Georges Félix Madon (28 July 1892 – 11 November 1924) was the fourth ranked Frenchace pilot of the First World War.[1] His lengthy career and wide variety of aviation experiences were remarkable.
Madon was born in Bizerte, Tunisia, and was athletic from an early age. He was short but had exceptional strength and posture. He boxed and played football.[2]
Madon first became interested in aviation at the age of 15, when he made an unsuccessful attempt to build his own craft.[3] He had quit school to get over an attack of malaria. After building models and kites, he fabricated his own bicycle-powered "aviette".
His desire to fly led him to attempt to become a pilot for the Ottoman Empire. When that failed, he enlisted in the First Engineering Regiment in Versailles, and ended up as a cook. He repeatedly requested pilot's training.[4]
Aerial service
He ultimately qualified as a pilot in June 1911, after 19 lessons. On 12 March 1912, he enlisted in the French military and received his military pilot's license at Avord, France, in January 1913.[1] Although only a corporal, he was one of France's most experienced military pilots. He originally flew reconnaissance and night-time bombing missions while assigned to fly prewar Bleriots with Escadrille (squadron) BL30. The night flying missions were some of the first ever, and his experience probably accounted for this assignment. Certainly it saved his life, when on 30 October 1914, his engine was destroyed by a direct hit from 77mm cannon fire. It took exceptional skill to coax the Bleriot to a dead stick landing against the wind within French lines.[2]
In April 1915, thrown off course by heavy fog, Madon flew into Swiss air space while qualifying upon a new 80 horsepower (60kW) Farman, and was interned for several months.[3] It took him two tries to escape, but he freed himself in December by chloroforming and kidnapping his guard. His reward was a court-martial and 60 days confinement.
He was then posted to Escadrille MF218 as a sergeant directing artillery fire. He requested transfer to a fighter squadron.[2]
After retraining at Pau and Cazaux, he was posted to fly Nieuports with N38 on 1 September 1916.[2][5] He scored his first victory on the 28th. By the year's end, he was up to four and had been promoted to adjutant.[1]
Madon began the new year by strafing an enemy locomotive to a halt. Later, on 2 July 1917, he was wounded in action when he collided with an enemy aircraft and crashed. By then, he had 12 victories. The following month, he was commissioned a sub-lieutenant. By October, his confirmed score was 17, with 20 unconfirmed. He was said to have returned with blood and brains on his plane's propeller three times; another time, he brought home the glasses from an enemy observer's face stuck in his plane's wire bracing.[2]
By March 1918, his personal score stood at 25 confirmed.[1] He was appointed to command Escadrille Spa38, which was re-equipped with new Spad XIIIs. Although principally a photo reconnaissance unit, Spa38 aggressively defended itself. They lived up to the motto they adopted from their commander: "Whoever rubs against me gets pricked". They also adopted his black thistle insignia on their planes.
By war's end, he was credited with 41 confirmed victories and 64 probables. About the latter, he once nonchalantly remarked: "The Boche knows his losses." His score of 41 still ranked him fourth among all French pilots.[5]
In an ironic twist, he was promoted to temporary captain on the last day of the war, Armistice Day, 1918.[1] In an era when fighter aces' careers were commonly measured in months, he had had a two-year string of victories. With seven years of flying experience, he was one of the world's most experienced aviators by the war's end.
Later years
Madon stayed in aviation after the war ended. In 1922, he flew a radically designed racing monoplane scheduled for the Coupe-Deutsch Race. The Simplex monoplane had a 320 horsepower (240kW) Hispano-Suiza engine crammed into a short fuselage; pilot view was seriously limited by a rearward seating behind a barrel radiator. Madon crashed the plane during a test flight and suffered severe injuries.[6]
Precisely six years after Armistice Day, at age 32, Madon was killed in his native Tunisia preparing for a tribute to fellow airman Roland Garros. His aircraft suffered mechanical trouble, and he gallantly crashed it into the roof of a villa rather than hit spectators.[3] He died in Tunis.
Legacy
Madon's legacy is founded on more than his experienced long service to his country and his long rise through military ranks. His score sheet included an incredible 64 probable victories. Confirmation of any sizable number of these might raise him to a score even greater than that of Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron himself.
