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Bomber Group GB II/32

3rd Squadron
4th Squadron


Historical

Originally, GB II/32 was an Observation group: GO II/32. It became the GB II/32 on 1 January 1938. Initially equipped with Bloch MB200s, it was converted to Bloch MB210s in December 1939.
On 10 May 1940, the GB II/32 was stationed in North Africa, attached to the No 3 Bombardment Group.
The conversion of GB II/32 to the Douglas DB-7 was delayed, and this prevented the Group from reaching France before the Armistice.
GB II/32 was disbanded in 1942.


Staff

Commanders of the group GB II/32
Commander CORMIER Jules      
Commander ESPARRE Louis      
Commander of the 3rd Squadron
Captain GROSS Georges
 
Commander of the 4th Squadron
Captain DELFAU-DE-PONTALBA Robert
 

 


Personnel

Pilots and crew of the Group
Names of crew members
Rank
Function
Sqn.
Informations
Etat Civil
Photos
Citations & Décorations
CORMIER Jules
Commandert
Cder Group
Born on 19 April 1893 at Merry-Sec (89 - Yonne)
Died at Auxerre (89 - Yonne) on 29 October 1975
   
DELFAU-DE-PONTALBA Robert
Captain
Cder 4th Sqn..
4th Sqn.
Robert DELFAU-DE-PONTALBA is a former student of Saint-Cyr, ‘Mangin’ promotion 1929 - 1931.
After the Armistice, he joined the Free French Air Force and was posted to the 31st Wing. On 5 July 1945, Major DE-PONTALBA was posted to Maison Blanche (Algeria) to take up the post of regulator of the 31st Wing.
After the war, he continued his career, which ended with the rank of Air Brigadier General.
Born on 14 September 1909 in Rennes (35 - Ille et Vilaine)
Died on 4 April 1987
   
DUHAMEL
Sergeant
Pilot
   
ESPARRE Louis - Joseph
Commander
Cder Group
Born 20 August 1901, Narbonne (11 - Aude)
Died at Perpignan (66 - Pyrénées-Orientales) on 4 October 1975
   
GROSS Georges
Captain
Cder 3rd Sqn.
Born on 25 November 1907
Died 9 June 1985
   
PETIT Edmond - Léon
Lieutenant
4th Sqn..
Edmond PETIT was a man of letters who made a career as a pilot officer in the French Air Force from 1939 to 1960.
He took part in the French Campaign with GB II/32, then became Head of the Air Sports Office and Secretary General of the International Military Sports Council in 1948. In 1954, he was appointed Head of the Air Force Information Service. He was the creator of the international military aeronautical pentathlon before leaving the active army in 1961 with the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
From 1962 to 1968, he was in charge of public relations at the Central Office (deputy staff) in Paris, before becoming in 1969, Chargé de mission at Air France and then Curator of the Air France Museum from 1973 to 86.
He is also a writer, literary critic for Forces aériennes françaises, literary director of Icare, Deputy General Secretary and then Honorary General Secretary of the Union nationale des attachés de presse, member of the Association française des relations publiques, member of the jury of the World Aviation Film Festival, of the Grand Prix littéraire de l'Aéro-Club de France, of the Hélices d'or de Méribel, and President of the Guynemer literary prize.
He is the author of:
- "Heures de Vol" - 1957
- Les Aviateurs" - 1960
- "Dictionnaire de l'Aviation" - 1964
- "Histoire mondiale de l’aviation" - 1967
- "la Vie quotidienne dans l’aviation" -1980
- "Le nouveau Dédale de Jean-Jacques Rousseau" - 1987
- "Roland Garros" - 1988
- "Le Ciel et ses poètes" - 1992
- "Au revoir Saint-Exupéry" - 1994
- "Esnault-Pelterie et Cyrano de Bergerac" - 1998
Born 19 November 1914 in Nevers (58 - Nièvre)
Died at Boulogne-Billancourt (92 - Hauts de Seine) on 4 May 2000
   
STEINBERG-DE-ARMELLA Bernard dit "DUPERIER" Bernard
Lieutenant
After studying engineering at the École supérieure des techniques aéronautiques et de construction automobile (ESTACA), Bernard Steinberg-de-Armella joined the French Air Force in 1927 and passed his pilot's licence in May 1928. He was posted to the 34th RA in 1928 and to the 37th RA in Morocco in 1930. He was transferred to the reserves in November 1930, before being mobilised to the 32nd Air Wing and assigned to the GB II/32 in 1939, with which group he took part in the French Campaign.
Demobilised in July 1940 and refusing the armistice, he left, after a first failed attempt in June, for England in December 1940 via the United States. He enlisted in the Free French Air Force (FAFL) on 15 January 1941 in New York under the name Bernard Duperier - his mother's maiden name, which he kept after the war.
On arrival in England, he was promoted to the rank of captain on 8 March 1941. Initially posted to FAFL HQ, he was transferred to Operationnal Training Unit 55 (OTU 55) on 8 April 1941. On leaving, he joined squadrons 342, 615 and 402 in succession. He was appointed commander of the Alsace fighter group in 1941 and of the Ile-de-France in 1942. He took command of the French fighter school in Great Britain in December 1943. He was seconded to General Koenig's staff in May 1944 and became head of the 3rd FFI office in Brittany in July 1944. Léon DUPERIER was demobilised in 1946 and transferred to the reserves with the rank of Reserve Colonel.
He then became a company director in the United States and France. He was also a consultant for Boeing and a director of Air France.
Founding chairman of the ‘Appel au Général de Gaulle’ association in 1958, Bernard Duperier was deputy for the 8th arrondissement of Paris from 1962 to 1967.
A member of the Conseil de l'Ordre de la Libération, he is also Honorary Chairman of the Amicale FAFL, an honorary member of the Académie de l'Air-Espace, Honorary Chairman of the Aéro-club de France and Honorary Chairman of the Fédération aéronautique internationale.
Né le 13 juin 1907 à Paris (75)
Décédé le 8 juin 1995 à Paris.
 

 

 

Stories of crews

Crews of Group
Names of crew members
Rank
Function
Sqn.
Informations
         
     
     
     
     

 


Airfield

Airfields
Period of use of airfields
Names
County
Chissey
39 - Jura
September 1, 1939
Dôle-Tavaux
39 - Jura
November 15, 1939
Orange Violès
84 - Vaucluse
December 15, 1939
Marignane
13 - Bouches du Rhône
May 8, 1940
Oran La Sénia
Algeria
May 11, 1940
Médiouna
Marocco
May 14, 1940
Alger Maison-Blanche
Algeria
June 15, 1940
Aîn-Beda
Algeria
June 16, 1940
Alger Maison-Blanche
Algeria
June 18, 1940
Médiouna
Marocco
June 19, 1940

Click on the map to enlarge :

Itinerary of the GB II/32

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Aircrafts

The GB II/32 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 :

  • 3 Potez 390
  • 4 Bloch MB200
  • 5 Douglas DB7

 


Casualties

The GB II/32 had no losses to deplore during the Campaign of France

 

 


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
- ...