining town, nowadays a light industrial & farming commune, situated southwest of Béthune and southwest of Lille, at the junction of the D183 and the D183E roads. History Following the discovery of coal deposits in the area in 1851, the town grew as the demand for coal increased in France. This old mining town had close to 15,000 inhabitants in the 1950s. The coal recession in the late 1960s lead to a constant decline in population, despite the efforts of the municipality to attract and keep people here during and after the recession. Population The inhabitants are called ''Auchellois''. Sights * The church of St. Martin, dating from the sixteenth century. * A museum about coal mining. International relations Auchel is twinned with: * West Malling, in the county of Kent, England. * Iserlohn, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Notable ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Escadrille 57
Escadrille 57 of the French Air Force was founded during World War I, on 10 May 1915. History It was initially assigned to operate in the vicinity of Arras. It was cited in orders on 24 October 1915.Franks et al. 1992, p. 94. On 16 March 1916, the escadrille moved to the front lines near Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital .... It would remain there until incorporated into ''Groupe de Combat 11'' on 1 November 1916. The escadrille served with ''GC 11'' through war's end. On 24 May 1917, the escadrille was again cited, for having destroyed 20 enemy aircraft and six observation balloons. This second citation entitled members of the unit to wear the fourragere of the Croix de Guerre. The arrival of Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés, SPADs late in 1917 chan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Escadrille 3
''Escadrille 3'' ''Les Cigognes'' ('The Storks') was a famous French aviation unit during the World War I. It was often referred to as the 'Stork Escadrille N3' due to its insignia. Pilots from Groupe de Combat 12 adopted the name and placed images of storks in different phases of flying on their planes.Guttman, Jon. Groupe ''De Combat 12, Les Cigognes: France's Ace Fighter Group in World War 1''. Oxford: Osprey, 2004. History Escadrille 3 was formed in July 1912 at Avord as ''Escadrille B13'', equipped with Bleriots. It began World War I with the Bleriots; however, on 18 March 1915, it was re-equipped with Morane-Saulnier machines and redesignated ''Escadrille MS3''. Capitaine Felix Brocard assumed command on 28 April 1915. By 20 September, it had once again re-equipped, this time with Nieuport scouts; its new designation was ''Escadrille N3''.Franks, Bailey 1992, p. 89. On 16 April 1916, the unit had been amalgamated into ''Groupement de Combat de la Somme'', along with ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Escadrille 26
''Escadrille 26'' is a squadron of the French Air Force founded in 1914 and still active today. History Escadrille 26 was founded on 26 August 1914, at Arras. It was originally equipped with ''Morane-Saulnier'' aircraft, leading to its designation as ''Escadrille MS26''. It went into action attached to VI Armée of the French ground forces until 24 September 1914; it then switched bases to the Kingdom of Belgium.Franks, Bailey 1992, p. 91. During 1915, it re-armed with ''Nieuport 11s'', and became ''Escadrille N26''. In June 1916, it moved to Cachy to join an improvised formation, ''Groupe de Combat de la Somme''. This ''groupe'' initially consisted of three other units in addition to ''Escadrille N26''—'' Escadrille N3'', '' Escadrille N103'', and ''Escadrille N73'' and became the famous '' Fighter Squadron Storks (Escadrille des Cigognes)'' . Command of the ''groupe'' was granted to Capitaine Antonin Brocard. On 1 November 1916, the ''groupe'' was formalized as ''Groupe de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Legion D'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, it has been retained (with occasional slight alterations) by all later French governments and regimes. The order's motto is ' ("Honour and Fatherland"); its seat is the Palais de la Légion d'Honneur next to the Musée d'Orsay, on the left bank of the Seine in Paris. The order is divided into five degrees of increasing distinction: ' (Knight), ' (Officer), ' (Commander), ' (Grand Officer) and ' (Grand Cross). History Consulate During the French Revolution, all of the French orders of chivalry were abolished and replaced with Weapons of Honour. It was the wish of Napoleon Bonaparte, the First Consul, to create a reward to commend civilians and soldiers. From this wish was instituted a , a body of men that was not an order of c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Croix De Guerre
The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts; the '' croix de guerre des théâtres d'opérations extérieures'' ("cross of war for external theatres of operations") was established in 1921 for these. The Croix de Guerre was also commonly bestowed on foreign military forces allied to France. The Croix de Guerre may be awarded either as an individual award or as a unit award to those soldiers who distinguish themselves by acts of heroism involving combat with the enemy. The medal is awarded to those who have been "mentioned in dispatches", meaning a heroic deed or deeds were performed meriting a citation from an individual's headquarters unit. The unit award of the Croix de Guerre with palm was issued to military ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flying Ace
