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Pilots and crews

 

In this section devoted to the Air Force Pilots and Crews, I wanted to pay tribute to all these men, whether famous or unknown, holding victories or not. All had the courage to face an enemy always superior in numbers, at the controls of aircrafts often outdated. Too many have left their lives in these unequal struggles, often delivered in complete self-denial.

The French soldiers on the ground often search in vain for a French cockade in the sky. Yet they were there, in high altitude fights or away from the front lines and the controversial number of "1000" victories is there to prove it. The balance sheet I achieved by summing the victories by Squadrons gives a figure of 710 safe victories and 271 probable. These German losses probably played an important part in the conduct of the Battle of Britain.

In the different sections, you can find individual cards on some of these men, or the complete lists (will they be one day?) by specialty.

Since June 2020, the list of Non-Flying Air Force personnel has been added. These men, even if they were not in direct confrontation with the enemy, have nevertheless played an essential role: the Mechanics, for example, who have achieved feats of prowess, without respite, in order to make available some aircraft, sometimes very damaged, for the missions of the next day.

To date, 3928 Men are listed in these lists, they are distributed as follows:

Flying Personnel

- Fighter aviation: 1364 men including:

1067 French pilots
176 Polish pilots
121 Czech pilots
- Bombardment : 1037 Men
-Reconnaissance : 1061 Men

Non-Flying Personnel

- Mechanics : 241 Men
- Foreign Mechanics : 21 Men
- Health, Administrative,...: 55 Men
- Air Troop : 107 Men
- Air Force General Staff : 43 Men


 

 
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