World War I exploits Charles Nungesser

1 world war exploits

1.1 enlisting in cavalry
1.2 serving in service aéronautique
1.3 undisciplined @ times
1.4 victories flying ace
1.5 wounds , injuries

world war exploits
enlisting in cavalry

when world war broke out, nungesser returned france enlisted 2e régiment de hussards. during 1 patrol, , several soldiers commandeered german mors patrol car after killing occupants. impressed superiors , subsequently awarded médaille militaire , granted request transferred service aéronautique.

serving in service aéronautique

charles nungesser wearing numerous military decorations.

as military pilot, transferred escadrille vb106. while there, in july 1915, shot down first plane, german albatros, , awarded croix de guerre. action initiated nungesser legend. on 31 july 1915, nungesser , mechanic roger pochon on standby duty. 2 took off in voisin 3las despite nungesser s assignment non-flying duties. in encounter 5 albatros two-seaters, french duo shot 1 down near nancy, france. returning airfield, nungesser placed under house arrest 8 days insubordination. decorated , forwarded training in nieuport fighters.

by time nungesser left vb106, had flown 53 bombing missions. had emblazoned @ least 1 of escadrille s planes elaborate gruesome personal insignia: freebooter s skull , crossbones , coffin 2 candles.

in november 1915, after retraining, transferred escadrille n.65 (the 65th squadron) , later attached famous lafayette escadrille, composed of american volunteers. while visiting escadrille on 1 of convalescent periods recuperating wounds, borrowed plane , shot down german while there. end of 1916, had claimed 21 air kills.

undisciplined @ times

despite being decorated pilot, nungesser placed under house arrest on more 1 occasion flying without permission. disliked strict military discipline , went paris enjoy many pleasures (such alcohol , women) possible. leading fighter pilot combat exploits against germans publicized in france. nungesser s rugged looks, flamboyant personality, , appetite danger, beautiful women, wine, , fast cars made him embodiment of stereotypical flying ace. arrive morning patrol still dressed in tuxedo d worn night before , female companion. in contrast unsociable nonetheless top french ace rené fonck, nungesser liked comrades. suffered bad crash on 6 february 1916 broke both legs , injured again many times. hobbled wounds , injuries had helped cockpit.

victories flying ace

notwithstanding these setbacks, nungesser became ace in april 1916. wounded on 19 may 1916 continued score , wounded again in june. nevertheless, finished year 21 victories. during time downed 2 german aces, hans schilling, on 4 december, , kurt haber on 20th.

the nieuport ni 17 knight of death flown c. nungesser

his silver nieuport 17 plane decorated black heart-shaped field, macabre jolly roger, , coffin , candles painted inside. had adopted title knight of death , paraphrasing french word mort ( death ), play on words german mors vehicle 1 captured cavalryman.

in 1917, nungesser had return hospital treatment of injuries managed avoid being grounded. had pushed score 30 17 august 1917, when downed second gotha bomber. injuries car crash in december got him month s respite instructor before returned flying combat escadrille 65. still flew nieuport, though squadron had re-equipped spads. may 1918, had 35 victories, including shared victory each jacques gérard , eugène camplan, , raised officer of légion d honneur.

by august 1918, made radical upgrade recent spad, spad xiii, , began win again. on 14 august, shot down 4 observation balloons wins 39 through 42. following day, shared win marcel henriot , pilot , finished war 43 official victories, third highest number among french fliers behind rené fonck , georges guynemer.

in flying career, nungesser received dozens of military decorations france, belgium, montenegro, united states of america, portugal, russia, , serbia.

wounds , injuries

by end of war, succinct summary of nungesser s wounds , injuries read: skull fracture, brain concussion, internal injuries (multiple), 5 fractures of upper jaw, 2 fractures of lower jaw, piece of anti-aircraft shrapnel imbedded [sic] in right arm, dislocation of knees (left , right), re-dislocation of left knee, bullet wound in mouth, bullet wound in ear, atrophy of tendons in left leg, atrophy of muscles in calf, dislocated clavicle, dislocated wrist, dislocated right ankle, loss of teeth, contusions numerous mention.