Capitaine Gustav Douchy (1893-1943) was a French military officer who served in both World Wars. He was a

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 ...

in World War I, credited with nine confirmed aerial victories.

Early life

Gustav Douchy was born on 14 May 1893 in

Bondy Bondy () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Seine-Saint-Denis department. Name The name Bondy was recorded for the first time around AD 600 as ''Bonitiacum'', meaning " ...

World War I

Gustav Douchy was conscripted on 27 November 1913. He was assigned to aviation, and passed through two different units before being stationed at Nancy as an aircraft mechanic on 29 January 1914. On 11 May 1915, he began pilot's training at

Avord Avord () is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. It is east of Bourges, by the banks of the river Yèvre. The commune is home to Avord Air Base, the second largest French Air and Space Force base. P ...

. On 15 July, he received his Military Pilot's Brevet. On 28 August 1915, he was promoted to

Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

. On 24 October 1915, he was assigned to Escadrille 38. On 12 November 1915, he received Pilot's Brevet No. 2514. On 21 February 1916, he was promoted to

Sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

. On 25 July 1916, Douchy scored his first German two-seater reconnaissance aircraft, followed on 23 August 1916 by an

Albatros An albatross is one of a family of large winged seabirds. Albatross or Albatros may also refer to: Animals * Albatross (butterfly) or ''Appias'', a genus of butterfly * Albatross (horse) (1968–1998), a Standardbred horse Literature * Albat ...

aircraft. The two victories were instrumental in winning him the Médaille militaire, which was awarded 24 September. On 21 November 1916, he was promoted yet again, to

Adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

. On 22 January 1917, Douchy resumed scoring, downing an Albatros two-seater near Navarin. He accumulated wins one at a time until 4 September 1917, when he tallied his eighth victory. On 19 October 1917, he was awarded the Légion d'honneur. On 6 March 1918, Douchy scored his last confirmed victory. Twenty days later, he was then withdrawn from combat, and assigned test pilot duty.

Post World War I

On 23 August 1925, Douchy was elevated to Officer in the Légion d'honneur; eventually, he rose to

Commandeur Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries, t ...

. In 1926, he joined the French aircraft manufacturer

Société des Avions Michel Wibault The Wibault company or ''Société des Avions Michel Wibault'' was a French aircraft manufacturing company. Its workshops were located in Boulogne-Billancourt, Billancourt, in the Paris area. History The Wibault company was established in 1919 ...

, being employed as a

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

by them until 1929. In 1932, he joined the airline

Air Orient Air Orient was an airline based in France. Created in 1929 from the merger of ''Air Asie'' (c. 1928) and ''Air Union Lignes d’Orient'' (c. 1927 – renamed from Messageries Transaeriennes 1923), the short lived airline was merged with Air Fran ...

as an airline pilot, based in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. He transferred to

Air France Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...

when the airline was formed in 1933, returning to France in 1934. On 1 February 1942, during World War II, he was promoted to Capitaine. On 29 July 1943, he died as the result of an accident while he was in Madagascar.

Notes

References

* ''Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914-1918'' Norman L. R. Franks, Frank W. Bailey. Grub Street, 1992. . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Douchy, Gustave 1893 births 1943 deaths Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France) French World War I flying aces Commanders of the Legion of Honour French military personnel killed in World War II