Pierre Pouyade
Encyclopedia
Pierre Pouyade was a French Air Force general and one of the commanders of the Normandie-Niemen squadron.
from 1924 to 1928. In 1930 he entered Saint Cyr but after two years decided to pursue a career in the Air Force. He was commissioned as a pilot in the Versailles Air Academy in 1934. Lieutenant Pouyade served in the 6th Fighter Wing at Chartres
Airfield from 1935 to 1937 and was then transferred to the Reims
-based 13th Fighter Wing. On 15 June 1939 he was promoted to Captain.
he served as commander of a Potez 630 night fighter squadron. On 2 June 1940, after destroying an enemy He-111, he was shot down and wounded. He remained in the Vichy French Air Force
.
On 23 November 1940, he was posted to French Indochina
as a fighter squadron commander. The colony, nominally administered by the Governor General Jean Decoux
, was practically under Japanese rule
in the aftermath of the 1940 Franco-Thai War. Pouyade was ordered to engage any Chinese Air Force or 'Flying Tigers
' planes encountered.
On 2 October 1942 Pouyade deserted, stealing the Japanese air defense plans for the region. He took off from Bach Mai Airfield
in a Potez 25
and flew to China, crash-landing near Kunming
. There he made contact with the Free French delegation in Chongqing
, which arranged for him to travel to London
. The Vichy Government sentenced him to death in absentia for his desertion.
, General Martial Valin, introduced him to Charles De Gaulle
, who assigned him to recruit volunteers for the Normandie squadron, a Soviet-based Free French Air Force unit which took part in the combat operations on the Eastern Front
.
Pouyade himself was sent to the Soviet Union
to participate in the fighting as chief of an escadrille in the unit, arriving in June 1943. On 18 July, after the Normandie-Niemen commander Jean Tulsane was shot down in a battle over Oryol
and killed, Pouyade replaced him. Under his leadership the unit took part in the battles for Belarus
. On 21 July 1944, after its participation in Operation Bagration, the unit was renamed Normandie-Niemen, for its contribution to the campaign in the eponymous river's area. They were later involved in the fighting over Poland
and East Prussia
, as part of General Georgi Zakharov
's 303rd Air Army.
On 11 November 1944 Pouyade was relieved from his duty as commander and replaced by Louis Delfino
. He returned to the now-liberated France where he was severely injured in a car accident in January 1945. After recovering, he returned to active duty at April. When the war ended he held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and had scored eight solo and two group kills in 178 sorties.
's air attache, a post which he held for three years. From 1950 to 1953 he was the military attache in the French Embassy in Argentina
. Afterwards he served as an instructor in the NATO Defense College
. In 1956 Brigadier General Pouyade retired from the French Armed Forces.
After his discharge he worked as an advisor on Soviet matters in the French arms company CSIAé (Sindicate of Aerospace Industries) and as the director of the overseas department in RICOM. On 9 February 1966 he replaced Jean Charbonnel as the Union for the New Republic's deputy for Corrèze
in the French National Assembly
. From March 1967 until April 1973 he held the same post for Var. Pouyade chaired the Franco-Soviet Friendship Association and was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize
by the Soviet government during 1976. He died from cancer in 1979, and his ashes were scattered off the coast of Toulon
.
Early life
Pouyade was born into a military family and studied in the Prytanée National MilitairePrytanée National Militaire
The Prytanée National Militaire, originally Collège Royal Henry-Le-Grand, is a French school managed by the military, offering regular secondary education as well as special preparatory school classes, equivalent in level to the first years of university, for students who wish to enter French...
from 1924 to 1928. In 1930 he entered Saint Cyr but after two years decided to pursue a career in the Air Force. He was commissioned as a pilot in the Versailles Air Academy in 1934. Lieutenant Pouyade served in the 6th Fighter Wing at Chartres
Chartres
Chartres is a commune and capital of the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is located southwest of Paris.-Geography:Chartres is built on the left bank of the Eure River, on a hill crowned by its famous cathedral, the spires of which are a landmark in the surrounding country...
Airfield from 1935 to 1937 and was then transferred to the Reims
Reims
Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
-based 13th Fighter Wing. On 15 June 1939 he was promoted to Captain.
World War II
During the Battle of FranceBattle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
he served as commander of a Potez 630 night fighter squadron. On 2 June 1940, after destroying an enemy He-111, he was shot down and wounded. He remained in the Vichy French Air Force
Vichy French Air Force
The Vichy French Air Force was the aerial branch of the armed forces of Vichy France - the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers following the defeat of France by Germany in 1940....
.
On 23 November 1940, he was posted to French Indochina
French Indochina
French Indochina was part of the French colonial empire in southeast Asia. A federation of the three Vietnamese regions, Tonkin , Annam , and Cochinchina , as well as Cambodia, was formed in 1887....
as a fighter squadron commander. The colony, nominally administered by the Governor General Jean Decoux
Jean Decoux
Jean Decoux was a French politician, who was the Governor-General of French Indochina from 1940 to 1945, representing the Vichy French government.-Biography:Decoux was born in Bordeaux...
