Adjutant Maxime Albert Lenoir (22 December 1888 – 25 October 1916) was a pioneering 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 eleven confirmed aerial victories, as well as eight unconfirmed.

Biography

Early life

Maxime Albert Lenoir was born on 22 December 1888 in Chargé, France. Lenoir trained as a pilot in 1913, receiving a civilian Pilot's Brevet, No. 1564, on 5 December. He was already a pilot when World War I began.

Aerial service

The start of World War I saw Lenoir mobilized for military service. He applied for a transfer to aviation duty. He completed his military aviation training, receiving Military Pilot's Brevet No. 641, and after a few weeks delay, was assigned to ''Escadrille 18'' to fly 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 ...

. He downed an

Aviatik Automobil und Aviatik AG was a German aircraft manufacturer during World War I. The company was established at Mülhausen (today in France) in 1909 and soon became one of the country's leading producers of aircraft. It relocated to Freiburg in 1 ...

on 5 June 1915, and became a

balloon buster Balloon busters were military pilots known for destroying enemy observation balloons. These pilots were noted for their fearlessness, as balloons were stationary targets able to receive heavy defenses, from the ground and the air. Seventy-seven fl ...

on the 15th.The Aerodrome websit

Retrieved on 27 March 2010. Lenoir then trained on single-seaters, and was posted to fly a

Nieuport Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars. History Beginnings Originally formed as Nieuport-Duplex in ...

fighter with ''

Escadrille 23 ''Escadrille 23'' of the French Air Force was formed at Brie on 4 August 1914. History Escadrille 23 was equipped with Morane-Saulniers and forwarded to ''VI Armee'' of the French Army in September, and transferred to ''IV Armee'' in October 1 ...

'' in early 1916. He scored his first fighter victory on 16 March 1916, and added eight more by 25 September, including shares with

Jean Casale Sous Lieutenant Jean Pie Hyacinthe Paul Jerome Casale, was a French World War I flying ace credited with thirteen aerial victories. He was one of the few aces that survived the entire course of fighter aviation in the war.The Aerodrome website http ...

and

Georges Lachmann Capitaine Georges Marcel Lachmann was a French World War I flying ace. He was credited with nine confirmed aerial victories. World War I On 21 July 1914, Georges Marcel Lachman was awarded the civil pilot's license he had earned. On 2 August 1914 ...

. He was wounded twice that year, by shrapnel on 9 August and in aerial combat on 25 September. MAxime Lenoir

On the latter occasion, he was flying his 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 ...

fighter. Lenoir was one of the first French fliers to be issued the new fighter. He was wounded while attacking a German three-seater that he shot down. It was his 11th and final confirmed victory.''Spad VII Aces of World War I'', pp. 8. To the SPAD VII's ordinary markings, Lenoir added his initials on the left rim of the cockpit above a black silhouette of a man's head. Emblazoned down the fuselage's side was the slogan ''Trompe le Mort'' (Deceives death) and the numerals '111'.''Spad VII Aces of World War I'', pp. 8, 49, 91. Maxime Albert Lenoir was killed in action on 25 October 1916.

Honors and awards

Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur

Adjudant 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-commissioned ...

pilot of Escadrille N23. Pursuit pilot beyond compare, setting the highest example of energy and self-sacrifice. During eleven months of uninterrupted service in his Escadrille, he has had 91 successful combats, returning frequently with his plane riddled by bullets. He downed his sixth enemy plane on 4 August 1916. (Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur citation, 9 August 1916) Médaille militaire Maréchal-des-logis pilot of Escadrille N23. Non-commissioned officer always demonstrating the best fighting spirit during the course of his numerous combats, more often behind enemy lines than behind our own. In all his actions he showed contempt for death. On 15 March 1916, while protecting a long distance reconnaissance and having his machine gun jam during the course of a combat, he completed his mission and managed to ward off enemy planes by a series of audacious maneuvers. He returned with his plane riddled by bullets. (Médaille militaire citation, 15 March 1916) He also won the ''Croix de Guerre'' with eight ''Palmes''.

Sources of information

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. , .

External links

* Contains a reproduction of Lenoir's aircraft markings. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lenoir, Maxime 1888 births 1916 deaths French World War I flying aces People from Indre-et-Loire French military personnel killed in World War I Knights of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)