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René Paul Fonck (27 March 1894–18 June 1953) ended the Great War at the top of the list of all Allied fighter aces. His 75 confirmed victories also ranked him second only to Manfred von Richthofen, killed in 1918 with 80 planes shot down.
He was born in the village of Saulcy-sur-Merthe in the Vosges region of France. Although he had been interested in aviation from his youth, he declined an assignment in the air service when conscripted in 1914, instead choosing service in the trenches as a combat engineer.
He eventually changed his mind and he completed pilot training in May 1915 and flew Caudron observation aircraft for nearly two years. During that time he and his observers were credited with downing two German aircraft.
Fonck received a coveted assignment, joining the famous Escadrille les Cigognes (The Storks) on 15 April 1917. Flying SPADs, he quickly made a name for himself, attaining ace status in May. By year's end he had raised his tally to 19 and was commissioned.
Fonck only got better. Known for his extreme economy of ammunition, he claimed 56 victories during 1918. On two occasions he was credited with six enemy aircraft in one day. In July he surpassed the score of the legendary Capt. Georges Guynemer (54) who had remained the leading French ace well after his death in September 1917.
For all his skill, Fonck remained distant, even abrasive. His comrades respected his skills but considered him a braggart and shameless self promoter. He always seemed to resent the fact that Georges Guynemer remained more popular in the French press even after he surpassed him in victories. He was never given a command of his own, but at the end of the war he had accounted for all but 36 of Escadrille SPA.103's 111 victories. Unlike many leading French aces, Fonck's score contained very few shared victories.
In 1927 Fonck was chosen by a consortium to fly the giant Sikorsky S.35 in the transatlantic race for the Orteig Prize. Fonck crashed on takeoff, and Charles Lindbergh shortly won the prize. Thereafter, Fonck returned to military aviation and rose to inspector of French fighter forces just before WW II. His prewar veterans' affiliation with Hermann Göring cast a shadow upon Fonck's reputation during the war but he remained in Paris where he died at age 59.
Fonck's memoir, Mes Combats, was published in English as Ace of Aces.
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..."de:René Fonck