Willy Coppens

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Willy Coppens Willy Omer François Jean Coppens de Houthulst (* July 6, 1892 in Watermael-Boitsfort ; † December 21, 1986 in Antwerp ) was the most successful Belgian fighter pilot in World War I with 37 confirmed and 6 unconfirmed victories.

Depiction of Willy Coppens from 1918

biography

Willy Coppens (center) with the Earl of Athlone in 1919

Willy Coppens joined the army in 1912 and served in the 2nd Grenadier Regiment. In 1914 he switched to the flying company. Together with 39 other Belgians, he trained as a pilot at the civil flight school in Hendon at his own expense. He continued his further flight training in France. It was not until 1916 that he arrived as a pilot on the Western Front, where he served in the 1ère, 4ème, 6ème and 9ème Escadrille of the Belgian air force .

Willy Coppens receives a medal from King Albert I.

Coppens was known on the German side as the blue devil , as he often dared to daring high-spirited feats with his airplane. In order to protect the propeller, he is said to have landed his machine with the engine switched off on an ascending tethered balloon and then took off again in order to then shoot the balloon in flames. With his turquoise-blue airplane he flew over the rooftops of Brussels occupied by German troops in a daring low-altitude flight . On February 18, 1918, he circled directly above his parents' house, ignoring the defensive fire of the German occupation forces.

Lieutenant Coppens specialized in shooting German tethered balloons , whereby he had to fly at least within 50 m of the target due to the violent defensive fire in order to set the balloon on fire with his phosphorus ammunition.

On October 14, 1918 Coppens was in his 37th shooting near Thourout by a fire bullet so badly wounded that his left leg amputated he had.

Between the wars, Coppens was the Belgian Air Force attaché in France, Great Britain, Italy and Switzerland.

In September 1928 he jumped from a height of 6,000 m with a parachute, breaking the European record previously held by Germany.

In 1931 he wrote his autobiography "Hélice en croix".

In 1940 he took his leave in Geneva , where he then stayed with his wife and children. During the Second World War he campaigned for Belgian prisoners of war in Germany through the Red Cross .

After the war he returned to Belgium. Shortly before his death, he moved to Antwerp , where he died on December 21, 1986. He rests in the cemetery of his hometown De Panne.

Orders and awards

After the First World War, Coppens was promoted to captain (Capitaine) and ennobled by King Albert of Belgium as Chevalier Coppens de Houthulst, as Coppens had won numerous aerial victories over the Houthoulster forest.

He received the following medals:

Aerial victories

date Time Escadrille plane opponent place
April 25, 1918 12: 20h 9e Hanriot plane Saint-Georges-sur-l'Aa
May 8, 1918 07: 10h 9e Hanriot balloon Creak
May 8, 1918 09: 55h 9e Hanriot balloon Houthulst
May 15, 1918 08: 07h 9e Hanriot balloon Houthulst
May 19, 1918 09: 45h 9e Hanriot balloon Houthulst
June 5, 1918 06: 40h 9e Hanriot balloon Houthulst
June 9, 1918 09: 22h 9e Hanriot balloon Zonnebeke
June 10, 1918 07: 47h 9e Hanriot balloon Ploegsteert
June 24, 1918 06: 45h 9e Hanriot balloon Warning sound
June 24, 1918 06: 46h 9e Hanriot Hanover CL Ploegsteert
June 30, 1918 06: 30h 9e Hanriot balloon Bovekerke
June 30, 1918 08: 30h 9e Hanriot balloon Gheluvelt
June 30, 1918 08: 34h 9e Hanriot balloon Passendale
July 14, 1918 09: 30h 9e Hanriot balloon Passendale
July 16, 1918 18: 55h 9e Hanriot balloon Bovekerke
July 19, 1918 19: 20h 9e Hanriot balloon Ruyterhoek
July 20, 1918 05: 57h 9e Hanriot balloon Houthulst
July 22, 1918 07: 30h 9e Hanriot balloon Geluwe
July 22, 1918 07: 31h 9e Hanriot balloon Wervik
July 22, 1918 07: 34h 9e Hanriot balloon Comines
July 24, 1918 19: 20h 9e Hanriot balloon Ruyterhoek
August 3, 1918 07: 50h 9e Hanriot balloon Rbag
August 10, 1918 06: 05h 9e Hanriot balloon Leffinge
August 10, 1918 06: 25h 9e Hanriot balloon Ruyterhoek
August 10, 1918 07: 45h 9e Hanriot balloon Leffinge
August 24, 1918 14: 55h 9e Hanriot balloon Ploegsteert
August 24, 1918 14: 57h 9e Hanriot balloon Warning sound
September 3, 1918 11: 02h 9e Hanriot balloon Tenbrielen
September 4, 1918 09: 23h 9e Hanriot balloon Work
September 27, 1918 11: 05h 9e Hanriot balloon Leffinge
September 27, 1918 11: 06h 9e Hanriot balloon Leffinge
September 29, 1918 10: 05h 9e Hanriot double decker Leffinge
October 2, 1918 15: 20h 9e Hanriot balloon Leffinge
October 3, 1918 08: 14h 9e Hanriot balloon Lendelede
October 5, 1918 08: 20h 9e Hanriot balloon Cruypena soil
October 5, 1918 06: 00h 9e Hanriot balloon Praatbos
October 14, 1918 06: 05h 9e Hanriot balloon Torhout

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/coppens.htm
  2. ↑ http://www.wwiaviation.com/aces/ace_Willy_Coppens.html
  3. ↑ http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/belgium/coppens.php

literature

  • Arch Whitehouse: Aviator Aces. 1914-1918 . Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1970, pp. 168–172.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Coppens, Willy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Willy Omer François Jean Coppens de Houthulst
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Belgian fighter pilot
DATE OF BIRTH July 6, 1892
PLACE OF BIRTH Watermael-Boitsfort
DATE OF DEATH December 21, 1986
Place of death Antwerp