Bertrand Pujo

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Bernard-Bertrand-Léon Pujo (born August 21, 1878 in Orignac , Hautes-Pyrénées , † September 14, 1964 in the 17th arrondissement , Paris ) was a French officer and military pilot , who was most recently General (Général d'armée aérienne) as well 1940 Minister of Aviation ( Ministre de l'Air ) .

Life

Officer training, officer and staff officer

Bernard-Bertrand-Léon Pujo, son of Paul Sylvain Pujo and Mathilde Cazaux, began an officer training at the military school Saint-Cyr (École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr) after attending the grammar school in Tarbes on October 26, 1897 and was after it Graduated in 1899 as a lieutenant (Sous-lieutenant) in the army . In the following years he served in the Foreign Legion ( Légion étrangère ) in French Indochina in Hải Phòng and was promoted to first lieutenant (Lieutenant) on October 1, 1901 . After a subsequent assignment in the province of Saida in Algeria , he returned to French Indochina and found employment in Tonkin . After he was used again in Algeria in Sidi bel Abbès in 1907 , he graduated from the Higher War School ( École supérieure de guerre ) and was promoted to captain (Capitaine) on September 24, 1912 . As an officer in the staff of the XVIII. Corps (18e corps d'armée) was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Legion of Honor on December 31, 1913 .

During the First World War , Pujo was mentioned twice in the war report (Citation à l'ordre de l'armée) and on October 1, 1916, he was promoted to Major ( Chef de bataillon ) , whereupon he became Deputy Chief of Aviation at the Grand Headquarters. After the end of the war, he became adjutant to General Henri Mordacq in the War Ministry in 1919 and then as lieutenant colonel again deputy director of aviation ( Aéronautique Militaire ) . On June 15, 1920 he was also awarded the Officer's Cross of the Legion of Honor. After his promotion to Brigadier General (Général de brigade) on September 16, 1926, he became Director of Aviation in the Ministry of War (Directeur de l'Aéronautique au Ministère de la Guerre) . On December 29, 1928 he was also commander of the Legion of Honor.

Promotion to general and aviation minister

On January 20, 1929, Bertrand Pujo became Chief of the General Staff of Army Aviation (Chef d'état-major général de l'Aéronautique) and held this post until May 24, 1930, when Major General Henry Michaud took his place. In this application, he was promoted to major general (Général de division) on January 2, 1930 . He then became commander of the 2nd Air Division (2eme division aérienne) . On April 1, 1933, his rank was converted to Major General of the Air Force (Général de division aérienne) . As such, he was in command of the 3rd Air Force Region and a member of the Supreme Aviation Council (Conseil Supérieur de l'Air) . On July 1, 1934, after the conversion of army aviation into an independent branch of the air force (Armée de l'Air) on April 1, 1934, he took over the post of inspector of military aviation in the intelligence service (Inspecteur de l'Aéronautique militaire de renseignement métropolitaine) on June 28, 1935 he was also appointed Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor.

As the successor to Major General Joseph Bares , Pujo took over the post of Chief of the General Staff of the Air Force on December 27, 1935 (Chef d'état-major général de l'Armée de l'Air) and held this position until October 14, 1936. At the same time he was Vice-President of the Supreme Aviation Council (Vice-président du Conseil Supérieur de l'Air) as well as inspector general of the territorial air defense (Inspecteur général de la défense anti-aérienne du territoire) . He was then on leave from October 14, 1936 to June 1, 1940 and retired on June 1, 1940. For his many years of service, he was finally awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor on July 14, 1939 .

On June 16, 1940, Bertrand Pujo was appointed Minister of Aviation (Ministre de l'Air) in the first Pétain cabinet. On July 16, 1939, he was promoted to General of the Air Force (Général d'armée aérienne) , with this promotion at the beginning of the Second World War was backdated on September 2, 1939. He held the offices of State Secretary for Aviation (Secretaire d'Etat à l'Air) and General Secretary for Air Defense in the subsequent second Pétain cabinet during the Vichy regime between July 12 and September 8, 1940 .

Pujo married Renée Pineau on December 27, 1916 and Cécile Henriette Jarre on November 26, 1928.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur
  2. ^ Officier de la Légion d'Honneur
  3. ↑ Etat militaire des officiers de l'Aéronautique. January 1, 1927
  4. ^ Commandeur de la Legion d'Honneur
  5. ^ Commandant en chef des Forces aériennes Françaises
  6. ↑ Etat militaire des officiers de l'Aéronautique. July 1, 1930
  7. ↑ Etat militaire des officiers de l'Aéronautique. July 1, 1933
  8. ↑ Etat des officiers de l'Armée de l'Air. July 1, 1934
  9. ^ Grand Officier de la Légion d'Honneur
  10. ^ Commandant en chef des Forces aériennes Françaises
  11. ↑ Etat des officiers de l'Armée de l'Air. July 1, 1936
  12. ↑ Grand-Croix de la Legion d'Honneur
  13. ^ Cabinet Pétain I
  14. ^ Cabinet Pétain II
personal data
SURNAME Pujo, Bertrand
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pujo, Bernard-Bertrand-Léon (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French General of the Air Force, Minister of Aviation
DATE OF BIRTH August 21, 1878
PLACE OF BIRTH Orignac , Hautes-Pyrénées department
DATE OF DEATH September 14, 1964
Place of death 17th arrondissement (Paris), Paris