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 ...

'' Marcel Pierre Viallet (21 August 1887–21 September 1925) 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 nine aerial victories. Postwar, he would serve in the

Rif War The Rif War () was an armed conflict fought from 1921 to 1926 between Spain (joined by History of France, France in 1924) and the Berbers, Berber tribes of the mountainous Rif region of northern Morocco. Led by Abd el-Krim, the Riffians at ...

in Morocco, dying there of disease.

Early life

Marcel Pierre Viallet was born in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, France, on 21 August 1887. Viallet traveled in his youth, but returned home to France as World War I began.''Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914-1918'', p. 223.

World War I service

Viallet immediately joined the cavalry, but was seriously wounded in late 1914. While in hospital, he applied for a transfer to aviation. On 23 February 1915, he started training; on 12 November, he received Military Pilot's Brevet No. 2533. He then served as a test pilot on

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 ...

s. From there, he was assigned to Escadrille 53, having already logged 376 flight hours. On 28 April 1916, he scored his first win, over a

Fokker Eindekker The Fokker ''Eindecker'' fighters were a series of German World War I monoplane single-seat fighter aircraft designed by Netherlands, Dutch engineer Anthony Fokker.Boyne 1988 Developed in April 1915, the first ''Eindecker'' ("Monoplane") was the f ...

. Two days later, he flew a successful escort mission despite having his controls cut. A ''

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, ...

'' followed, on 22 May 1916. In June 1916, he was reassigned to 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 ...

unit, '' Escadrille N.67''. He would run up eight more victories there, including one shared with

Georges Flachaire Sous lieutenant Georges Charles Marie François Flachaire (24 October 1892—30 April 1973) was a French World War I flying ace credited with eight aerial victories. On 1 September 1939, he returned to French military service, to serve past th ...

. Postwar, he remained in the military. He became ill during the

in Morocco, and died on 21 September 1925.

Honors and awards

Médaille militaire "Marechal-des-Logis of the Escadrille C53. A pilot of great value who always shows his courage, audacity and sang-froid. On 28 April 1916, returning from a reconnaissance over German lines, from close in he attacked a German plane which was seen to fall disabled. On 30 April

916 __NOTOC__ Year 916 ( CMXVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Sicilian Berbers in Agrigento revolt and depose the independent Emir Ahmed ibn Khor ...

he resolutely attacked an enemy scout in order to ward it away from an airplane he was protecting. Having had his controls cut, he succeeded after a fall of 2,000 meters to stabilize his plane and save his observer." Légion d'honneur "Marechal-des-Logis pilot of Escadrille N67, wounded twice in the cavalry, requested a transfer to aviation where he has become a pilot of the highest order, of remarkable strength and exceptional audacity. Already has the Médaille Militaire for downing two enemy planes, under particularly difficult circumstances, in March and April 1916; on 6 August

he succeeded during the course of the same flight to down two other German planes sequentially one behind our lines the other near the trenches." He also won the Croix de guerre.The Aerodrome website list ofawardee

Retrieved 5 September 2020.

Sources of information

References

* ''Nieuport Aces of World War 1.''

Norman Franks Norman Leslie Robert Franks (born 1940) is an English militaria writer who specialises in aviation topics. He focuses on the pilots and squadrons of World Wars I and II. Biography He published his first book in 1976. He was an Organisation a ...

. 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. , . 1887 births 1925 deaths French World War I flying aces People of the Rif War {{wwi-air