Albert Deullin
Albert Louis Deullin (born August 24, 1890 in Épernay ; † May 29, 1923 in Villacoublay ) was one of the most successful French fighter pilots of the First World War with 20 confirmed aerial victories .
First World War
Deullin joined the army at the age of 16 and took to the field in August 1914 as a Sous-Lieutenant ( Unterleutnant ) with the 8th Dragoon Regiment.
He was transferred to the French Aviation Militaire in April 1915 and obtained his pilot's license on a Maurice Farman training aircraft in June 1915 .
Then he came to the Escadrille MF 62 first. He flew reconnaissance, bomber and artillery observation missions. In this unit he also achieved his first aerial victory on February 10, 1916, for which he was awarded the "Medaille de St. Georges" the next day.
He was then transferred to the Escadrille MS3 (renamed N3 after conversion to Nieuports), where he won two more aerial victories, but was wounded himself on April 2, 1916. Returned to his squadron after just two weeks, Deullin scored more kills, a total of five between February and June.
The mercilessness and brutality with which the fight was carried out in the air is shown by his note about the shooting down of an enemy Fokker monoplane - flown by Graf Erich Holck - from a distance of only ten meters: "The boy was so punctured that blood spattered my bonnet, cockpit window, pilot's cap and sprayed aviator goggles. Of course, the fall from a height of 2,600 m was an enjoyable sight. ”Deullin had flown this attack in anger after the death of his friend Lieutenant Peretti, who had fallen over Verdun .
On November 23, 1916, Deullin shot down the leader of Kampfstaffel 25 (Kampfgeschwader 5), Captain Hans Linke, over the forest near Vaux on the Verdun front.
As a squadron leader with eleven kills, he took over the Escadrille de Chasse (Jagdstaffel) Spa 73, which was equipped with SPAD S.VII , in February 1917 .
His last victory in the air is documented on May 19, 1918. Deullin scored a total of 20 confirmed and five unconfirmed kills. Wounded three times, Capitaine Deullin became a knight on June 4, 1916 and an officer of the Legion of Honor in 1918 and received the Croix de guerre 1914–1918 with 13 palm trees and one star.
post war period
After the war, Deullin founded the airline "Compagnie Franco-Roumaine" together with Lionel de Marmier, also a highly decorated French fighter pilot, and was personally received by the Romanian King Ferdinand on October 13, 1921, together with Marmier in Bucharest-Pipera.
Albert Deullin was killed on May 29, 1923 in Villacoublay during a test flight with a new de Marçay 4 fighter aircraft.
He was buried in his hometown of Épernay , where his grave is still preserved today.
Sources and web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.greatwarflyingmuseum.com/aces/france/albert_deullin.html
- ↑ http://www.frontflieger.de/3-lf.html
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/people/20062-what-happened-albert-deullin.html
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Deullin, Albert |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Deullin, Albert Louis (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French fighter pilot in the First World War |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 24, 1890 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Epernay |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 29, 1923 |
| Place of death | Villa Coublay |