Sous lieutenant Gilbert Marie de Guingand 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 eight aerial victories before being killed in a flying accident.

Early life

Gilbert Marie de Guingand was born at

Viroflay Viroflay () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Paris from the center and from the Palace of Versailles. The town motto is ''Lux mea lex'' which is ...

, France on 21 July 1891. He began his military service in the '' 21e Regiment d'Infanterie Coloniale'' before transferring to aviation.

World War I

After transferring to aviation service, de Guingand trained until he received Pilot's Brevet number 2722 on 21 February 1916. He was assigned to Escadrille C34, a

Caudron The Société des Avions Caudron was a French aircraft company founded in 1909 as the Association Aéroplanes Caudron Frères by brothers Gaston and René Caudron. It was one of the earliest aircraft manufacturers in France and produced planes for ...

squadron, in July 1916. He subsequently retrained as a fighter pilot. He was then posted to Escadrille N15, a Nieuwpoort unit. On 20 April 1917, he spent a single day in Escadrille N88 as it was forming; however, on 22 April he joined Escadrille N48, still another Nieuwpoort squadron. He began his string of aerial victories there.While the initial letter(s) such as "C", "N", "Spa", et cetera, in escadrille designations denoted the equipment assigned to the unit, there was often a lag in changing the unit's designation after it re-equipped. On 3 September 1917, he was

wounded in action Wounded in Action (WIA) describes combatants who have been wounded while fighting in a combat zone during wartime, but have not been killed. Typically, it implies that they are temporarily or permanently incapable of bearing arms or continuing ...

while in combat against several German aircraft. He then received 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, ...

'' for his valor; the award citation shows he had risen to the rank of

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 ...

. He was also awarded the

Belgian Croix de guerre The ''Croix de guerre'' ( French) or ''Oorlogskruis'' (Dutch), both literally translating as "Cross of War", is a military decoration of the Kingdom of Belgium established by royal decree on 25 October 1915. It was primarily awarded for bravery ...

. After recuperation, he returned to combat; as his squadron had upgraded to Spads, his final four victories were probably scored flying this type. At any rate, he ran his winning streak to eight confirmed victories by 7 June 1918, and was promoted to ''

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 the process. On 17 June 1918, he became a

Chevalier Chevalier may refer to: Honours Belgium * a rank in the Belgian Order of the Crown * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold II * a title in the Belgian nobility France * a rank in the French Legion d'h ...

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 ...

'' as a reward for his fighting prowess. The citation not only refers to his eight credited victories, but also specifically to his highly hazardous practice of balloon busting. Additionally, the citation describes de Guingand being shot down behind enemy lines while on a

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...

and trench strafing sortie, as well as his subsequent evasion of the Germans and his return to French lines. SPAD S

Gilbert Marie de Guingand did not survive the war, as he died in a takeoff accident on 22 October 1918 in Revigny, less than three weeks before the

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

List of aerial victories

: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 ...

Confirmed victories are numbered chronologically; unconfirmed victories are denoted "u/c".

Footnotes

References

;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guingand, Gilbert de 1891 births 1918 deaths French World War I flying aces