, was practically under Japanese rule
Vietnam during World War II
World War II was an event as decisive to Vietnam as the French taking of Đà Nẵng in 1858. Nationalist sentiments intensified in Vietnam, especially during and after the First World War, but all the uprisings and tentative efforts failed to obtain any concessions from the French overseers...
in the aftermath of the 1940 Franco-Thai War. Pouyade was ordered to engage any Chinese Air Force or 'Flying Tigers
Flying Tigers
The 1st American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force in 1941–1942, famously nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was composed of pilots from the United States Army , Navy , and Marine Corps , recruited under presidential sanction and commanded by Claire Lee Chennault. The ground crew and headquarters...
' planes encountered.
On 2 October 1942 Pouyade deserted, stealing the Japanese air defense plans for the region. He took off from Bach Mai Airfield
Bach Mai Airfield
Bach Mai Airfield is a disused military airport in Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi, Vietnam, located along modern-day Le Trong Tan street. It was constructed by the French in 1917 and used by French forces until 1954; along with Gia Lam Airbase, it was one the major logistics bases supporting French...
in a Potez 25
Potez 25
|-See also:*Aerial operations in the Chaco War-References:Heinonen, Timo Heinonen: Thulinista Hornetiin, Keski-Suomen ilmailumuseon julkaisuja 3, 1992. ISBN 951-95688-2-4.-External links:* *...
and flew to China, crash-landing near Kunming
Kunming
' is the capital and largest city of Yunnan Province in Southwest China. It was known as Yunnan-Fou until the 1920s. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of Yunnan, and is the seat of the provincial government...
. There he made contact with the Free French delegation in Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
, which arranged for him to travel to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The Vichy Government sentenced him to death in absentia for his desertion.
Free French Air Force
After a five-month long journey through India, Africa and the United States he reached Britain in February 1943. The commander of the Free French Air ForceFree French Air Force
The Free French Air Force was the air arm of the Free French Forces during the Second World War.-Fighting for Free France — the FAFL in French North Africa :...
, General Martial Valin, introduced him to Charles De Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
, who assigned him to recruit volunteers for the Normandie squadron, a Soviet-based Free French Air Force unit which took part in the combat operations on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
.
Pouyade himself was sent to the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
to participate in the fighting as chief of an escadrille in the unit, arriving in June 1943. On 18 July, after the Normandie-Niemen commander Jean Tulsane was shot down in a battle over Oryol
Oryol
Oryol or Orel is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow...
and killed, Pouyade replaced him. Under his leadership the unit took part in the battles for Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. On 21 July 1944, after its participation in Operation Bagration, the unit was renamed Normandie-Niemen, for its contribution to the campaign in the eponymous river's area. They were later involved in the fighting over Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
, as part of General Georgi Zakharov
Georgi Zakharov
Not to be confused with Army General Georgiy Zakharov.Georgi Nefiodovich Zakharov was a Soviet Air Force general....
's 303rd Air Army.
On 11 November 1944 Pouyade was relieved from his duty as commander and replaced by Louis Delfino
Louis Delfino
Louis Delfino was a French fighter ace in World War II and a General in the French Air Force.Delfino was born on 15 October 1912 in Nice. As a boy, his father was killed in World War I. Delfino entered Saint-Cyr military academy in September 1931, graduated, and was promoted to second lieutenant...
. He returned to the now-liberated France where he was severely injured in a car accident in January 1945. After recovering, he returned to active duty at April. When the war ended he held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and had scored eight solo and two group kills in 178 sorties.
Post-war life
In 1947 Pouyade became president Vincent AuriolVincent Auriol
Vincent Jules Auriol was a French politician who served as the first President of the Fourth Republic from 1947 to 1954. He also served as interim President of the Provisional Government from November to December 1946, making him one of only three people who were heads of state of the French...
's air attache, a post which he held for three years. From 1950 to 1953 he was the military attache in the French Embassy in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. Afterwards he served as an instructor in the NATO Defense College
NATO Defense College
NATO Defense College is an international military college for North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries located in Rome, Italy.-History:...
. In 1956 Brigadier General Pouyade retired from the French Armed Forces.
After his discharge he worked as an advisor on Soviet matters in the French arms company CSIAé (Sindicate of Aerospace Industries) and as the director of the overseas department in RICOM. On 9 February 1966 he replaced Jean Charbonnel as the Union for the New Republic's deputy for Corrèze
Corrèze
Corrèze is a department in south central France, named after the Corrèze River.The inhabitants of the department are called Corréziens or Corréziennes according to gender.-History:...
in the French National Assembly
French National Assembly
The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
. From March 1967 until April 1973 he held the same post for Var. Pouyade chaired the Franco-Soviet Friendship Association and was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize
Lenin Peace Prize
The International Lenin Peace Prize was the Soviet Union's equivalent to the Nobel Peace Prize, named in honor of Vladimir Lenin. It was awarded by a panel appointed by the Soviet government, to notable individuals whom the panel indicated had "strengthened peace among peoples"...
by the Soviet government during 1976. He died from cancer in 1979, and his ashes were scattered off the coast of Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
.
External links
- Pierre Pouyade on Pobeda.by.