Sainte-Gemmes-d'Andigné
Sainte-Gemmes-d'Andigné (, literally ''Sainte-Gemmes- of Andigné'') is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 15 December 2016, it was merged into the new commune Segré-en-Anjou Bleu.French website on ''Escadrille 111' Retrieved 25 August 2020 in 1897, sous Lieutenant Antoine Joseph Henri Louis Paillard was a World War I
flying ace
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...
credited with five aerial victories and was awarded three decorations including the
Legion of Honor
The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...
.
Biography
See also
Aerial victory standards of World War I
During World War I, the national air services involved developed their own methods of assessing and assigning credit for aerial victories. For various reasons, all belligerents engaged in overclaiming aerial victories to a greater or lesser degre ...
Antoine Joseph Henri Louis Paillard was born in
Sainte-Gemmes-d'Andigné
Sainte-Gemmes-d'Andigné (, literally ''Sainte-Gemmes- of Andigné'') is a former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 15 December 2016, it was merged into the new commune Segré-en-Anjou Bleu. on 23 August 1897.The Aerodrome website on Paillar Retrieved 26 August 2020
Paillard served as a Breguet Aviation, Breguet bomber pilot in ''Escadrille BR.132''. On 1 May 1918, he shot down a German airplane for his first victory. Then, on 14 September 1918, Paillard was one of four French pilots combating four German
Fokker D.VII
The Fokker D.VII is a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the '' Fokker-Flugzeugwerke''. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII ...
s, along with Jean-François Jannekeyn. The four French bomber aircrews managed to shoot down all four German fighters; all French participants were credited with four victories each. Paillard was awarded the '' Medaille Militaire'' for his valor,The Aerodrome website for the M Retrieved 26 August 2020 as well as the ''
Croix de Guerre
The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...
''.
His daughter Gisele Paillard was born on 23 May 1920.