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Vélizy-Villacoublay's famous aviators / Georges Guynemer
Georges Guynemer was born in Paris on December 24, 1894 and died in Poelkapelle, Belgium on September 11, 1917. He was the most famous French war pilot of the First World War, although he was not the greatest ace. He trained at Vélizy-Villacoublay.
Throughout his career ' which featured 53 confirmed victories, some thirty probable victories and seven defeats in air combat - this 23-year-old hero of French aviation was assigned to No. 3 Squadron, known as the "Storks Squadron", the French Air Force fighter unit credited with the most victories during the 1914-1918 war.
The President of the Republic awarded him the Croix de Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in December 1915. Maréchal Franchet d'Espérey awarded him the Officer's Cross of the French Legion of Honour in July 1917.
Guynemer was inspired by ancient chivalry during his fighting, sparing the second-greatest German ace, Ernst Udet, whose gun was broken.
Showing unrivalled courage and enthusiasm each time he flew, without ever seeking his own protection, he was killed in aerial combat on September 11, 1917 over Poelkapelle, Belgium. The Germans claimed that he was shot down by Kurt Wisserman. His body, which fell in the middle of no man's land, was obliterated by British barrage fire, as were the remains of his plane, and a burial was impossible.
In the 1920s, the five Belgian aces (Jacquet, Willy Coppens de Houthulst, Edmond Thieffry, André de Meulemeester and Jan Olieslagers) erected a monument in his memory, close to where he is thought to have fallen in Poelkapelle.
His final entry in Armed Forces records reads: "Killed in action on September 11, 1917. A true hero who fell from the sky in his hour of glory, after three years of relentless fighting. He will remain the purest symbol of human virtues: unbridled determination, untamed energy, sublime courage. Driven by the most unshakeable faith in victory, he leaves French soldiers with an imperishable memory exalting the spirit of sacrifice, sure to inspire emulation of the noblest sort."
