Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Paul Albert Pierre Tarascon (8 December 1882 – 11 June 1977) was a 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 ...

. Despite the handicap of an amputated foot, he was credited with twelve confirmed and ten probable victories in aerial combat. He also served in World War II.

Pre-World War I

Paul Albert Pierre Tarascon was born in

Le Thor Le Thor (; oc, Lo Tòr) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. It has an attractive Romanesque church, Notre-Dame-du-Lac. Population Notable residents *Alexey Brodovitch (18 ...

, France on 8 December 1882. Tarascon joined the French military in 1901; upon his release from active duty, he was assigned to the '' 4e Regiment d'Infanterie Coloniale''. He became interested in aviation after his release, and decided to learn to fly. In 1911, while learning to fly, he crashed so badly that his right foot had to be amputated. This would spark his later nickname: ''l'as la jambe de bois'' (the ace with the wooden leg).

World War I

Despite his handicap, when World War I began, he volunteered as an aviator and was accepted. He completed military training, receiving Military Pilot's Brevet No. 1741 on 14 December 1914, and became an instructor in January 1915. He requested a combat assignment, and was sent to '' Escadrille 31'' on 6 October 1915, 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 ...

'' on 1 May 1916, and shortly thereafter to ''

Escadrille 62 ''Escadrille 62'' is a French Air Force squadron. It was founded on 11 August 1915 at Lyon–Bron Airport. History ''Escadrille 62'' was originally equipped with Farman two-seater reconnaissance aircraft; thus, its first designation was ''Escadr ...

''. Flying 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, he scored his first win on 15 July 1916. By 17 November, he had run his total to eight victories in Nieuports. Before he resumed scoring on 6 April 1917, he had changed planes to a Spad. He scored twice more in mid-1917, then one final time on 15 July 1918. Tarascon's personal insignia of a black

fighting cock A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...

had become adopted by his squadron.

Later life

Tarascon survived the war, and rose to the rank of colonel. He fought in the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

during World War II. Paul Albert Pierre Tarascon died on 11 June 1977.

Honors and awards

In 1955, Tarascon was elevated to recipient of the Grand Croix de la Légion d'honneur. He had originally been selected for the Légion d'honneur during World War I. His ''Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur'' citation of 15 November 1916 reads:

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 N62. Remarkable pilot by his devotion, skill, coolness and initiative. He has distinguished himself for over a year during the course of numerous reconnaissances, protections and pursuits. On 9 August 1916, his plane was hit over 100 times by enemy bullets. Since the first of July, he has had 35 combats, downing five enemy planes and has forced two others to land in a damaged condition.

His ''Médaille militaire'' citation of 4 August 1916 states:

Adjudant pilot of Escadrille N62. Excellent pilot, always prepared to work. Although one leg had been amputated, he entered aviation and has carried out numerous reconnaissances over long distances and has had 15 aerial combats. On 15 July 1916, he downed an Aviatik de chasse, which fell in flames in enemy territory."

Tarascon also won the

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 ...

with twelve ''palmes'' during World War I.

References

External links

Biography, list of aerial victories, profiles colors of his planes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarascon, Paul 1882 births 1977 deaths French World War I flying aces French amputees French Army officers