Adjutant Auguste Baux (9 July 1892 – 17 July 1918) was a French 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.

Biography

Baux first served in the infantry, and on 3 October 1914 during the fighting on the Western Front was taken prisoner by the Germans. However he managed to escape and returned to the French lines. He later transferred to the Army's aviation service, gaining Military Pilot's Certificate No. 5484, and was then posted to ''Escadrille N 103'' on 4 May 1917, flying Nieuports. The unit was renamed ''Escadrille SPA 103'' in April 1917, after re-equipping with SPAD aircraft. Baux's first confirmed aerial victory came on 16 March 1918 after shooting down an Albatros D.V fighter over

Witry-lès-Reims Witry-lès-Reims (, literally ''Witry near Reims'') is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Marne department The following is a list of the 610 communes in the French departmen ...

. On 22 March he and two other pilots were jointly credited with shooting down a Rumpler two-seater reconnaissance aircraft over

Rilly-la-Montagne Rilly-la-Montagne () is one of the Communes of the Marne department in north-eastern France. The railway tunnel in the area was used as a World War II V-1 flying bomb storage depot. Rilly-la-Montagne station has rail connections to Reims and Ép ...

. On 22 April Baux and Sgt Gilbert Loup claimed two fighters shot down over Laval, but their claims were denied. On 2 June his victory over an enemy aircraft over Moreuil was confirmed, and he gained two more confirmed victories (though details remain obscure) before his death in combat over Cuchery on 17 July 1918. Baux was awarded the Military Medal and the Croix de Guerre with four palms. Auguste Baux and SPADXIII.jpg, alt=Auguste Baux stands next to his SPAD, Auguste Baux stands next to his SPAD. Auguste Baux and mates and SPADXIII.jpg, alt=Auguste Baux stands next to his SPAD with mates, Auguste Baux stands next to his SPAD, with his squadronmates.

Biography

References

Further reading