René Fonck

Infobox Military Person
name= René Paul Fonck
lived= March 271894 - June 181953
placeofbirth= Saulcy-sur-Meurthe, France
placeofdeath= Paris, France


caption= René Fonck wearing the "Légion d'honneur"
allegiance= France
serviceyears= 1914-1918
rank= Capitaine
branch= Infantry, French Air Service
unit= C47, Spa103
awards= Légion d'honneur
Médaille Militaire
Croix de Guerre
Military Cross
Military Medal

René Paul Fonck (27 March1894–18 June1953) was a French aviator who ended the Great War as the top Allied fighter ace. His 75 victories (72 solo and three shared and a further 52 'probable' victories) [ 'Over the Front', N. Franks & F. Bailey, Grub Street , 1992] also ranked him second only to Manfred von Richthofen, (80 planes confirmed shot down) as the top ace of the conflict. When all succeeding conflicts are considered he remains the top scoring Allied Ace to date. Taking into account his probable claims, Fonck's final tally could conceivably be nearer 100. He was made an Officer of the Legion of Honor in 1918 and later a Commander of the Legion of Honor after the war.

Early life

Fonck was born on 27 March 1894 in the village of Saulcy-sur-Meurthe in the Vosges region of north eastern France. Although he had been interested in aviation from his youth, he declined an assignment in the air service when conscripted on 22 August 1914, instead choosing service in the trenches as a combat engineer. His duties consisted of digging trenches, and of road and bridge repair.

Military career

He eventually changed his mind and was trained at St. Cyr in the French fashion on a Penguin, a flightless aircraft that gave the sensation of flying while still on the ground. He completed pilot training in May 1915 and flew Caudron observation aircraft with "Escadrille" C 47.

On 25 May 1916 Fonck's observer was killed by an anti-aircraft shell burst, a fate that almost befell Fonck a few weeks later. Fonck claimed his first enemy aircraft in July 1916, but his triumph was unconfirmed. On August 6, he attacked a German Rumpler C-III, and by maneuvering over and around the reconnaissance plane, and while staying out of its fields of fire, forced it lower and lower until the German crew landed behind French lines. It was his first verified victory, though shared with his observer, Lieutenant Thiberge. It brought him the Medaille Militaire in late August 1916.

On 17 March 1917, Fonck scored the second time, downing an Albatros in conjunction with his observer, Sgt Huffer. By this time, Fonck had amassed over 500 hours flight time, an incredible amount in those early days of aviation.

On 15 April 1917, at age 23, Fonck received a coveted invitation to join the famous "Escadrille les Cigognes". Group de Combat 12, with its four escadrilles (or squadrons), was the world's first fighter wing. The leading French ace Georges Guynemer served at the time in one of its escadrilles, N3, and had just scored his 36th victory.

Fonck was assigned to another escadrille in the group, Spa 103. Flying SPADs, he quickly made a name for himself, attaining ace status (claiming 5 or more kills) by 13 May. He picked off another victim on 12 June, then went on hiatus until 9 August. He scored twice more in August, on the 21st and 22nd. On September 12th, he even went to the extreme of tearing the barograph out of that day's victim, his twelfth, so its readout would confirm his combat report. On the 14th, he killed the pilot of a German observation plane and watched as the plane inverted and dropped the thrashing observer almost through the wing of Fonck's Spad. On 30 September, he and Adjutant Dupre jointly shot down a German two-seater. The dead pilot's identification papers were salvaged from his corpse. He turned out to be Kurt Wisseman, who had shot down Guynemer. A journalist reported that Fonck had boasted of revenging the death of his good friend Guynemer. Given Guynemer's innate shyness, Fonck's aloofness, and their assignment to different squadrons, it is unlikely they were more than acquaintances.

September and October had added four victories apiece to Fonck's score. Thus, by year's end, Fonck had raised his tally to 19, had been commissioned as an officer, and had received the "Légion d'honneur".

Fonck only got better. Known for his clinical professionalism, he applied mathematical principles to combat flying and his engineering knowledge regarding the capabilities of the aircraft he flew was unsurpassed among his fellow pilots. Fonck took few chances, patiently stalking his intended victims from higher altitudes. He then used deflection shooting with deadly accuracy on enemy pilots at close range, resulting in an astonishing economy of ammunition per kill. His idea of aerial combat was not a dogfight, but a surgically merciless assassination.

Fonck, like France's leading ace, Capt. Georges Guynemer, flew a limited production SPAD XII fighter, distinguished by the presence of a hand-loaded 37mm Puteaux cannon firing through the propeller boss, mounted as a "moteur-canon", with which he is apparently credited with downing 11 German aircraft. This was made possible by the gear-reduction version of the particular Hispano-Suiza V8 SOHC engine first used in that model of SPAD fighter aircraft, the Hispano-Suiza HS-8Bb, which offset the now-hollow propeller shaft above the crankshaft axis. Fonck would later fly the highly successful SPAD XIII, which was the first SPAD fighter model to use twin Vickers machine guns.

He didn't reopen his tally sheet until 19 January 1918, when he shot a double. February added another five, March seven more, and another three in April.

Then came a spectacular performance on 9 May. Lingering fog kept Fonck grounded most of the day. It was well into the afternoon before it cleared enough for him to take off. Between 1600 and 1605 hours, he shot down three enemy two-seater reconnaissance planes. A couple of hours later, he repeated the feat. Understanding the importance of reconnaissance planes, with their potential to direct intensive artillery fire onto French troops, Fonck concentrated his attentions apon them, Six shot down within a three hour span proved it.

