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Site in French
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Historical
In February 1936, 23e
Escadre was created in Toulouse, based on the squadrons of 11e Escadre.
Thus, the Br127 and Br128 squadrons gave birth to the GB I/23.
When the war broke out, GB I/23 was equipped with Bloch MB210s,
and the first LeO 451s arrived at the Group on March 15, 1940. However,
these were handed over to GB II/23 on May 18, to be replaced by
old Bloch MB210s...
On May 10, 1940, the GB I/23 belonged to Groupement No7 of the Groupement
d'Instruction De L'Aviation de bombardement du sud-Est de la ZOAA
(Zone d'Opérations Aériennes des Alpes).
Groupe GB I/23 remained part of the Vichy Air Force, but was finally
disbanded on September 1, 1943.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
Staff
|
Commanders
of the group
GB I/23
|
| Commander
BORDES Léon |
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Commander
of the 1st Squadron
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Captain
MEIFFREN René
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Commander
of the 2nd Squadron
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| Captain
MENARD Raoul |
February
20,1939
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December
1939
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Captain
DE-PAMPELONNE Pierre
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December
1939
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Other
Staff Members
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| BAUCHER |
Hangar
manager |
Personnel
|
Pilots
and crew of the Group
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Names
of crew members
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Rank
|
Function
|
Sqn.
|
Informations
|
Etat
Civil
|
Photos |
Citations
& Décorations
|
| BORDES
Léon - Jean |
Commander
|
Cder
of Group
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Born
on 8 February 1903 |
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| DE
GUYON DE GEIS DE-PAMPELONNE Pierre - Marie |
Captain
|
Cder
2nd Sqn.
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Born
on 9 December 1917 |
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| FICHEUX |
Sergeant
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Machine
Gunner
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|
On May
24, 1940, on the return of a mission, the Bloch MB 210 No.170
struck a LeO451 GB I/11 on landing and ignited. Sergeant FICHEUX
is injured.
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| GARDIOL
Max |
Master
Corporal
|
Machine
Gunner
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|
On May 24, 1940, on
the return of a mission, the Bloch MB 210 No.170 struck
a LeO451 GB I/11 on landing and ignited. The Corporal Corporal
GARDIOL is injured.
Max Gardiol joined the
Free French Air Force and fought with the Guyenne Heavy
Bomber Group (Squadron 346).
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| GAUTIER
Henri |
Staff-Sergeant
|
Machine
Gunner
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|
At the
start of a mission, the Bloch MB 210 No.25 hit the take off
an Amiot 143 down in the field. The device ignites and its
bombs explode. Staff Sergeant GAUTIER is wounded.
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| GEGOUT
Michel |
Sub-Lieutenant
|
Crew
Chief
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| GUILLOTEAU
René - Jean |
Lieutenant
|
Pilot
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|
On the
25th of May, at the start of a mission, he hit Amiot 143 on
his takeoff. His aircraft, a Bloch MB210, damaged, however,
fulfilled his mission, but he could not return to his ground
and would have to land on a closer terrain.
|
Born on 6 April 1919
in Aytre (17 - Charente-Maritime)
Died in Paris (75) on 18 June 1993
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|
| KALENSKY |
Sergeant
|
Co-Pilot
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At the
start of a mission, the Bloch MB 210 No.25 hit the take off
an Amiot 143 down in the field. The device ignites and its
bombs explode. Sergeant KALENSKY (Czech) is injured.
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| LAROCHE
Robert - Charles |
Chief
Warrant Officer
|
Pilot
|
|
At the
start of a mission, the Bloch MB 210 No.25 hit the take off
an Amiot 143 down in the field. The device ignites and its
bombs explode. Chief Warrant Officer LAROCHE is killed.
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Born on 19 July 1908
in Nancy (54 - Meurthe et Moselle)
Killed on 25 May 1940 at Semautiers (52 - Haute-Marne)
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| LAVENNE
Pierre - Baptistin |
Sub-Lieutenant
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|
At the
start of a mission, the Bloch MB 210 No.25 hit the take off
an Amiot 143 down in the field. The device ignites and its
bombs explode. Sub-Lieutenant LAVENNE is killed.
|
Born on 6 March 1916
at Toulon (83 - Var)
Kia at Semoutiers (52 - Haute-Marne) on 25 May 1940
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| LOCQUENEUX
Charles - Raymond |
Sub-Lieutenant
|
Observer
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|
Charles
LOCQUENEUX enlisted in 1936 and passed the EOR (Reserve Officer
Cadet) exam. In 1939, he was mobilised as an observer with GB
I/23. In 1943, he joined a resistance network and was arrested
and imprisoned in 1944.
