PWCG skins by Gooseh

May 2, 2023

Howdy, going to try and get all the skins I've done for PWCG all in one place as currently they're scattered all over the ROF forums. I have made some image packs you can download if you'd like to see a preview of what's here. It's just a taste, but you'll get the picture. There's thousands of skins here...

For anyone that doesn't know, these are skins that I made for the units in PWCG v16.3.1 (though they can be used in other versions) to allow you to have personal skins to apply to your squad-mates, and so NPC units will also fly some personal skins. It really works, the sky is an absolute riot of colour if you get these fired up properly, just as I'm sure it was in these golden days of aviation!

There are at least 9 individual skins + aces for each plane/time period, all either historically accurate (as best as I can) or historically plausible. Barkhorn has been engaged in the painful task of doing the necessary file editing so they appear in game. I will get his latest version and add it to this post. Please let me know if anything isn't working, I'll do my best to fix it.

I'll continue to post the French units I am currently doing as I go along...

S!

The Belgians
Images
https://www.mediafire.com/file_premium/3aizvm22lqzbqfu/Belgians-images.7z/file
Skins
https://www.mediafire.com/file_premium/roomodcnhzp3nsj/Gooseh-Belgian_2_Seaters-3%C3%A8me-Br%C3%A9guet_14.7z/file
https://www.mediafire.com/file_premium/nx71fmrkyjrlnq9/Gooseh-Belgian_2_Seaters-3%C3%A8me-FE2b.7z/file
https://www.mediafire.com/file_premium/dfhnrlsgnpfqoiz/Gooseh-Belgian_2_Seaters-3%C3%A8me-RE8.7z/file
https://www.mediafire.com/file_premium/wv147ijkef1qmhi/Gooseh-Belgian_2_Seaters-3%C3%A8me-Strutter.7z/file

https://www.mediafire.com/file_premium/pfzy9djsylxgzl0/Gooseh-Belgian_Aces-Andr%C3%A9_de_Meulemeester.7z/file
https://www.mediafire.com/file_premium/6twll1qfd1ii4e2/Gooseh-Belgian_Aces-Edmond_Thieffry.7z/file
https://www.mediafire.com/file_premium/oma9o7i1spaxaky/Gooseh-Belgian_Aces-Jan_Olieslagers.7z/file
https://www.mediafire.com/file_premium/7d4iipyx8l3gtzd/Gooseh-Belgian_Aces-Willy_Coppens.7z/file

https://www.mediafire.com/file_premium/fjt49bek0s7a7vn/Gooseh-Belgian_Scouts-10%C3%A8me.7z/file
https://www.mediafire.com/file_premium/vragu942ah89hmh/Gooseh-Belgian_Scouts-11%C3%A8me.7z/file
https://www.mediafire.com/file_premium/mbcjjj1oiuwc30r/Gooseh-Belgian_Scouts-9%C3%A8me.7z/file

The Americans

Images

https://www.mediafire.com/file/vyp3ith1m1jje41/USA-images.7z/file

Skins

The Germans-by type

Scouts

Images

https://www.mediafire.com/file_premium/y7dgnif6kjscar5/German_Scouts-images.7z/file

The Germans-by type

Recon/bomb

Images
https://www.mediafire.com/file/g160dzhurlwm22l/German+Recon-Bomb-images.7z/file

Skins

Brandenberg W12 - 22 skins - 4MB - 117MB unpacked
https://www.mediafire.com/file/8c9l4bg4z6205aa/BrandW12.7z/file
DFWCV - 340 skins - 75MB - 1.77GB unpacked
https://www.mediafire.com/file/tszq6gbfkj48tm2/DFWC5.7z/file
Gotha GV - 55 skins - 11MB - 453MB unpacked
https://www.mediafire.com/file/7c12s2v33iv75z8/GothaG5.7z/file
Halberstadt CLII - 143 skins - 38MB- 843MB unpacked
https://www.mediafire.com/file/tjjnnozx80swwcg/HalberstadtCL2.7z/file
Halberstadt CLIIau - 60 skins - 15MB - 336MB unpacked
https://www.mediafire.com/file/5ct7ofwzn988j8s/HalberstadtCL2au.7z/file
Roland CIIa - 105 skins - 41MB - 460mb unpacked
https://www.mediafire.com/file/zv8f0il62al5xj2/RolC2a.7z/file

German aces

Images

https://www.mediafire.com/file/bi995op7h7l6jnd/German+Aces-images.7z/file

THE GERMAN ACE SKINS ARE INCLUDED IN THE PLANE PACKS I THINK!

