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Air Observation Group GAO 582

Historical

On the date of the outbreak of the German attack of May 10, 1940, GAO 582, undergoing transformation and training, is attached to the Air Cooperation Forces of the ZOAA (Zone d'Aériennes Alpes).

Staff

Commanders of the group GAO 582
Captain HENRY
      

 

Personnel

Pilots and crew of the Group
Names of crew members
Rank
Function
Informations
Civil-statut
Photos
Citations
BRUGGER Jean - Robert
Sub-Lieutenant
Pilot
 Jean BRUGGER enlisted in April 1939. He successively joined the flying schools at Bourges, Avord and Fez. Assigned to GAO 582, he took part in the May-June 1940 campaign. After the Armistice, he was withdrawn to AFN and assigned to GAR I/22. He managed to escape from AFN via Gibraltar and joined the FAFL on 11 March 1941. A qualified RAF pilot, he was posted to the Levant in October 1942. Jean BRUGGER held several posts in AFN in 1944-45 before being struck off in September 1946.
Born 8 September 1918 in Neuchâtel (Switzerland)
Died in Cannes (06 - Alpes-Maritimes) on 25 November 2011
    
BUSSCHAERT Pierre
Sergeant
Pilot
 Killed on June 3, 1940 during a training flight: aircraft crashes landing on board Potez 63-11      
CORNU Jean
Staff-Sergeant
Machine Gunner
Killed on June 3, 1940 during a training flight: aircraft crashes landing on board Potez 63-11      
GRUNINGRE Henri
Lieutenant
Observer
 Killed on June 3, 1940 during a training flight: aircraft crashes landing on board Potez 63-11      
HENRI
Captain
Commander of the Group
      
PONCET Gilbert
Sub-Lieutenant
Pilot
 Gilbert PONCET studied mathematics at university. He underwent advanced military training in 1934 and was drafted into the French Air Force in 1936. He was posted to Morocco with GAO 582 and joined the Fez flying school. He was demobilised in 1940, recalled in 1943 and posted to Marrakech before going to Great Britain. He was assigned to heavy bombing squadron 346, with which he carried out a tour of operations. Demobilised in 1945, Gilbert PONCET served several periods in reserve until 1961. He left the French Air Force in 1966 with the rank of Reserve Lieutenant-Colonel.
Born on 12 October 1914 in Granville (50 - Manche)
Died in Grenoble (38 - Isère) on 22 May 2003
    

 

 

Stories of crews

Crews of Group
Names of crew members
Rank
Function
Informations
Crew
 BUSSCHAERT Pierre
Sergeant
Pilot
 Potez 63-11 n° ? : Destroyed by accident on June 3, 1940. The crew is killed.
GRUNINGRE Henri
Lieutenant
Observer
CORNU Jean
Staff-Sergeant
Machine Gunner

 

Airfield

Airfields
Period of use of airfields
Names
County
Fez
Morocco
September 3, 1939
Valence Chabreuil
26 - Drôme
May 10, 1940
Connantre
51 - Marne
Juny 1940

Click on the map to enlarge :
Itinerary of the GAO 582

 

Aircrafts

The GAO 582 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 :

  • ? Potez 63-11

 

Casualties

Crewmen killed
3
Lieutenant GRUNINGRE (Accident)
Juny 3, 1940
Sergeant BUSSCHAERT (Accident)
Juny 3, 1940
Staff-Sergeant CORNU (Accident)
Juny 3, 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