Capitaine Albert Victor Robert Auger (26 January 1889 – 28 July 1917) was a French

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

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 seven confirmed aerial victories, and a further 14 unconfirmed.

Military service

Auger volunteered to join the ''11ème régiment d'infanterie'' on 24 October 1907 as a

reservist A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person is ...

, and on the outbreak of World War I he was mobilized into the ''31ème régiment d'infanterie''. He was wounded in action on 31 August 1914, and was made a ''Chevalier'' 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 ...

'' on 8 November. He transferred to flying service on 25 January 1915, receiving military pilot's certificate No. 928 at the military flying school at Pau on 11 May 1915. He was posted to ''Escadrille 11'' on 11 May 1915, only to be wounded again on 8 July. On 22 September 1915, he took command of '' Escadrille 31'', and was promoted to ''capitaine'' on 26 December 1915. He scored twice in this assignment, on 13 March and 2 April 1916. Auger was seriously injured in a crash on 16 April. He recovered, and flew with ''

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 imag ...

'' to score again on 9 February 1917. A week later, he was wounded yet again, in a dogfight with four Germans. A month later, on 17 March 1917, Auger took command of ''Escadrille 3''. He scored four more times, including a win shared with Joseph M. X. de Sévin, with his last being 28 June 1917. Auger then upgraded to a SPAD. On 28 July, he took his SPAD into a dogfight with five German aircraft, and was shot in the neck. Bleeding profusely, he somehow still managed to land behind friendly lines, but bled to death within a few minutes. '' Jasta 8'' seems to have been his opponent. Its commanding officer, Gustav Stenzel, was killed in this fight, with no one claiming him.

Rudolf Francke Leutnant Rudolf Francke was a World War I flying ace credited with 15 aerial victories. Francke joined the German Air Service in 1914. He served with Kampfstaffel 41 (Tactical Bomber Squadron 41) until July 1916. The following month he became a p ...

of ''Jasta 8'' posted a claim that went unconfirmed, but was probably Auger. He is buried in the

Passy Cemetery Passy Cemetery (french: Cimetière de Passy) is a small cemetery in Passy, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. History The current cemetery replaced the old cemetery (''l'ancien cimetière communal de Passy'', located on Rue Lekain), ...

in Paris.

List of aerial victories

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Auger, Albert 1889 births 1917 deaths French World War I flying aces French military personnel killed in World War I Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Burials at Passy Cemetery Deaths from bleeding French people in French Algeria