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Air Observation Group GAO 547

Historical

On May 10, 1940, GAO 547 is attached to the 9th Army of the 1st Air Division of the ZOAN (North Air Operations Area).

Staff

Commanders of the group GAO 547
Commander LAMEY      

 

Personnel

Pilots and crew of the Group
Names of crew members
Rank
Function
Informations
Civil-statut
Photos
Citations
BENECH Auguste
Staff-Sergent
Pilot
 Killed aboard the Potez 63-11 No. 381 shot by German Fighters May 14, 1940.      
BERTHEUX Charles
Lieutenant
Observer
 Killed aboard the Potez 63-11 No. 381 shot by German Fighters May 14, 1940.      
DENIS Pierre
Lieutenant
Pilot
        
LAMEY
Commander
Commander of the Group
      
LARDENNOIS
Lieutenant
Pilot
      
LEVASSEUR Claude
Sub-Lieutenant
Observer
 Killed aboard Potez 63-11 No. 579 shot down by 4 Me109 on May 14, 1940.      
MARRAST Marcelin
Captain
Pilot
 Killed aboard Potez 63-11 No. 579 shot down by 4 Me109 on May 14, 1940.      
MARTIN Dominique
Master-Corporal
Machine Gunner
Seriously wounded on May 14, 1940 aboard Potez 63-11 No. 381 shot down by German Fighters. Master Corporal Martin will be taken prisoner      
MATHIVAT Georges
Sub-Lieutenant
Observer
        
MOUGNE André
Sergeant
Machine Gunner
Killed aboard Potez 63-11 No. 579 shot down by 4 Me109 on May 14, 1940.      

 

 

Stories of crews

Crews of Group
Names of crew members
Rank
Function
Informations
Crew
 BENECH Auguste
Staff-Sergeant
Pilot
 Potez 63-11 n° 381 : Shot down by German Fighters on May 14, 1940. Lieutenant BERTHEUX and Sergeant-Chief BENECH are killed. Master Corporal MARTIN, seriously injured, is taken prisoner.
BERTHEUX Charles
Lieutenant
Observer
MARTIN Paul
Master-Corporal
Machine Gunner
Crew
 MARRAST Marcelin
Captain
Pilot
 Potez 63-11 n° 579 : Shot down byGerman Fighters on May 14, 1940 as he returns to his base. The crew are killed.
LEVASSEUR Claude
Sub-Lieutenant
Observer
MOUGNE André
Sergeant
Machine Gunner

 

Airfield

Airfields
Period of use of airfields
Names
County
Gap - Tallard
05 - Hautes Alpes
September 3, 1939
La Malmaison
02 - Aisne
September 6, 1939
Gap - Tallard
05 - Hautes Alpes
October 17, 1939
Valence Chabeuil
26 - Drôme
February 28, 1940
Tournes Belval
08 - Ardennes
April 15, 1940
Vivaise
02 - Aisne
May 12, 1940
Compiègne
60 - Oise
May 16, 1940
Tours Parçay-Meslay / Mettray
37 - Indre et Loire
May 17, 1940
Moizay - Le Grand Pressigny
37 - Indre et Loire
May 22, 1940
Amboise
37 - Indre et Loire
Juny 14, 1940
Poitiers
86 - Vienne
Juny 15, 1940
Cère
40 - Landes
Juny 17, 1940
Abos
64 - Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Juny 19, 1940

Click on the map to enlarge :
Itinerary of the GAO 547

 

 

Aircrafts

The GAO 547 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 :

  • 2 Potez 63-11

 

Casualties

Crewmen killed
5
Lieutenant BERTHEUX (Combat)
May 14, 1940
Staff-Sergeant BENECH (Combat)
May 14, 1940
Captain MARRAST (Combat)
May 14, 1940
Sergeant MOUGNE (Combat)
May 14, 1940
Sub-Lieutenant LEVASSEUR (Combat)
May 14, 1940
Crewmen injured
1
Master-Corporal MARTIN (Combat)
May 14, 1940
Crewmen prisoner
1
Master-Corporal MARTIN
May 14, 1940

 

Sources

- 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