Cleo Francis Pineau on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Lieutenant Cleo Francis Pineau (23 July 1893—29 May 1972) was an American
Retrieved 18 February 2010. He was a renowned motorcycle racer both before and after the war. He later became an executive in the steel industry.
Pineau was the son of Thomas L. and Adele Gstalder Pineau. He was a restless youth, and dropped out of school in sixth grade. He was a motorcycle racer before World War I. He raced
He joined the Royal Flying Corps in December 1917, and trained at the Curtis Aviation School in Buffalo, New York. He was assigned to
Retrieved 18 February 2010. Pineau did not leave aviation behind. He was instrumental in founding the Williamsport Regional Airport, Williamsport-Lycoming County Airport, and fostered it through his connections in the aviation community, including a friendship with
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
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 six aerial victories.The Aerodrome websitRetrieved 18 February 2010. He was a renowned motorcycle racer both before and after the war. He later became an executive in the steel industry.
Early life
Pineau was the son of Thomas L. and Adele Gstalder Pineau. He was a restless youth, and dropped out of school in sixth grade. He was a motorcycle racer before World War I. He raced Flying Merkel
The Flying Merkel was a motorcycle of the American company Merkel in Milwaukee, which relocated later to Middletown, Ohio.Jerry Hatfield: Standard Catalog of American Motorcycles. 1898–1981. Krause Publications, 2006, ., pp. 378–384 The motorcy ...
and Indian Motorcycle
Indian Motorcycle (or ''Indian'') is an American brand of motorcycles owned and produced by automotive manufacturer Polaris Inc.
s, once defeating Barney Oldfield
Berna Eli "Barney" Oldfield (January 29, 1878 – October 4, 1946) was a pioneer American racing driver. His name was "synonymous with speed in the first two decades of the 20th century". He was the winner of the inaugural List of American ope ...
. He also rode in the "Globe of Death" motordrome as a vaudeville performer. During 1914 and 1915, he rode as a professional for the Flying Merkel team.
World War I
He joined the Royal Flying Corps in December 1917, and trained at the Curtis Aviation School in Buffalo, New York. He was assigned to No. 210 Squadron RAF
No. 210 Squadron was a Royal Air Force unit established in the First World War. Disbanded and reformed a number of times in the ensuing years, it operated as a fighter squadron during the First World War and as a maritime patrol squadron duri ...
on 2 June 1918. Between 6 September and 8 October 1918, he used a Sopwith Camel
The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the b ...
to destroy four 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 and drive down two others. Following his sixth win, he was shot down by a Fokker Triplane near Roulers
Roeselare (; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke.
The name of the city is derived from two Germ ...
and fell into captivity as a prisoner of war.
Postwar
Pineau went back to motorcycle racing in the 1920s, winning many world motordrome records.Williamsport (PA) Sun-Gazette, 30 May 1972, page no. unknownRetrieved 18 February 2010. Pineau did not leave aviation behind. He was instrumental in founding the Williamsport Regional Airport, Williamsport-Lycoming County Airport, and fostered it through his connections in the aviation community, including a friendship with
Wiley Post
Wiley Hardeman Post (November 22, 1898 – August 15, 1935) was an American aviator during the Aviation between the World Wars, interwar period and the first aviator, pilot to fly solo around the world. Known for his work in high-altitude flyi ...
.
He began the Radiant Steel company in 1928, as a spinoff from Darling Valve and Manufacturing Company. By 1948, he was its president; he served in this capacity until he retired in 1969. He died in 1972.
See also
*List of World War I flying aces from the United States
The following is a list of flying aces from the United States of America who served in World War I.
Overview
Even before the United States entry into World War I in April 1917, many Americans volunteered to serve in the armed forces of Great B ...
References
Bibliography
* ''Above the Trenches: a Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915–1920.'' Christopher F. Shores, Norman L. R. Franks, Russell Guest. Grub Street, 1990. , . * ''Over The Front: The Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918 ''. Franks, Norman and Frank Bailey. Grub Street Publishing, 2008. * ''Williamsport: Boomtown on the Susquehanna''. Robin Van Auken, Louis E Hunsinger. Arcadia Publishing, 2003. , . {{DEFAULTSORT:Pineau, Cleo 1893 births 1972 deaths American World War I flying aces