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Observation Balloon
An observation balloon is a type of balloon that is employed as an aerial platform for intelligence gathering and artillery spotting. Use of observation balloons began during the French Revolutionary Wars, reaching their zenith during World War I, and they continue in limited use today. Synonyms include espionage balloon, reconnaissance balloon, or surveillance balloon. Historically, observation balloons were filled with hydrogen. The balloons were fabric envelopes filled with hydrogen gas, whose flammable nature led to the destruction of hundreds of balloons on both sides. Observers manning these observation balloons frequently had to use a parachute to evacuate their balloon when it came under attack. To avoid the potentially flammable consequences of hydrogen, observation balloons after World War I were often filled with non-flammable helium. Typically, balloons were tethered to a steel cable attached to a winch that reeled the gasbag to its desired height (usually 1,000-1,5 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nieuport
Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars. History Beginnings Originally formed as Nieuport-Duplex in 1902 for the manufacture of engine components the company was reformed in 1909 as the Société Générale d'Aéro-locomotion, and its products were marketed to the aviation industry, including ignition components. During this time they built their first aircraft, a small single-seat pod and boom monoplane. This was destroyed shortly after having been flown successfully, during the Great Flood of Paris in 1909 . A second design flew before the end of 1909 and had the essential form of modern aircraft, including an enclosed fuselage with the pilot protected from the slipstream and a horizontal tail whose aerodynamic force acted downwards, balancing the weight of the engine ahead of the centre of gravity, as opposed to upwards as on contemp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spad VII
The SPAD S.VII was the first of a series of highly successful biplane fighter aircraft produced by ''Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés'' (SPAD) during the First World War. Like its successors, the S.VII was renowned as a sturdy and rugged aircraft with good climbing and diving characteristics. It was also a stable gun platform, although pilots used to the more manoeuvrable Nieuport fighters found it heavy on the controls. It was flown by a number of the famous aces, such as France's Georges Guynemer, Italy's Francesco Baracca and Australia's Alexander Pentland. Design and development Origins Performance in early aircraft designs was largely dependent on engines. In February 1915, Swiss designer Marc Birkigt had created an overhead cam aviation powerplant based on his Hispano-Suiza V8 automobile engine, resulting in a 330 lb engine capable of producing 140 hp at 1,400 rpm. Further refinement of the engine brought the power to 150 hp by July 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gustav Leffers
Gustav Leffers (2 January 1895 –27 December 1916) was a German flying ace in World War I, credited with 9 victories. Background Leffers was born in Wilhelmshaven, the son of a naval engineer. He was educated in Wilhelmshaven and Stettin and went on to join the Holland America Line as an engineer candidate. In July 1914, just prior to the start of the First World War, he returned from a cruise to the United States.van Wyngarden, ''Early German Aces'', p.26 Involvement in World War I Leffers was assigned to a field telegraph battalion but, with his engineering background, was then reassigned to the Fliegertruppen. After pilot training, he was posted to FFA 32 in February 1915, flying over the northern part of the 2. ''Armee'' sector. Starting as a Gefreiter, Leffers rose rapidly through the ranks to become a leutnant der reserve on the basis of his excellent performance in reconnaissance roles flying LVG B type aircraft. On 24 September 1915, Leffers was sent for tra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spad XIII
The SPAD S.XIII is a French biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War, developed by ''Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés'' (SPAD) from the earlier and highly successful SPAD S.VII. During early 1917, the French designer Louis Béchereau, spurred by the approaching obsolescence of the S.VII, decided to develop two new fighter aircraft, the S.XII and the S.XIII, both using a powerful new geared version of the successful Hispano-Suiza 8A engine. The cannon armament of the S.XII was unpopular with most pilots, but the S.XIII proved to be one of the most capable fighters of the war, as well as one of the most-produced, with 8,472 built and orders for around 10,000 more cancelled at the Armistice.Sharpe 2000, p. 272. By the end of the First World War, the S.XIII had equipped virtually every fighter squadron of the ''Aéronautique Militaire''. In addition, the United States Army Air Service also procured the type in bulk during the conflict, and some replaced or supplem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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