In 1946, he was posted to the 6th Air Wing in Dijon, then to
Rabat-Salé in Morocco. He was sent to Indochina in 1947
with the GC I/3 Corse, then back to Morocco. He was posted to
the Cognac base in 1948, then to the Marrakech school in 1949.
After a training period at CIET (Centre d'Instruction des équipages
de Transport), he did a second tour in Indochina with GT II/62
from June 1951 to February 1953. He then became an instructor
at the Avord school, before being posted to Ouargla as air base
commander in 1957. In 1959 he was posted to the 4th office of
the Air Force General Staff, then to the air search and rescue
squadron at Maison-Blanche in 1961. Charles LOCQUENEUX was placed
on aircrew leave in 1965 with the rank of Colonel. |
Born
27 July 1916 in Ault (80 - Somme)
Died in Paris (75) on 8 May 1998 |
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|
| MEIFFREN
René - Charles |
Captain
|
Cder
1st Sqn.
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|
René MEIFFREN,
qualified as a pilot in June 1922. He took part in missions
against the Rebels in North Africa and was cited in 1931.
During the French Campaign, he took part in night bombing
missions and bombed Italy before returning to North Africa
before the Armistice.
René MEIFFREN died suddenly in a street in Toulouse
on 7 November 1947.
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Born on 23 June 1901
Died in Toulouse on 7 November 1947
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| MENARD
Raoul - Robert |
Captain
|
Cder
2nd Sqn.
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Raoul MENARD joined
the Air Force for the first time and carried out missions
in North Africa before becoming a Reserve Officer. In December
1934, giving up his rank as a Reserve Officer, he re-enlisted
as an Active Non-Commissioned Officer and was admitted to
the Ecole Militaire et d'application de l'Armée de
l'Air. He graduated with the rank of Second Lieutenant in
1935. Raoul MENARD, a talented pilot, became the 1st pilot
to be qualified as a multi-engine day and night pilot.
He joined the GB I/23
and became Commander of the 2nd Squadron until December
1939, when he joined the Bombing Training Centre, where
he trained many pilots and observers.
In June 1940, he was
posted to the GB II/33, then to the Ecole d'Application
de Marrakech in 1942..
In June 1944, Raoul
MENARD joined the GB I/22 "Morocco" based in Djeidaida,
then in France.
On 22 January 1945,
his B26 Marauder was badly hit by flak. Raoul MENARD remained
at the controls of his burning aircraft to allow his crew
to bail out.
Raoul MENARD, who clocked
up more than 3,200 flying hours, gave his name to Cognac
Air Base 709.
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Born on 1st June 1909
at Fontenelle-en-Brie (02 - Aisne)
Kia on 22 January 1945 at Chalampé (68 - Haut-Rhin)
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| N'GUYEN
VAN HINH Dinh - Thaî |
Sub-Lieutenant
|
Crew
Chief
|
|
Dinh Thai N'GUYEN
VAN HINH was born in Cochinchina in 1915, and is French
by birth. He was therefore able to come to France to study
at prestigious French schools. In 1936, he entered the newly
created Ecole de l'Air in Versailles. He qualified as a
pilot in October 1937 and was posted to the Bombing Division.
On 1st October 1938, he was posted to the GB I/23 of the
23 rd Wing and qualified as a Captain in October 1939. He
spent the entire French Campaign with the GB I/23.
On the night of 17 to 18 June 1940, during a bombing mission
over the Fiat factories in Italy, his aircraft suffered
an engine failure over the Alps and had to turn back. His
engine caught fire and the crew had to evacuate the aircraft,
which crashed on Mont Ventoux. Second Lieutenant N'GUYEN
was unhurt.
In January 1942, he
became Intelligence Officer with GB II/62, until the arrival
of the Allies in North Africa in November 1942. He then
joined the Marrakech Air School before being posted to GB
I/32 in April 1944. He fought in Italy and then in Provence
after the Allied landings.
After the German surrender,
he first became head of the 3rd Bureau of the 34th Air Wing,
then attended the Centre Supérieur Aérien,
and finally joined the Signals Bureau of the Air Staff in
Paris.
