Paul-François-Maurice Armengaud

Paul-François-Maurice Armengaud (born September 28, 1879 in Comigne , Département Aude , † July 27, 1970 in Paris ) was a French general in the air force .

Life

Training as an officer and interwar period

After attending school, Armengaud completed an officer training course and became an officer in the Aéronautique Militaire , which was part of the army at the time. On July 13, 1921 he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and served between 1924 and June 20, 1924 as Chief of Staff in the General Inspectorate for Aviation. He then became commander of the 37th Air Regiment on June 21, 1924 and was promoted to colonel on March 25, 1925 . As such, he later became commander of the 1st Air Brigade and was promoted to the Général de brigade on May 19, 1928 .

On November 16, 1929 he was commander of the air force in French Morocco and was promoted to the Général de division on September 1, 1931 . He returned to France in 1932 and was in command of the Air Force Tactical Training Center from 1932 to 1933 (Center d'Études Tactiques de l'Aéronautique) . At the same time, on June 14, 1932, he became head of the military cabinet in the Aviation Ministry ( Ministère de l'Air ) and thus one of the closest collaborators of the then Aviation Minister Paul Painlevé . He also became a member of the Supreme Aviation Council on December 27, 1932. On April 1, 1933 he was formally Major General of the Air Force (Général de division aérienne) and was between 1933 and 1934 inspector of the schools of the Ministry of Aviation.

Subsequently, between 1934 and April 21, 1935, Armengaud was both inspector of the now own branch of the air force (Armée de l'air) abroad and commander of the 5th air region. As such, he was on April 17, 1934 to the Général de corps aérien and served from April 21, 1935 to 1936 as an inspector for the air defense of central France. On March 11, 1936, he was appointed Grand Officer of the Legion of Honor (Grand Officier de la Légion d'Honneur) and retired seven months later on October 14, 1936.

Second World War

One day after the start of the Second World War , Armengaud was ordered back into active military service on September 2, 1939 and promoted to general (Général d'armée aérienne) . He then acted from September 2 to November 6, 1939 as head of the air force in Poland and then from November 6, 1939 to June 24, 1940 as commander of the 2nd air region. In 1940 he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor (Grand-croix de la Légion d'Honneur) for his services . After he was commander of the 4th air region from June 24 to July 1, 1940 and commander of the 36th air region between July 1 and 30, 1940, he was first given leave of absence on July 30, 1940 September 1941 finally retired.

Publications

• Le renseignement aérien, sauvegarde des armées , foreword by General Noël de Castelnau , Librairie aéronautique, Paris 1934
• Batailles politiques et militaires sur l'Europe, témoignages, 1932-1940 , Éditions du Myrte, Paris 1948

Web links

• Entry in The Generals of WWII
• Information on Paul-François-Maurice Armengaud in the database of the Bibliothèque nationale de France .
• Budget of the officiers de l'Armée de l'Air. 01/07/37 ( Memento from May 22, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) (archive version)
• Proof of publication in the Open Library