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Iouri Maksaïev (Source : Russia Beyond)

Iouri Maksaïev, one of the last Normandie-Niémen veterans, passed away on August 3, 2019. Born in 1926, he trained as a mechanic and served in the famous franco-soviet fighter regiment equipped with Yakolev Yak-3 fighters and deployed on the Eastern Front.

After the war, he remained in the armed forces until 1951 and then worked in the civilian aviation industry. He was an enthusiastic proponent of Franco-Russian friendship and traveled to France in 2015 to inaugurate the Normandie-Niémen exhibition at the Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace and also in 2017 for the 75th anniversary of the Normandie-Niémen.

Source: Russia Beyond

Continue reading]]> Gaël Taburet, the last surviving Normandie-Niémen pilot, passed away on February 10 in Southern France, aged 97. Born in 1919, Taburet enlisted in the French air force in 1938 and received his pilot’s wings in 1939.

In January 1944, he volunteered to join the Normandie  fighter regiment (later renamed Normandie-Niémen by Stalin in recognition of their contribution to the Soviet war effort) fighting on the Soviet front, joining the unit in April of the 1944. He scored his first aerial victory when he shot down a Fw 190 fighter during his first operational sortie. By the end of the conflict, he was credited with 2 confirmed aerial victories, 3 shared victories, 2 damaged and one shared damage.

After his return to France, he stayed in the air force, retiring in 1963 with the rank of colonel. With Taburet’s death, only one member of the Normandie-Niémen survives to this day: André Peyronie, who was a mechanic with the group.

Gaël Taburet’s funeral will be held on February 22 in Cannes.

Sources:

• Défens’Aéro
• Ciel de Gloire
• Ouest France

Continue reading]]> The commandant Jean Sauvage, who fought with the famous Normandie-Niémen fighter group on the Eastern Front, recently passed away aged 97.

Flying Morane-Saulnier MS. 406 fighters with GC III/3 during the Battle of France, he was credited with three shared aerial victories. He was sent to North Africa after the armistice and joined the Allied forces after the North Afircan landings in late 1942. He was credited with another shared victory during this period.

He volunteered for the “Normandie” fighter group, which he rejoined in January 1944. On October 27, 1944, he was credited with his only Easter Front victory when he shot down a Focke-Wulf Fw 190, making him an ace. (French standards for ‘acedom’ included shared victories).

He left the air force shortly after the war and became a captain with Air France.

Continue reading]]> Georges Marcelin, who served as a mechanic with the famous “Normandie-Niémen” Free French fighter group during World War Two, died yesterday at the age of 92.

In october 1943, the French mechanics of the group were replaced by Soviet mechanics and Georges Marcelin was assigned to the “Ardennes” fighter group, flying the P-40 Warhawk and later P-47 Thunderbolt.

After the war, he remained with the French air force until 1959 and worked as a physical therapist until his retirement in 1986.

Georges Marcelin was a member of the French Wing of the Commemorative Air Force and actively promoted the Normandie-Niémen’s history and heritage.

A short biography (in French) is available on the CAF French Wing’s website.

Continue reading]]> Pierre Lorillon, a fighter ace from the French Normandie-Niémen group that fought on the Russian front in World War Two, died on February 17th in Bastia (Corsica). With his death, there are now only two surviving pilots of the legendary French fighter unit: Gaël Taburet and Jean Sauvage.

Pierre Lorillon was born on May 13, 1918 in Champigny-sur-Marne, France. He first served in Marocco and was later assigned to the Normandie-Niémen group fighting in Russia. He was credited with 5 aerial victories and 3 shared ones, all acquired on the Russian front.

After the war, he served with distinction in Indochina and Algeria. He was made Grand Croix de la Légion d’Honneur by president Sarkozy in 2008.

More information (in French):

• Blog Zone Militaire
• Ciel de Gloire

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Roland de la Poype (Photo © Bernard Delfino)

Roland de la Poype, a French ace of the Normandie-Niémen group, died aged 92 at Saint-Tropez in Southern France on 23 October.

Roland Paulze d’Ivoy de la Poype, Compagnon de la Libération and Hero of the Soviet Union, was one of the first Frenchmen to rejoin General de Gaulle in June 1940. He volunteered to fight on the Eastern Front with the Free French Normandie fighter group and was credited with 16 aerial victories.

After the war, he became a successful engineer and industrialist. He created the groundbreaking DOP pyramidal container in 1952 and the all-plastic body of the Citroën Mehari. He was also the founder of the Marineland maritime sealife park in Antibes.

Source: AFP