Capitaine Albert Louis Deullin (24 August 1890 – 29 May 1923) was a French World War I

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 co ...

credited with twenty aerial victories.The Aerodrome websit

Retrieved on 26 March 2010. He served for the entirety of World War I. By war's end, he had risen to command of a fighter wing. He would die in a postwar flying accident.

Early life

Albert Louis Deullin was born on 24 August 1890 in

Épernay Épernay () is a commune in the Marne department of northern France, 130 km north-east of Paris on the mainline railway to Strasbourg. The town sits on the left bank of the Marne at the extremity of the Cubry valley which crosses it. Éperna ...

, France. He joined the French military and was a non-commissioned officer on inactive status from the

Dragoons Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat ...

by October 1912. The outbreak of World War I saw Deullin mobilized in his old unit.''Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914-1918'', pp. 149–150. He was commissioned as a ''

Sous lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 19 ...

'' in December 1914.''SPAD VII Aces of World War I'', p. 12.

Aerial service

Deullin transferred to aviation duty in late April 1915. After pilot's training, he earned Pilot's Brevet No. 2708 on 14 June 1915. On 2 July 1915, he was assigned to fly two-seater

Maurice Farman Maurice Alain Farman (21 March 1877 – 25 February 1964) was a British-French Grand Prix motor racing champion, an aviator, and an aircraft manufacturer and designer. Biography Born in Paris to English parents, he and his brothers Richard and ...

reconnaissance aircraft for Escadrille MF62. He scored his first aerial victory on 10 February 1916 while on a long reconnaissance flight behind German lines. Soon he was switched to Escadrille N3 as a Nieuport fighter pilot. After downing two enemy aircraft in March 1916, Deullin was wounded in action on 2 April. He was sidelined for 15 days. After his return to action, he shot down his fifth enemy airplane on 30 April 1916. By the time he scored his seventh victory on 15 September 1916, new

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 r ...

s were coming into the squadron's inventory. On 22 February 1917, with his victory count at 11, he was then transferred to command Escadrille 73 and began scoring for them. On 28 July 1917, he was again wounded in action; he remained in command despite the injury. Over the next fourteen months, he downed nine more enemy planes, with the last falling on 19 May 1918. He was promoted to higher command on 7 February 1918, to leadership of Group de Combat 19. It was while leading this wing that he shot down his 20th and last opponent over Montdidier on 19 May 1918. Eleven of his 20 victories had been scored while flying a

Nieuport 17 The Nieuport 17 C.1 (or Nieuport XVII C.1 in contemporary sources) was a French sesquiplane fighter designed and manufactured by the Nieuport company during World War I. An improvement over the Nieuport 11, it was a little larger than earlier N ...

. Five days later, Deullin,

René Dorme Sous Lieutenant René Pierre Marie Dorme (30 January 1894 – 25 May 1917), ''Légion d'honneur'', ''Médaille militaire'', '' Croix de Guerre'' was a French World War I fighter ace credited with at least confirmed 23 victories.The Aerodrome websit ...

, and another French pilot fought ''

Jagdstaffel 9 Royal Prussian Jagdstaffel 9 was a "hunting group" (fighter squadron) of the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I. Although the squadron, and the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', were short-lived, they had great ...

''; Deullin barely fought free of four foes. Dorme did not return from the mission.

Postwar career

Deullin became a pioneer of french commercial aviation by becoming the chief-pilot of aerial company franco-roumaine, employing many veterans pilots from former GC 19. Flying old

Salmson 2A2 The Salmson 2 A.2, (often shortened to Salmson 2) was a French biplane reconnaissance aircraft developed and produced by Salmson to a 1916 requirement. Along with the Breguet 14, it was the main reconnaissance aircraft of the French army in 1918 ...

from military surplus, the company opened aerial lines from Paris to eastern European cities, including

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. In 1923, the company flew on the early commercial airplanes such as the

Caudron C.61 The Caudron C.61 was a French three-engined civil transport biplane aircraft built by the French aeroplane manufacturer Caudron. It was constructed of wood and covered in fabric. Development The prototype C.61 (F-ESAE) had a freight hold and c ...

. Albert Deullin died in a flying accident at Villacoublay on 29 May 1923. He was testing a prototype of a new airplane.

Honors and awards

Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur
"Pilot with exceptional initiative and sang-froid, endlessly seeking battle against enemy planes. Wounded on 2 April 1916 during the course of aerial combat, he returned to his Escadrille before being completely rehabilitated, and since his return has had twelve auspicious combats. On 30 April 1916, he attacked point blank an enemy plane and downed it in front of our trenches. Already cited twice in army orders."(Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur citation, 4 June 1916) Officier de la Légion d'Honneur
"Commander of a Groupe de Combat, marvelous pursuit pilot, elite officer and model of the highest military virtues of bravery, character, and intelligence that have become legendary in French aviation. Wounded three times in aerial combat, he always returns to his place in the battle before being completely healed. Has admirable qualities of a fighter along with rare qualities of leadership. By his daily example and ceaseless work, in three months he has forged his Groupe de Combat into an elite unit. During the first days of the German offensive he executed in the rain and close to the ground, an audacious reconnaissance which was valuable to the intelligence officer. He recently downed his 20th enemy plane. Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur for feats of war. Twelve citations." (Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur citation, 4 June 1916) Croix de guerre with 14 ''palmes''

Sources

References

*''Nieuport Aces of World War 1.'' Norman Franks. Osprey Publishing, 2000. , . * ''Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914-1918''. Norman L. R. Franks, Frank W. Bailey. Grub Street, 1992. , . * ''SPAD VII Aces of World War I''. Jon Guttman. Osprey Publishing, 2001. , *''SPAD XII/XIII Aces of World War I.'' Jon Guttman. Osprey Publishing, 2002. , 9781841763163.

External links

Biography, list of aerial victories, color profiles of his planes
People from Épernay 1890 births 1923 deaths French World War I flying aces Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) {{wwi-air