French flying ace
Marcel Albert
(25 November 1917 – 23 August 2010) was a French
World War II
flying ace
who flew for the air forces of the Vichy government and
Free French Air Forces
, he also flew for the
Soviet Air Force
and the
Royal Air Force
.
Background
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Born on November 25th, 1917 in
Paris
, Marcel Albert grew up in a working-class family. He became a mechanic, building gearboxes for
Renault
, and was accepted for pilot training in the
French Armee de l'Air
in May 1938. After primary and advanced training, he was posted at the fighter training center in
Chartres
, where he flew
Bloch
152
,
Morane-Saulnier
MS.406
and
Hawk 75
fighters.
[1]
World War II
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In February 1940 Albert was assigned to
Groupe de Chasse I/3
, a unit operating France's top fighter, the
Dewoitine D.520
. When
German
troops invaded France in May 1940, his squadron was redeployed to the
Reims
airfield. On 14 May 1940, Albert shot down a
Do 17 bomber
and later that day, a
Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter
, although this victory was not confirmed. He also earned a probable victory over a
Heinkel He 111
bomber before the armistice.
Under the
Vichy government
, his squadron was redeployed to
Algeria
where Albert flew a few missions against the
British
forces in
Gibraltar
. On 14 October he and two other pilots
defected
and surrendered their airplanes to the British.
Having reached England, Albert joined the
RAF
and flew 47 missions in
Spitfires
with
340 Squadron
.
In late 1942, Albert joined the
Normandie fighter group
, a Free French fighter unit that was being sent to the
Soviet Union
to help fight the Germans. The Normandie group entered the fight in April 1943, flying Russian-built
Yak-1 fighters
, and later
Yak-9s
and
Yak-3s
.
Albert quickly proved to be one of Normandie's best pilots. His first kill was over a
Focke-Wulf Fw 189
on 16 June 1943. In July he claimed 3 more, and he was given command of the 1st
escadrille
on 4 September 1943. During the offensive against Eastern Prussia in October 1944, he scored 7 victories.
His score totaled 23 victories (including 15 shared)
[1]
in 262 combat missions, making him the second highest-scoring French ace of
World War II
. On 27 November 1944 he was awarded the Soviet Union's highest decoration, the Gold Star and title of "
Hero of the Soviet Union
" ? an award rarely issued to foreigners.
[2]
[3]
Postwar
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After the war Albert flew as a test pilot in 1946 and was later sent to
Czechoslovakia
as
air attache
, where he met his future wife, an employee at the American embassy. In 1948, he left the military and moved to the
United States
with his wife, and lived in
Chipley, Florida
, then his last two years in
Harlingen, Texas
, in the Rio Grande Valley.
[4]
Albert died there on 23 August 2010.
[5]
Awards
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List of credited aerial victories
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References
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External links
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