He added a double victory on 19 May and five more in June. By now, he was shooting doubles frequently, and with 49 on his score sheet, he was rapidly closing in on Guynemer's record.

On 18 July 1918, he shot another double, to bring his total to 53 and a tie with Guynemer. The following day he shot down three more enemy aircraft and surpassed the score of the legendary Guynemer, who had remained the leading French ace since his death on 11 September 1917.

He added four more victories to his list in August, raising his total to 60. Then, on 26 September, he repeated his feat of knocking down six enemy airplanes in a day, although this time 3 of his 6 victories were over Fokker D.VII fighters.

Another success two days later and double winners on 5 October put his score at 69, very close to the 72 of Major William Avery Bishop, then the leading Allied ace. On 30 October, he tied up the score with 3 'kills'. He shot down 2 more the following day, and another the day after that. That was his final credit; he had closed off his list with 75 confirmed victories.

To summarize, he claimed 56 victories during the whole of 1918, attaining a total of 36 kills before May 1918. His 1918 list by itself would have made him France's leading ace. By the end of the war, he had accounted for all but 36 of Escadrille SPA.103's 111 claimed victories. Unlike many leading French aces, Fonck's score contained very few shared victories. Also unlike most aces, he remained unwounded; indeed, only a single enemy bullet had ever hit his aircraft. He had also forgone the most hazardous air to air combat; he had shot down no balloons.

Yet for all his skill and success, Fonck never captured the heart of the French public as Guynemer had. Fonck was ascetic and withdrawn. Instead of drinking or socializing with the other pilots, he planned his flying missions and tactics, ironed his uniforms, and stayed physically fit through calisthenics. He seemed to overcompensate for his shyness by constantly mentioning his exploits. As a result, he seemed distant, arrogant, even abrasive. His comrades respected his skills, but even one of his few friends, Claude Haegelen, considered him a braggart and shameless self promoter. Fonck may have resented the fact that Georges Guynemer remained more popular in the French press even after he surpassed him in victories. Fonck also seemed to lack insight into the effect his personality had upon his image or career. He was never given a command of his own.

After the War

Fonck returned to civilian life after WW-1. Fonck published his war memoirs "Mes Combats", prefaced by Marechal Foch, in 1920.

During the 1920s, Fonck persuaded Igor Sikorsky to redesign the Sikorsky S.35 for the transatlantic race or Orteig Prize. [cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,729453-2,00.html|title=S-35
accessdate=2007-04-14|date=1926-08-23|publisher = Time] On 21 September 1926, Fonck crashed on takeoff when the landing gear collapsed, killing two of his three crew members. Charles Lindbergh shortly afterward won the prize in 1927.

Fonck eventually returned to military aviation and rose to inspector of French fighter forces just before WW II, from 1937 to 1939. His between wars contacts with former World War I foe Hermann Göring cast a shadow upon Fonck's reputation during the German occupation of France and led to allegations of collaboration with the Nazi occupying forces and the Vichy regime. On 10 August 1940, Vichy Foreign Minister Piere Laval announced that Fonck had recruited 200 French pilots to fight on the Nazi side. However Fonck was entirely cleared after the liberation of France in 1944.

He remained in Paris but also visited frequently his native Lorraine where he had business interests . He died at age 59 and is buried in the cemetery of his native village of Saulcy-sur-Meurthe.

Quotes

*"I put my bullets into the target as if I placed them there by hand."
*"I prefer to fly alone... when alone, I perform those little coups of audacity which amuse me..."'

Citations

Medaille Militaire

"A pilot of remarkable bravery, skill and spirit, having already engaged in a great number of aerial combats. On 6 August 1916, he resolutely attacked two strongly armed enemy planes, took on one in pursuit, and by a series of bold and skillful maneuvers, forced it to land uninjured within our lines. He has been cited in orders twice."

Médaille Militaire citation, 1916

Legion d.Honneur

"A fighting pilot of great value, combining outstanding bravery and exceptional qualities of skill and sang-froid. He came to pursuit aviation after 500 hours of flight on army corps aircraft and became, in a short time, one of the best French combat pilots. On 19, 20 and 21 August 1917, he shot down his 8th, 9th and 10th enemy aircraft. He has already been cited seven times in orders, and has received the Médaille Militaire for feats of war." Legion d'Honneur citation, 1917

Officier de la Legion d'Honneur

"Remarkable officer from every point of view; of admirable fighting ardor. Pilot of the highest order, for reconnaissance missions and artillery range intelligence, as well as for surveillance service that he completed many times despite very unfavorable atmospheric conditions. He demonstrated, during the course of an uninterrupted series of aerial combats, an exceptional strength and will to win, which sets an example for the French chasse pilots of today. Has downed thirty six enemy planes. Seventeen citations, Médaille Militaire and Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur for feats of war."

Officier de la Legion d'Honneur citation, 12 May 1918

Rene Fonck was also awaded the British Military Cross and the British Distinguished Conduct Medal.

References/Outside Links

*"Mes Combats",Capitaine Fonck,1920,Editions Flammarion,Paris,France.

* [ 'Over the Front', N. Franks & F. Bailey, Grub Street , 1992]
* http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/fonck.php Accessed 8 September 2008.
* http://www.acepilots.com/wwi/fr_fonck.html Accessed 9 September 2008.
* http://www.wwiaviation.com/aces/ace_Fonck.shtml Accessed 9 September 2008.
* http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/fonck.htm Accessed 9 September 2008.
* http://everything2.com/title/Ren%25E9%2520Paul%2520Fonck Accessed 9 September 2008.