Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

Andre Marie Paul Petit-Delchet 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 five confirmed aerial victories and two probable ones.The Aerodrome websit

Retrieved 27 August 2020.

Biography

See also

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 sil ...

Andre Marie Paul Petit-Delchet was born in

Villers-sur-Mer Villers-sur-Mer () is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy, northwestern France, with a population of 2,644 as of 2017. Geography The commune is located on the French coast of the English Channel, on the Côte Fleurie, between D ...

, France on 29 September 1892.''Over the Front: The Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918'', p. 205 Petit-Delchet enlisted in a French-Algerian military unit at the outbreak of World War I. He transferred to a French cavalry regiment. On 1 November 1915, he reported for aviation training. He was granted a Military Pilot's Brevet in May 1916. After advanced training, he was posted to ''

Escadrille N.69 ''Escadrille Spa.69'' (originally named ''Escadrille N.69'') was a French fighter squadron derived from one of its military's oldest aviation units. Active from September 1915 until the 11 November 1918 Armistice, the ''escadrille'' campaigned on ...

'' on 21 December 1916. Some time later, he was pulled from combat for additional training. On 29 March 1918, he returned to the front as an

pilot for '' Escadrille SPA.57''. On 21 April, he began a string of five victories—the first three being enemy airplanes, the last two

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 ...

s. French fighter pilots in 1918 were hunting Germans in packs; Petit-Delchet shared four of his victories, with such fellow aces as Marius Hasdenteufel,

Marcel Nogues Sous Lieutenant Marcel Joseph Maurice Nogues was a World War I flying ace credited with thirteen aerial victories. He was an ace over enemy observation balloons, as well as enemy airplanes. Early life Marcel Joseph Maurice Nogues was born on 24 Ja ...

, and

Charles Nuville Lieutenant Colonel Charles Marie Joseph Leon Nuville LH (March 1889—18 January 1965) was a French World War I flying ace credited with twelve confirmed aerial victories. He served as a professional soldier throughout the interwar years, and ...

. On 28 July 1918, Petit-Delchet was taking off for a combat patrol when he crashed and died. By the time of his death, he had been awarded the ''

Médaille militaire The ''Médaille militaire'' ( en, Military Medal) is a military decoration of the French Republic for other ranks for meritorious service and acts of bravery in action against an enemy force. It is the third highest award of the French Republic, ...

'' and the ''

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 awa ...

''The Aerodrome website page on the Cd

Retrieved 27 August 2020 with four ''palmes'' and three ''etoiles''.

Sources of information

References

* Norman Franks, Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank (1993). ''Over the Front: The Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918''. London, UK: Grub Street Publishing. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Petit-Delchet, Andre 1918 deaths 1892 births People from Villers-sur-Mer French World War I flying aces