Edited May 17, 2023 by Gooseh

May 2, 2023

good plan, RoF forever ..

May 2, 2023

French scouts

I'll be fleshing out the French scout units here instead of over at the RoF forums, as it'll be going read only soon.

For anyone who has downloaded the default skins I have posted over at RoF, these will be the personal skins to match those. Please note, there'll be a change or two, so you can just overwrite the existing default skins as you're adding the personal ones, they are included in the download.

Thank you for the sterling work of member Hien-01, who has been feeding me plenty of fresh material from his personal archives.

I'll also add a link to the brilliant site http://albindenis.free.fr/ that has a wealth of information about the French air units. Google translate is your friend here if you're not a native French speaker.

Starting from the bottom of the pile in PWCG:

Escadrille 157

http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille157.htm

https://www.mediafire.com/file/yzk38z6mjf71f5a/Gooseh-French+Scouts-Escadrille+157.7z/file

Edited May 2, 2023 by Gooseh

May 2, 2023

Escadrille 154

http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille154.htm

https://www.mediafire.com/file/bt4z68bizn52ij5/Gooseh-French+Scouts-Escadrille+154.7z/file

Edited May 2, 2023 by Gooseh

May 2, 2023

Escadrille 154 ace-Michel Joseph Calixte Marie Coiffard

Coiffard was born in Nantes, Loire-Atlantique, on 16 July 1892. He joined the army on 16 November 1910. The following year, he served against the Rifs in Morocco. He also served in Tunisia before World War I. He was wounded three times during his service in Africa, and awarded three citations while there. He was serving in an artillery unit when World War I began in 1914. Repeatedly wounded and cited for courage under fire, Coiffard transferred to the infantry as a sergeant on 29 August 1914. On 29 May 1915, he earned the Medal Militaire for voluntarily braving heavy artillery fire to repair field phone lines. He was finally declared unfit for ground combat because of a serious wound. Consequently, he joined the air service on 4 January 1917.

He completed flight training 19 April 1917 and joined Escadrille N.154 on 28 June 1917. He scored his first victory on 5 September and two more in early 1918. It wasn't until the squadron transitioned in June from Nieuports to the sturdy SPAD series did he hit his stride. N.154 was re-designated Spa154 to mark the change in aircraft. Coiffard had his new craft's wheels and cowl painted red and dubbed his new Spad XIII 'Mado' after his girlfriend. He also began collaborating with squadron mates in concerted attacks on observation balloons. As a result, Spa154 would become the premier balloon busting squadron of the war, with over 70 claimed. However, the French system of awarding a victory to every pilot involved in a shoot-down blurs the actual count. He became squadron commander in July 1918 and was much admired and respected by his pilots.

As a 'balloon specialist' Coiffard made his mark, destroying nine Drachen balloons in July, along with three German aircraft. At the end of July he had run his score to 17, adding eight in August and six more in September. On three occasions, he shot down three balloons in the same day. On the last of these triple victory days, 15 September, he and his wingman downed three observation balloons in six minutes.

On patrol on 28 October 1918, Coiffard spotted German Fokker D.VIIs and gave the signal to attack and he and his wingman fought it out with the German patrol. While downing his 34th victim he was critically wounded by hits to the thigh and chest, passing through a lung. He flew 12 km back to a perfect landing in friendly territory despite his wounds, but died three hours later while receiving a blood transfusion. He was 26 years old. The following day he was posthumously made an Officer de la Légion d'honneur.

Coiffard's record included 24 balloons (21 shared) and 10 airplanes (4 shared), ranking him sixth among French aces. Only two World War I aces shot down a greater number of observation balloons, fellow Frenchman Léon Bourjade and the Belgian Willy Coppens.

https://www.mediafire.com/file/6la021uhqpd3j8q/Gooseh-French+Aces-Coiffard.7z/file

Edited May 2, 2023 by Gooseh

May 2, 2023

Escadrille 154 ace-Jacques Louis Ehrlich

Ehrlich was born in Paris on 25 October 1893. He enlisted in the French army on 29 May 1913. Three and a half years later, in December 1916, he transferred to aviation. In May 1917, he was brevetted a pilot. Two months later, he was badly wounded while on a trench-strafing mission. He returned to duty in November as a newly promoted sergeant. Beginning on 30 June 1918, he was one of a "wolf pack" of his squadron's pilots dedicated to the highly hazardous pursuit of destroying German observation balloons. From that first victory, through the next two and a half triumphant months, he shared in the destruction of 15 enemy balloons, and shot down three others solo.

