''Capitaine'' (later Colonel) Roger Poupon 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 eight aerial victories.The Aerodrome website

Retrieved 29 August 2020

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 ...

Roger Poupon was born in

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, , ; or simply ; ) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population of 147,284 (2020). Its metropolitan area () had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 ...

, France on 1 December 1888.''Over the Front: The Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918'', p. 209 Poupon performed his required military service as an enlisted cavalryman from 1 October 1909 to 24 September 1911, then was passed to the reserves. On 1 August 1914, as part of the French mobilization for World War I, he was recalled to active duty. By 13 October 1914, he had been commissioned as a temporary '' Sous lieutenant''. He was confirmed in this rank on 5 January 1916. On 6 November 1916, he was forwarded for pilot's training. On 26 January 1917, he graduated with his Military Pilot's Brevet. After advanced instruction, he was posted to a combat unit, '' Escadrille N.37'', on 11 April 1917. He would help shoot down a German

observation balloon An observation balloon is a type of balloon that is employed as an aerial platform for gathering intelligence and spotting artillery. The use of observation balloons began during the French Revolutionary Wars, reaching their zenith during World ...

and an enemy airplane in March 1918. On 18 June 1918, he assumed command of the ''escadrille''. He would share six more victories with his wingmates, who included such fellow aces as

Bernard Barny de Romanet Lieutenant Bernard Henri Barny de Romanet (28 January 1894 – 23 September 1921) was a French World War I flying ace credited with 18 aerial victories. Barny de Romanet was born in Saint-Maurice-de-Satonnay, Saône-et-Loire, and was educated a ...

and

Fernand Guyou Sous Lieutenant Fernand Eugene Guyou was a World War I flying ace credited with twelve aerial victories. Early life Fernand Eugene Guyou was born in Champigny-sur-Marne, France on 7 January 1891. World War I service Infantry service Guyou was se ...

. On 3 October 1918, he was promoted to ''Capitaine''. By war's end, he had earned 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 ...

'', the ''

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

'' with five ''palmes'', two ''etoiles de vermeil'', two ''etoiles de argent'', and an ''etoile de bronze''. He had also been

Mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

six times. By 12 September 1976, when he died in

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

, he had reached the rank of Colonel.

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. . 1888 births 1976 deaths People from Clermont-Ferrand French World War I flying aces Knights of the Legion of Honour {{france-mil-bio-stub