François Picard-Destelan (20 April 1909 in

British Hong Kong Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the Briti ...

– 12 January 1983 in

Criquetot-l'Esneval Criquetot-l'Esneval () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. The physician and erudite Louis-Henri Baratte was born in Criquetot-l'Esneval in 1803. Geography A small farming town situated in the ...

) was a French

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

of the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

Biography

He joined the French Navy in 1928, in

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...

. Promoted to ''Lieutenant de vaisseau'' in 1937, he served as an interpreter in 1942, 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 ...

. He served as Corvette captain in 1945 on the

Richelieu-class battleship The ''Richelieu'' class were fast battleships built for the French Navy between the 1930s and 1950s. Initially two ships were ordered in 1935 in response to Italian orders for the s the previous year. The ''Richelieu''s were based on the preced ...

and Frigate captain in 1948. He was promoted to ''capitaine de vaisseau'' in 1954,

Rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

in 1959 and Vice admiral from 1960 and 1967. He commanded the fleet of the Pacific.

Awards

* Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur *

Officier de la 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 ...

Commandeur de la 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 B ...

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 ...

External links

* http://ecole.nav.traditions.free.fr/officiers_picard_francois.htm

Notes

French Navy admirals 1909 births 1983 deaths French military personnel of World War II Knights of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) French expatriates in Hong Kong {{France-mil-bio-stub