Émile Allegret (24 April 1907 – 22 November 1990) was a French

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

and member of the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Biography

After

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

, he joined the

French Air Force The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Army; ...

in 1926 for five years. A

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...

, he followed the course for ''élève aspirant'' (training student) (EOR). He then graduated from the ''

École nationale de l'aviation civile École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

'' (French civil aviation university) and became an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

and

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...

. A reserve officer, he was staying at

Royan Royan (; in the Saintongeais dialect; oc, Roian) is a commune and town in the south-west of France, in the department of Charente-Maritime in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Its inhabitants are known as ''Royannais'' and ''Royannaises''. Capi ...

as a

flight instructor A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to operate aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate ...

when war was declared in September 1939. He heard the appeal of 18 June 1940 and, after the

second Armistice at Compiègne The Armistice of 22 June 1940 was signed at 18:36 near Compiègne, France, by officials of Nazi Germany and the Third French Republic. It did not come into effect until after midnight on 25 June. Signatories for Germany included Wilhelm Keitel, ...

, refused to fly for the

German air force The German Air Force (german: Luftwaffe, lit=air weapon or air arm, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ''Bundeswehr'') was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War a ...

. Émile Allegret quickly joined the

. Obliged to conceal his identity, he became an agent of the resistance movement '' Organisation civile et militaire''. After joining the

6th arrondissement of Paris The 6th arrondissement of Paris (''VIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le sixième''. The arrondissement, called Luxembourg in ...

, he carried out information missions on the Atlantic coast and in particular at

, where he revealed the location of fortifications and coastal defense batteries. He succeeded in a mission to avoid weapons and ammunition stored in the basement of the City Hall of

. Hunted by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

, he had to leave

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and succeeded, 24 December 1942, in joining Spain by crossing the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

. He enlisted in the

Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, l ...

25 January 1943 at the French mission at

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

. Arriving in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, he was incorporated in the

13 February 1943, and on 5 March 1943 he joined the Bombardment Group "Lorraine", called "Squadron 342". He flew against German

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

23 December 1943, and again 5 and 9 February 1944. During this time, in January 1944, the lieutenant Allegret took command of the squadron "Metz" and multiplied the bombing operations. Then, he participated in the historic mission of protection, smoke screening troops for

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

on the Normandy coast 6 June 1944. He was seriously injured on duty, 27 January 1945. He ended the war with the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, carrying out 55 bombings in total with "Lorraine", including several skim bombings. After the war, Émile Allegret started a career as an

air navigation The basic principles of air navigation are identical to general navigation, which includes the process of planning, recording, and controlling the movement of a craft from one place to another. Successful air navigation involves piloting an air ...

engineer. He joined the ''Secrétariat général de l'aviation civile'' (civil aviation department) in 1961 as an

division engineer. He became head of the Toulouse-Blagnac Airport. He last job was head assistant at the Nice Côte d'Azur Airport before retiring in May 1968. Émile Allegret died 22 November 1990 (83 years old) at

Vaux-sur-Mer Vaux-sur-Mer () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Charente-Maritime department The following is a list of the 463 communes of the Charente-Maritime department of ...

Honours

* Commandeur of the

Légion 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 ...

* Companion of the Liberation -

Decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

of 8 May 1945 * ''

Croix de guerre 1939–1945 The ''Croix de Guerre 1939–1945'' (English: War Cross 1939–1945) is a French military decoration, a version of the ''Croix de Guerre'' created on 26 September 1939 to honour people who fought with the Allies against the Axis forces at any ti ...

'' * ''

Médaille de la Résistance The Resistance Medal (french: Médaille de la Résistance) was a decoration bestowed by the French Committee of National Liberation, based in the United Kingdom, during World War II. It was established by a decree of General Charles de Gaulle on 9 ...

'' * ''

Croix du combattant volontaire de la Résistance Croix (French for "cross") may refer to: Belgium * Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut France * Croix, Nord, in the Nord department * Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort depa ...

'' * ''

Médaille des Évadés The Escapees' Medal (french: Médaille des Évadés) is a military award bestowed by the government of France to individuals who were prisoners of war and who successfully escaped internment or died as a result of their escape attempt. The "Escap ...

'' * ''

Médaille de l'Aéronautique The Aeronautical Medal (french: "Médaille de l'Aéronautique") is a state decoration of France established by the decree of February 14, 1945. It is awarded to both military personnel and civilians for outstanding accomplishments related to t ...

'' * ''Médaille commémorative des services volontaires dans la France libre'' * Distinguished Flying Cross * ''Service militaire volontaire argent'' * ''Médaille de la France libérée'' * European African middle eastern campaign medalAllegret, Emile Joseph Auguste
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Bibliography

* Académie nationale de l'air et de l'espace and Lucien Robineau, ''Les français du ciel, dictionnaire historique'', Le Cherche midi, June 2005, 782 p. (), p. 29, ''ALLÉGRET, Émile''

External links

Biography on the ''Ordre de la Libération'' website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allegret, Emile École nationale de l'aviation civile alumni Aviation in France Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Aeronautical Medal Recipients of the Resistance Medal French aerospace engineers 1907 births 1990 deaths Companions of the Liberation French Air Force personnel of World War II French World War II pilots Space program of France Free French military personnel of World War II