The Avord Air Base, where he learned to fly, is named "Base Aérienne 702 Capitaine Georges Madon".[7]
Citations for decorations
"George Felix Madon, Lieutenant temporary (active) engineer, pilot aviator, officer elite fighter pilot of an indomitable energy, heroic bravery and supreme skill. Also winner in the ordinary course of committed countless battles without concern of many opponents, or the removal of our lines, never reached even a single bullet through the devastating speed of his attacks, the precision of his maneuvers, the infallibility of his shot, wounded sometimes in terrible falls, leads tirelessly by his splendid example, the squadron under his command and it shows every day with new exploits. On 11 August 1918, he slaughtered his 40th enemy plane. A injury. Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur for war. Nineteen citations. "[4]
Related Research Articles
The Armée de l'Air is the name used for the French Air Force in its native language since it was made independent of the Army in 1933. This article deals exclusively with the history of the French air force from its earliest beginnings until its destruction after the occupation of France. French naval aviation, the Aéronautique Navale is covered elsewhere.
Colonel René Paul Fonck was a French aviator who ended the First World War as the top Entente fighter ace and, when all succeeding aerial conflicts of the 20th and 21st centuries are also considered, Fonck still holds the title of "all-time Allied Ace of Aces". He received confirmation for 75 victories out of 142 claims. Taking into account his probable claims, Fonck's final tally could conceivably be nearer 100 or above. He was made an Officer of the Legion of Honor in 1918 and later a Commander of the Legion of Honor after the war, and raised again to the dignity of Grand Officer.
Charles Eugène Jules Marie Nungesser was a French ace pilot and adventurer. Nungesser was a renowned ace in France, ranking third highest in the country with 43 air combat victories during World War I.
Commandant Maurice Albert Alfred Jean Arnoux was a French World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. After the end of the First World War, he continued his aviation career during the 1930s as an air racer and aviation record setter until the Second World War. He returned to flying fighter planes during the early days of World War II, but was killed in action in 1940.
Sergeant Adolphe Alois de Gonzague Marie Hubert Ghislain du Bois d'Aische was a Belgian World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories. Serving in the French Air Service, he was the oldest ace in the war, scoring his fifth victories when he was 43 years of age.
Lieutenant François Marie Noel Battesti was a French World War I flying ace credited with seven aerial victories.
Colonel Armand Jean Galliot Joseph de Turenne, Marquis de Turenne d'Aubepeyre was a French World War I flying ace credited with 15 aerial victories. He went on to serve his nation in the military until 1942.
Capitaine Albert Louis Deullin was a French World War I flying ace credited with twenty aerial victories. He served for the entirety of World War I. By war's end, he had risen to command of a fighter wing. He would die in a postwar flying accident.
Sous Lieutenant Jean Pie Hyacinthe Paul Jerome Casale, was a French World War I flying ace credited with thirteen aerial victories. He was one of the few aces that survived the entire course of fighter aviation in the war.
Sous lieutenant Georges Charles Marie François Flachaire was a French World War I flying ace credited with eight aerial victories. On 1 September 1939, he returned to French military service, to serve past the end of World War II.
Paul Frank Baer was an American fighter pilot for the United States Army Air Service in World War I. He was credited with nine confirmed victories and seven unconfirmed victory claims, making him the first flying ace in American military aviation history.
Sous Lieutenant Hector Eugene Joseph Garaud was a World War I flying ace credited with thirteen aerial victories. He was one of the rare aces who survived the earliest era of fighter aviation.
Sous Lieutenant Marcel Joseph Maurice Nogues was a World War I flying ace credited with thirteen aerial victories. He was an ace over enemy observation balloons, as well as enemy airplanes.
Sous lieutenant Jean Georges Bouyer was a French World War I flying ace credited with eleven confirmed aerial victories.
Lieutenant Colonel André René Celestin Herbelin was a French flying ace during World War I. He was credited with eleven confirmed aerial victories. He returned to his country's defense again during World War II, becoming part of the French Resistance against the Nazis.
Adjutant Maurice Bizot was a French World War I flying ace credited with ten confirmed aerial victories.
Sous lieutenant Louis Prosper Gros became a flying ace during World War I, scoring eight confirmed aerial victories, and possibly a ninth. He continued in aviation after the war, and defended his nation again during World War II.
Capitaine Henri Albert Péronneau was a World War I flying ace credited with nine confirmed aerial victories. He served his nation for more than four decades.
Captain Paul Augustin Edouard Barbreau was an Algerian-born French World War I flying ace credited with eight aerial victories.
Escadrille 3Les Cigognes was a famous French aviation unit during World War I. It was often referred to as the 'Stork Escadrille N3' due to its insignia. Pilots from Groupe de Combat 12 adopted the name and placed images of storks in different phases of flying on their planes.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Georges Madon.
Norman Franks and Frank W. Bailey (1992). Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the U.S. and French Air Services, 1914–1918. Grub Street, London.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
