Commandant Fernand Bonneton was a French World War I flying ace credited with nine confirmed aerial victories. He would survive the war, only to die in an aviation accident on 24 June 1922.
In the beginning of World War I, Bonneton served in the cavalry until he was wounded twice. After a voluntary transfer to the infantry, he was wounded twice more and invalided out of ground service in May 1916. He then volunteered for transfer to aviation duty. After training at Juvisy, he was stationed on the Eastern Front; in Spring 1917, he was in Romania. He was credited with his first aerial victory there on 8 August; there may have been a second, but details are not available. At any rate, he earned two Mentions in Dispatches and five foreign decorations before moving south to Italy, where he scored again on 30 October 1917.[1]
In May 1918, he was moved back to France to join Escadrille Spa69 (the 'Spa' denoting the squadron's use of Spads). On 10 July 1918, Bonneton shot down his third enemy airplane. He then began a career as a balloon buster, running off a string of five wins over them, along with another win over an enemy plane, by 22 October 1918.[1]
Postwaredit
Bonneton commanded a squadron in Poland at war's end. Then he became Commandant of 1e Fighter Groupe. While serving in this capacity, he died in a flying accident at Brussels on 24 June 1922.[1]
Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914-1918 (1992). Norman L. R. Franks, Frank W. Bailey. Grub Street. ISBN0-948817-54-2, ISBN978-0-948817-54-0.
fernand, bonneton, commandant, french, world, flying, credited, with, nine, confirmed, aerial, victories, would, survive, only, aviation, accident, june, 1922, born10, 1890la, coucourde, drôme, department, francedied24, june, 1922, 1922, aged, brussels, belgiu. Commandant Fernand Bonneton was a French World War I flying ace credited with nine confirmed aerial victories He would survive the war only to die in an aviation accident on 24 June 1922 Fernand BonnetonBorn10 May 1890La Coucourde Drome department FranceDied24 June 1922 1922 06 24 aged 32 Brussels BelgiumAllegianceFranceService wbr branchCavalry infantry aviationRankCommandantUnit82e Regiment d Infanterie Escadrille 69Commands held1e Fighter GroupeAwardsLegion d honneur Croix de Guerre Mentioned in Dispatches six times plus five foreign decorations Contents 1 Early life 2 World War I 3 Postwar 4 Endnotes 5 References 6 External linksEarly life editFernand Bonneton was born in La Coucourde north of Montelimar on 10 May 1890 1 World War I editIn the beginning of World War I Bonneton served in the cavalry until he was wounded twice After a voluntary transfer to the infantry he was wounded twice more and invalided out of ground service in May 1916 He then volunteered for transfer to aviation duty After training at Juvisy he was stationed on the Eastern Front in Spring 1917 he was in Romania He was credited with his first aerial victory there on 8 August there may have been a second but details are not available At any rate he earned two Mentions in Dispatches and five foreign decorations before moving south to Italy where he scored again on 30 October 1917 1 In May 1918 he was moved back to France to join Escadrille Spa69 the Spa denoting the squadron s use of Spads On 10 July 1918 Bonneton shot down his third enemy airplane He then began a career as a balloon buster running off a string of five wins over them along with another win over an enemy plane by 22 October 1918 1 Postwar editBonneton commanded a squadron in Poland at war s end Then he became Commandant of 1e Fighter Groupe While serving in this capacity he died in a flying accident at Brussels on 24 June 1922 1 Endnotes edit a b c d Franks Bailey p 121 References editOver the Front A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services 1914 1918 1992 Norman L R Franks Frank W Bailey Grub Street ISBN 0 948817 54 2 ISBN 978 0 948817 54 0 External links editThe Aerodrome website at http www theaerodrome com aces france bonneton php Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Fernand Bonneton amp oldid 1146535539, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
