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Air Observation Group GAO I/506


Historical

On the date of the outbreak of the German attack of May 10, 1940, the GAO I / 506 is attached to the Third Army in the Air Cooperation Forces of the ZOAE (East Air Operations Zone).


Staff

Commandants duCommanders of the group Groupe GAO I/506
Captain ROBERT  

 


Personnel

Pilots and crew of the Group
Names of crew members
Rank
Function
Informations
Civil-statut
Photos
Citations
BERNHEIM Pierre
Lieutenant
Observer
     
COIGNIER Marcel
Sub-Lieutenant
Pilot
Killed on May 27, 1940 aboard Potez 63-11 No. 413 attacked by 12 Me109. This is the Observer, the only survivor who will succeed in landing in the countryside      
DILLAT
Chief warrant Officer
Pilot
On November 6, 1939, his aircraft, the Mureaux 117 No.66 was shot down by 3 Me109. Chief Warrant Officer DILLAT, injured, parachutes.      
GOETZ Jérome
Sergeant
Machine gunner
Killed on May 27, 1940 aboard Potez 63-11 No. 413 attacked by 12 Me109. This is the Observer, the only survivor who will succeed in landing in the countryside      
LELEU Gilbert
Lieutenant
Pilot
Killed on September 10, 1939 aboard the Mureaux 113 No. 4 shot by 2 Me109  
 
MOLL
Sub-Lieutenant
Observer
Killed on September 10, 1939 aboard the Mureaux 113 No. 4 shot by 2 Me109      
ROBERT
Captain
Commander of the Group
     
SCHMITT
Sub-Lieutenant
Observer
Killed on November 6, 1939 aboard the Mureaux 117 No. 66 shot down by 3 Me109      
SOGNET Henri
Lieutenant
Observer
On May 27th, 1940, the pilot and the gunner of the Potez 63-11 n ° 413, are killed during an attack by 12 Me109, and it is the Lieutenant SOGNET, badly wounded, who manages to put the aircraft in campaign .      

 

 

Stories of crews

Crews of Group
Names of crew members
Rank
Function
Informations
Crew
LELEU Gilbert
Lieutenant
Pilot
Mureaux 113 n° 4 : shot down in air combat on September 10, 1939: the crew is killed
MOLL
Sub-Lieutenant
Observer
Crew
DILLAT
Chief Warrant officer
Pilot
Mureaux 117 n° 66 : Shot down on November 6, 1939 by three BF109E. Sub-Lieutenant SCHMITT is killed, Chief Warrant Officer DILLAT, injured, parachutes
SCHMITT
Sub-Lieutenant
Observer
Crew
COIGNIER Marcel
Sub-Lieutenant
Pilot
Potez 63-11 n° 413 : Shot down by German Fighters on May 27, 1940, Lieutenant COIGNIER was killed, and Lieutenant SOGNET, seriously wounded, put the aircraft in the field. Sergeant GOETZ is killed too.
SOGNET
Lieutenant
Observer
GOETZ Jérome
Sergeant
Machine Gunner

 


Airfield

Airfields
Period of use of airfields
Names
County
Conflans Doncourt
54 - Meurthe et Moselle
September 3, 1939
Neufchâteau
88 - Vosges
Juny 12, 1940
Marcy-sur-Til
21 - Côte d'Or
Juny 14, 1940
Roanne
42 - Loire
Juny 15, 1940
Castres
81 - Tarn
Juny 16, 1940
Port-Vendres
66 - Pyrénées Orientales
Juny 17, 1940

Click on the map to enlarge :

Itinerary of the GAO I/506

Aircrafts

The GAO I/506 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 :

  • 1 Mureaux 113
  • 1 Mureaux 117
  • 1 Potez 63-11

 


Casualties

Crewmen killed
5
Lieutenant LELEU (Combat)
September 10, 1939
Sub-Lieutenant MOLL (Combat)
September 10, 1939
Sub-Lieutenant SCHMITT (Combat)
November 6, 1939
Sub-Lieutenant COIGNIER (Combat)
May 27, 1940
Sergeant GOETZ (Combat)
May 27, 1940
Crewmen injured
2
Chief Warrant Officer DILLAT (Combat)
November 6, 1939
Lieutenant SOGNET (Combat)
May 27, 1940

 


Sources

- Mr Marc BERNHEIM - the lieutenant Pierre BERNHEIM &was his Father
- The citations or decorations listed are extracted from the Official Journals archived in « Source gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France »
- 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