Capitaine Mathieu Marie Joseph Antoine Tenant de la Tour (5 December 1883 - 17 December 1917) 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. He scored one of the first aerial victories over an

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 ...

Biography

Early life

He was born on 5 December 1883 in Paris.

Military service

Tenant de la Tour began his military service in the cavalry. He became an air force pilot on 6 May 1915 when he was awarded Military Pilot's Brevet No. 1919. He underwent advanced training, then survived an accident on 30 October 1915. On 29 December 1915, he was assigned to '' Escadrille 57''. On 25 January 1916, flying in a literal fog of war, de la Tour helped down a German

kite balloon A kite balloon is a tethered balloon which is shaped to help make it stable in low and moderate winds and to increase its lift. It typically comprises a streamlined envelope with stabilising features and a harness or yoke connecting it to the main ...

, setting it afire. He pressed his attack down to an altitude of fifty meters in one of the first air-to-air wins over an

. The feat earned him the ''Legion d'honneur''.''Nieuport Aces of World War 1'', p. 47 He was wounded in action on 25 April 1916. After he healed, he was assigned to ''

Escadrille 3 ''Escadrille 3'' ''Les Cigognes'' ('The Storks') was a famous French aviation unit during the World War I. It was often referred to as the 'Stork Escadrille N3' due to its insignia. Pilots from Groupe de Combat 12 adopted the name and placed imag ...

'' to pilot 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. During July, August, and September, he claimed another balloon and five enemy airplanes. On 27 December 1916, he had switched to a

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 ...

for his eighth victory by downing

Gustav Leffers Gustav Leffers (2 January 1895 –27 December 1916) was a German flying ace in World War I, credited with 9 victories. Background Leffers was born in Wilhelmshaven, the son of a naval engineer. He was educated in Wilhelmshaven and Stettin a ...

. In April 1917, after being promoted to Lieutenant, he was given command of ''

Escadrille 26 ''Escadrille 26'' is a squadron of the French Air Force founded in 1914 and still active today. History Escadrille 26 was founded on 26 August 1914, at Arras. It was originally equipped with ''Morane-Saulnier'' aircraft, leading to its designation ...

''. He scored his last victory on 7 May 1917.

Death

He died in a flying accident with his new

Spad XIII The SPAD S.XIII is a French biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War, developed by ''Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés'' (SPAD) from the earlier and highly successful SPAD S.VII. During early 1917, the French designer Louis Béc ...

fighter at

Auchel Auchel (; pcd, Auchez) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. Geography An ex-mining town, nowadays a light industrial & farming commune, situated southwest of Béthune and southwest of ...

on 17 December 1917.''SPAD VII Aces of World War I'', p. 10.

Awards

Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur
"Sous Lieutenant of Escadrille N57. On 25 January 1916, he was surprised by a sea of fog, out of which emerged a German balloon which he decided to attack. He approached it and duelled with the passenger in the basket, succeeding in silencing the enemy's gun. He continued to fire at the balloon until he was within fifty meters of the ground. Completely lost and with his motor acting up, he returned by dint of his coolness and strength, and landed behind the British lines." (Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur citation, 1 February 1916) Croix de guerreThe Aerodrome website page on the Croix de guerr

Retrieved on 4 September 2020.

Notes

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

* http://www.leshussardsdelauzun.com/portraits.htm has a photo of Tenant de la Tour in cavalry dress uniform on page 9 of 19 * www.leshussardsdelauzun.com/etendard.htm shows Tenant de la Tour on parade with his cavalry regiment prior to World War I * http://www.aeroconservancy.com/lescigognes.htm contains a famous caricature of Tenant de la Tour and his squadronmates {{DEFAULTSORT:Tour, Mathieu Tenant De La 1883 births 1917 deaths French World War I flying aces