''Capitaine'' René Doumer (October 31, 1887 – April 26, 1917) was a French

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 seven confirmed aerial victoriesThe Aerodrome websit
René Doumer
Retrieved on 22 June 2014. and four unconfirmed combat claims.''Over the Front: The Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918'', p. 153

Biography

Born on October 31, 1887, René Doumer was one of the eight children of

Paul Doumer Joseph Athanase Doumer, commonly known as Paul Doumer (; 22 March 18577 May 1932), was a French politician who served as the President of France from June 1931 until his assassination in May 1932. He is described as "the Father of French Indochin ...

(President of France 1931–1932) and Blanche Doumer (née Richel). He was a professional lieutenant when

began, having been a

chasseur ''Chasseur'' ( , ), a French term for "hunter", is the designation given to certain regiments of French and Belgian light infantry () or light cavalry () to denote troops trained for rapid action. History This branch of the French Army o ...

since 1908. He was seriously wounded on 17 September 1914 in circumstances that won him the ''

Legion d'Honneur 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 ...

''. After recovery, he transferred to aviation. His first assignment was to fly a

Caudron The Société des Avions Caudron was a French aircraft company founded in 1909 as the Association Aéroplanes Caudron Frères by brothers Gaston and René Caudron. It was one of the earliest aircraft manufacturers in France and produced planes for ...

for Escadrille 64. He scored his first two victories with this unit, on 19 and 30 March 1916. He transferred to a

Nieuport Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars. History Beginnings Originally formed as Nieuport-Duplex in ...

fighter unit next, ''Escadrille 76''. He would rack up five more wins between 23 October 1916 and 28 March 1917. He would also succeed to command of ''Escadrille 76''. He was killed by Erich Hahn on 26 April 1917.

List of aerial victories

Source: 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 ...

Sources of information

References

*''Nieuport Aces of World War 1.'' Norman Franks. Osprey Publishing, 2000. , . * 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. . 1887 births 1917 deaths French World War I flying aces French military personnel killed in World War I Children of presidents of France {{france-mil-bio-stub