Jacques Gérard

Adjutant Jacques Gérard (1890-1918) was a French World War I flying ace. He was credited with eight confirmed aerial victories before dying while battling to liberate his homeland.[1]

Jacques Gérard
Born26 October 1890
Paris, France
Died3 July 1918(1918-07-03) (aged 27)
AllegianceFrance
Service/branchInfantry; aviation
RankAdjutant
Unit113th Regiment of Infantry; Escadrille 18; Escadrille 65
AwardsMédaille militaire, Croix de guerre with five Palmes

Early life

Jacques Gérard was born in Paris, France, on 26 October 1890. He joined the 113e Regiment d'Infanterie to defend his country during World War I.[2]

World War I
A SPAD SVII in the 1920s – Jacques Gérard scored his eight victories with a similar biplane fighter aircraft.

Once he had joined the infantry, he found himself assigned as a mechanic and driver. This work brought him in contact with the truck-borne laboratories used for developing aerial photography. An assignment to Escadrille C18 of the Aéronautique Militaire followed. He subsequently entered pilot's training, and was licensed with his brevet in August 1917. He then rounded off his aviation education with advanced training at Pau and Cazaux. Upon completion of training, he was assigned to Escadrille N65 as a pilot on 10 November 1917. By this time, he had risen to corporal.[3][4]

He was promoted to sergeant on 25 January 1918, and scored his first aerial victory on 30 January while flying a Spad VII. His victory tally mounted until he became an ace on 23 April, when he downed a brace of German reconnaissance planes. This action brought him the award of the Médaille militaire. The accompanying citation read (in English translation):[5]

He...battles with great bravery, never abandoning a fight, often far and low in enemy lines, until he is out of ammunition or his adversary is conquered.[2]

On 25 June 1918, the date of his seventh confirmed victory, he was promoted to Adjutant. He would score one more confirmed victory. Then, on 3 July 1918, he was killed in action while battling five German airplanes.[2]

List of aerial victories

See also Aerial victory standards of World War I

Numbered victories in following table denote confirmed victories in chronological order. The notation "u/c" marks unconfirmed claims.

No. Date/time Aircraft Foe Result Location Notes
1 30 January 1918 Spad VII fighter serial number S4236[6] German airplane Destroyed Beine, France Victory shared with Jules Covin and two of his wingmen from Escadrille Spa31
2 31 March 1918 Spad VII[2] s/n S4236 German fighter[7] Destroyed Lagny, France Victory shared with Charles Nungesser
3 21 April 1918 Spad VII s/n S4236 German reconnaissance two-seater Destroyed Etelfay, France Victory shared with Georges Lienhart
4 23 April 1918 Spad VII s/n S4236 German reconnaissance two-seater Destroyed North of Le Ployron, France Victory shared with another French pilot
5 Spad VII s/n S4236 German reconnaissance two-seater Destroyed Rollot, France
6 6 June 1918 Spad VII s/n S4236 German airplane Destroyed Longpont, France
7 25 June 1918 Spad VII s/n S4236 German airplane Destroyed
8 28 June 1918 Spad VII s/n S4236 Albatros Destroyed Chaudun, France[2][8]
u/c Spad VII s/n S4236
u/c Spad VII[2] s/n S4236

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. ISBN 0948817542, 9780948817540.
  • Spad VII Aces of World War I: Volume 39 of Aircraft of the Aces. Jon Guttman. Osprey Publishing, 2001. ISBN 1841762229, 9781841762227.

Endnotes
  1. Jacques Gérard n. 26 octobre 1890 d. 3 juillet 1918
  2. Over the Front, p. 165.
  3. Over the Front, p. 165. Note: French aviation unit designations included a prefix denoting the equipment assigned to the unit. "C" stood for Caudron; "N" for Nieuport.
  4. Spad VII Aces, p. 35.
  5. Over the Front, p. 165. Note: Gerard was still serving in Escadrille 65, only now it had re-equipped and become Escadrille Spa65.
  6. http://www.theaerodrome.com/aircraft/serial_numbers.php?pageNum_serials=1157&totalRows_serials=17415 Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  7. Over the Front, p. 199.
  8. http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/gerard.php Retrieved 17 November 2011.
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