In 1946, appointed Commander, he was posted to GB II/62
based in Algeria.
In 1949, he was transferred
to Vietnam as a member of the 3rd Bureau, then with the
rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, Director of the Military Cabinet.
But faced with the Vietminh's rise to power, he was appointed
Chief of Staff of the Vietnamese National Armed Forces.
Despite the many difficulties he encountered and the highly
sensitive political and military context, Lieutenant-Colonel
N'GUYEN remained faithful to his commitment. After the withdrawal
of French troops, he was posted in 1955 to Base Aérienne
117, then to the Brétigny Test Centre. Appointed
General, he moved to the Mont Marsan air test range.
On the strength of this
experience, he was appointed Director of the Colomb-Bechar
forward command post, where he had to fight Algerian rebels
to protect the Sahara Experimental Sites.
Returning to mainland
France, he was appointed deputy chief of staff to the armed
forces in 1962. In 1968, he was promoted to the rank of
Air Division General, and became head of the Air Force's
Central Materiel Directorate.
In 1970, General N'GUYEN
VAN HINH was placed on aircrew leave, but remained very
active as an expert in armaments, but also in the associative
life of former B26 Marauders crews, and in monitoring the
future of his former subordinates who had fought alongside
him in Vietnam..,
|
Born on 20 September
1915 in Thang Tam (Cochinchina)
Died at Suresnes (92 - Haut-de-Seine) on 26 June 2004
|
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| ROURE
Paul - Etienne |
Sub-Lieutenant
|
Crew
Chief
|
|
On 24 May
1940, returning from a mission, Bloch MB 210 No170 collided
with a LeO451 from GB I/11 on landing and burst into flames.
Second Lieutenant ROURE was seriously injured and died in
Sens Hospital.
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Born on 15 February
1912 at La Bégude de Mazenc (26 - Drôme)
Kia on 27 June 1940 at Saint-Mandé (94 - Val de Marne)
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| SUAU
Maurice - Alphonse |
Staff-Sergeant
|
Pilot
|
|
On 12 December 1939,
Sergeant-Chef SUAU was flying a Wibault 281T 12 n°10
'F-AMTT), an Air France aircraft requisitioned by the French
Air Force. The aircraft, which was on a service between
Lyon-Bron and Paris Le Bourget, crashed near the commune
of Caloire (Loire). The pilot, Maurice SUAU, was ejected,
but the other five crew members were killed.
On 24 May 1940, returning
from a mission, Bloch MB 210 No170 collided with a GB I/11
LeO451 on landing and burst into flames. Staff Sergeant
SUAU was injured.
|
Born in Avignon (84
- Vaucluse) on 25 November 1912
Died at Cannes (06 - Alpes-Maritimes) on 13 April 1994
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| TERRIEN
Jacques - Georges |
Lieutenant
|
Observer
|
|
On May
24, 1940, on the return of a mission, the Bloch MB 210 No.170
struck a LeO451 GB I/11 on landing and ignited. Lieutenant
TERRIEN is injured.
|
Born in Varennes Sur
Loire (49 - Maine et Loire) on 19 February 1905
Died at Orléans (45 - Loiret) on 23 November 1983
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| THIRY
Jean - Raymond |
Lieutenant
|
Pilot
|
|
Jean
Thiry was admitted to the École Polytechnique in 1933
and then to the École militaire et d'application de l'armée
de l'Air. Awarded his pilot's licence in 1936, he was posted
to the 23rd Air Wing, then to the Air Command Staff in the French
West Indies in 1937.
At the start of the war, he was with bombing group no. 7 at
Blida, then with GB 1/23 at Meknes. After the Allied landings
in AFN in November 1942, he embarked for England and was posted
to group 11/23 in 1943. He was an instructor at the Marrakech
bombing school in 1945.
He moved to the Centre d'expériences aériennes
militaires de Mont-de-Marsan in 1947. He joined the Air Force
General Staff, in the Equipment Programmes Office in 1948. He
was posted to Tananarive in the French West Indies in 1950.
