'' Maréchal-des-logis'' Constant Frédéric Soulier 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 six confirmed aerial victoriesConstant Soulier
at theaerodrome.com. Retrieved 27 March 2010. and nine unconfirmed.

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 ...

Constant Frédéric Soulier was born in Paris on 5 September 1897.''Over the Front: The Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918'', 219 - 220 Soulier was a high school student, candidate at the

École Polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

when the war began. His first attempts to join the military were frustrated by his ill health and his minority, as he was only seventeen years old."The Making of a French Ace "
''The Grand Rapids Tribune'', 23 May 1918, on theaerodrome.com. Retrieved 10 November 2013. Soulier managed to join the artillery in March 1915, but then wangled a transfer to aviation. He began aviation training at Pau in March 1916, and was brevetted a pilot two months later. He was posted to Escadrille 26 under command of Commandant Brocard in June 1916. He began his aerial victories as a

balloon buster Balloon busters were military pilots known for destroying enemy observation balloons. These pilots were noted for their fearlessness, as balloons were stationary targets able to receive heavy defenses, from the ground and the air. Seventy-seven fl ...

, destroying a German observation balloon on 24 August 1916. He had two additional wins before he began a prolonged hospital stay in January 1917. He returned to duty in March, and in May shot down two more enemy planes. On 27 May, Soulier became the youngest ace in French service, his predecessor, Paul Sauvage, having been killed in action. Soulier returned to hospital at the end of June 1917, and remained there until December. His illness ended his combat duty. He was sent to the United States to demonstrate combat flying to American pilots. He made a favorable impression on this public relations trip, being referred to as short and boyish, but solemn and self-assured. He was attributed with 430 flying hours and 60 dogfights. But suffering

PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster, traffic collision, ...

, he discovered cocaïne in USA and became a drug addict and an alcoholic. He died prematurely at age 33, having never dropped his addictions.

Honors and awards

Médaille Militaire :"Voluntarily enlisted for the duration of the war. Has shown himself to be an excellent pursuit pilot, skillful as well as audacious. Has had numerous combats during the course of which he has downed three enemy aircraft and forced four others to fall disabled." (Médaille Militaire citation, 8 March 1917) Croix de guerre with six ''palmes'' and a ''etoile de vermeil''. Romanian ''Croix de Virtu Militaire''

Sources of information

References

* Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank (1993). ''Over the Front: The Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918''. London, UK: Grub Street Publishing. * Franks, Norman (2000). ''Nieuport Aces of World War 1: Aircraft of the Aces: Volume 33 of Osprey Aviation Series''. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. , 9781855329614.

Links

*
Complete biography, list of victoires and color profiles of his airplanes
1897 births 1933 deaths French World War I flying aces {{france-mil-bio-stub