Marcel Haegelen

Colonel Marcel Émile Haegelen[1] (13 September 1896 – 24 May 1950), Légion d'honneur, Médaille militaire, Croix de Guerre, was a World War I French flying ace credited with 23 victories.[2]

Marcel Haeglen
Born(1896-09-13)September 13, 1896
Belfort, France
DiedMay 24, 1950(1950-05-24) (aged 53)
Hospital of Val-de-Grâce, Paris, France
Buried
Cemetery of Ris-Orangis
AllegianceFrance
Service/branchAir Service
RankColonel
AwardsLegion of Honour (Grand Officer), Médaille militaire, Croix de Guerre

Biography

He was born on 13 September 1896.

After the war, he became a test pilot for the Hanriot company. In 1931 and 1932 he won the Coupe Michelin long-distance flying competition flying the Lorraine Hanriot LH.41/2 aircraft. On the second one, he set a world record for 2000 km with a speed of 263.900 km/h.

Mobilised as fighter pilot at the beginning of World War II, lieutenant-colonel Marcel Haegelen won his 24th victory flying a Curtiss H 75, shooting down a German airplane on 14 June 1940.

After the fall of France he became a member of the French Resistance, and was arrested by the Germans in 1943 and jailed in Bourges.

When he died on 24 May 1950, he was Grand officier of Légion d'honneur.

References
  • Military record #1 and #2 on French DoD website
  • Catillon, Marcel (1997). Mémorial de l'Aéronautique : qui était qui ?. 1. Nouvelles Éditions Latines. ISBN 2-7233-0529-5. Catillon, Marcel (2004). Mémorial de l'Aéronautique : qui était qui ?. 2. Nouvelles Éditions Latines. ISBN 2-7233-2053-7.

End notes
  1. Real identity and exact surname attested by Military Records from French Flying Service of First World War.
  2. http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/haegelen.php


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.