He took command of the 61st Transport Wing in 1953 and the Chambéry
base in 1955. He was assigned to the Special Weapons Command
from 1958 to 1964 and was appointed Director of the Nuclear
Experimentation Centre in 1964. Jean Thiry retired from active
service in 1969 with the rank of Air Force General. |
Born
on 30 May 1913 in Reims (51 - Marne)
Died in Paris (75) on 14 December 1997. |
|
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| VERNERET
Charles - Gabriel |
Sergeant
|
Radio
|
|
At the
start of a mission, the Bloch MB 210 No.25 hit the take off
an Amiot 143 down in the field. The device ignites and its
bombs explode. Sergeant VERNERET is killed.
|
Born on 14 March 1920
at Argenton (36 - Indre)
Killed on 25 May 1940 at Semoutiers (52 - Haute-Marne)
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| VITRY |
Chief
Warrant Officer
|
Crew
Chief
|
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Stories
of crews
|
Crews
of Group
|
|
Names
of crew members
|
Rank
|
Function
|
Sqn.
|
Informations
|
|
Crew
|
SUAU
Maurice |
Staff-Sergeant
|
Pilot
|
|
Bloch
MB 210 No170 : On May 24, 1940, returning from a
mission, Bloch MB 210 No.170 struck a LeO451 GB I/11 on landing
and ignited. Sub-Lieutenant ROURE was killed. The other members
of the crew are injured. |
| ROURE
Paul |
Sub-Lieutenant
|
Crew
Chief
|
| TERRIEN
Jacques |
Lieutenant
|
Observateur
|
| FICHEUX |
Sergeant
|
Machine
Gunner
|
| GARDIOL
Max |
Master
Corporal
|
Machine
Gunner
|
|
Crew
|
LAROCHE
Robert |
Chief
Warrant Officer
|
Pilot
|
|
Bloch
MB 210 No 25 : At the start of a mission, the Bloch
MB 210 No.25 hit the take off an Amiot 143 down in the field.
The aircraft ignites and its bombs explode. Sub-Lieutenant LAVENNE,
Chief Warrant Officer LAROCHE and Sergeant VERNERET are killed.
Staff-Sergeant GAUTIER and Sergeant KALENSKY (Czech) are injured. |
| LAVENNE
Pierre |
Sub-Lieutenant
|
|
| VERNERET
Charles |
Sergeant
|
Radio
|
| GAUTIER
Henri |
Staff-Sergeant
|
Machine
Gunner
|
| KALENSKY |
Sergeant
|
Co-Pilot
|
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Airfields
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Period
of use of airfields
|
|
Names
|
County
|
| Istres
Le-Paty |
13
- Bouches du Rhône
|
September
3, 1939
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| Gisy-Les-Nobles |
89
- Yonne
|
May
18, 1940
|
| Chaumont
Semoutiers |
52
- Haute-Marne
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May
24, 1940
|
| Toulouse-Francazal |
31
- Haute-Garonne
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May
31, 1940
|
| Orange
Plan-De-Dieu |
84
- Vaucluse
|
June
2, 1940
|
| Blida |
Algérie
|
June
19, 1940
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Click
on the map to enlarge
:
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Aircrafts
The GB I/23 was equipped
since its creation, following aircrafts :
The used aircrafts
are described in the accessible file by the link below. You will find
N ° of series, Registration, date of affectation to the group, and
fate of the plane there.
In
this list are identified :
Casualties
|
Crewmen
killed
|
4
|
|
Sub-Lieutenant
ROURE (Accident)
|
May 24,
1940
|
|
Sub-Lieutenant
LAVENNE (Accident)
|
May 25,
1940
|
|
Chief
Warrant Officer LAROCHE (Accident)
|
May 25,
1940
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Sergeant
VERNERET (Accident)
|
May 25,
1940
|
|
Crewmen
injured
|
6
|
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Staff-Sergeant
SUAU (Accident)
|
May 24,
1940
|
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Lieutenant
TERRIEN (Accident)
|
May 24,
1940
|
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Sergeant
FICHEUX (Accident)
|
May 24,
1940
|
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Master
Corporal GARDIOL (Accident)
|
May 24,
1940
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Staff-Sergeant
GAUTIER (Accident)
|
May 25,
1940
|
|
Sergeant
KALENSKY (Accident)
|
May 25,
1940
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Sources
- The
dates and places of birth of the Group's personnel are taken mainly
from the site : "Mémoires
des Hommes"
- Book : "Ils étaient
là" by Mr Jacqueline and Paul MARTIN - Editions Aéro-Editions
- ...
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