''Sous Lieutenant'' Victor François Marie Alexis Régnier (1889-1961) was a World War I
flying ace
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...
credited with five aerial victories.
[The Aerodrome websit]
Retrieved on 29 March 2010
World War I
Victor Régnier was an experienced soldier when World War I began, having served in the artillery from 1910 through 1912. He was recalled for the war,
only to be wounded on 29 March 1915
[ By late summer, he had switched to aviation. He served originally with a bomber squadron, but then was assigned to '' Escadrille N.112'' as 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 pilot. He was commissioned in September 1916.[ He also scored his first victory in September 1916, on the ninth. He continued to score sporadically, with his fifth victory being an ]observation balloon
An observation balloon is a type of balloon that is employed as an aerial platform for gathering intelligence and spotting artillery. The use of observation balloons began during the French Revolutionary Wars, reaching their zenith during World ...
on 6 April 1917.[ Shortly thereafter, he was seriously wounded. He never again served in a front line unit, although he stayed in service until war's end, and even survived a serious accident][ on 28 August 1918.][
]
Postwar
Régnier served in World War II, and was raised to Commander in the Légion d'honneur.[ His exact date of death is unknown, though he was still alive to correspond with aviation historian ]Norman Franks
Norman Leslie Robert Franks (1940 – 21 May 2023) was an English militaria writer who specialised in aviation topics. He focused on the pilots and squadrons of World Wars I and II.
Biography
Franks published his first book in 1976. H ...
on 11 May 1966.[''Over the Front: The Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918'', pp. 211-212]
Sources of information
References
* Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank (1993). ''Over the Front: The Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918''. London, UK: Grub Street Publishing. .
* Franks, Norman (2000). ''Nieuport Aces of World War 1.'' Oxford UK: Osprey Publishing. , .
1889 births
1966 deaths
French World War I flying aces
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