On 1 August and on 15 September, he was credited with three victories each; on 17 July, he had two. After the 15 September feat of downing three balloons in two minutes, he was recommended for both the Légion d'honneur and the Médaille militaire. Three days later, he was shot down and captured while scoring his last win. After scoring with three low-level gunnery runs, Ehrlich, Paul Petit, and another wingman ran into 11 Fokker D.VIIs; in the ensuing melee, it was uncertain whether Ehrlich fell to a Fokker or to ground fire. The day after that, he began his captivity as a newly commissioned Sous lieutenant.

His total of 18 balloons downed garnered him the sixth spot on the balloon busters list. He also shared a victory over an Albatros fighter. This made him the highest scoring Allied Jewish ace of World War I, one of five notable Jewish aces in France. His score was matched by a Jewish-born German ace, Wilhelm Frankl.

Ehrlich died in his native Paris on 10 August 1953, aged 59.

https://www.mediafire.com/file_premium/7uo26x1zki9s1q5/Gooseh-French_Aces-Ehrlich.7z/file

Edited May 3, 2023 by Gooseh

May 3, 2023

???

May 4, 2023

Escadrille 152

http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille152.htm

https://www.mediafire.com/file/5jzj022jds2dshq/Gooseh-French+Scouts-Escadrille+152.7z/file

Edited May 4, 2023 by Gooseh

May 4, 2023

Escadrille 152 ace-Léon Bourjade

Bourjade was born at Montauban, France on 25 May 1889. It was his childhood dream to become a missionary priest. His studies to that end were interrupted by his compulsory military service for France. Upon his release from service, he resumed his studies. In 1914 he returned to France to enter the army, serving in artillery and mortar brigades at the first battle of The Marne and rising to the rank of Sous lieutenant. He transferred to aviation in 1917, receiving his Military Pilot's Brevet on 17 June. He went on to advanced training at Pau. From there, he joined Escadrille N152; he was eventually to become its highest-scoring pilot. Originally, he flew a Nieuport with his own personal touch - a Sacré-Coeur banner streaming from his headrest. He opened his account on 27 March 1918, after his squadron re-equipped with Spads, shooting down an observation balloon. With one exception, all of his air victories were to be over balloons.

Bourjade scored another victory in April and two in May. He then went off combat duty for three weeks to attend gunnery school. After his return, he became an ace on 25 June with the first of his four scores for the month. His seventh, on 29 June 1918, was over a Fokker D VII, his only victory not involving a balloon. In the remaining four months of his career, his victories totalled seven in July, one in August, four in September, and eight in October. Beginning in August 1918, he made it a practice to coordinate his attack on the balloons with other French pilots. August was the month he spent largely out of action, with three weeks in the hospital and eight days leave spent with his parents.

He ended the war with a victory list of 27 balloons and one aircraft shot down, with a second airplane as an unconfirmed victory. It was a total that left him second only to Willy Coppens of Belgium as a balloon buster. He was awarded a Chevalier of the Legion d'honneur and in 1920, he was raised to Officier in the Legion.

Following the war he was finally ordained as a priest, travelling to New Guinea to join the Catholic Sacred Heart Mission on Yule Island, in what was then the Australian Territory of Papua (British New Guinea). Bourjade died in 1924, of hematuria, perhaps the result of an overdose of quinine against malaria. He was 35 years old.

https://www.mediafire.com/file/jw1dg05fscts3o5/Gooseh-French+Aces-Bourjade.7z/file

Edited May 4, 2023 by Gooseh

May 5, 2023

Escadrille 112

http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille112.htm

https://www.mediafire.com/file/9bn2a6tie05uvom/Gooseh-French+Scouts-Escadrille+112.7z/file

Edited May 5, 2023 by Gooseh

May 5, 2023

Great work Gooseh - as always!

May 11, 2023

Escadrille 103

http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille103.htm

https://www.mediafire.com/file/mptvq4tmh1jl5k6/Gooseh-French+Scouts-Escadrille+103.7z/file

Edited May 11, 2023 by Gooseh

May 12, 2023

Escadrille 103 ace-René Paul Fonck

"I put my bullets into the target as if I placed them there by hand."

Fonck was born on 27 March 1894 in the village of Saulcy-sur-Meurthe in the Vosges region of north eastern France. He left school at 13 and although he had been interested in aviation from his youth, he was rejected for the air service when conscripted on 22 August 1914. Instead, he underwent five months basic training for the role of combat engineer. In early 1915 he was finally accepted into basic training to learn how to fly and was in the air flying Caudron GIII observation aircraft with Escadrille C47 by May.

On 6 August 1916, he attacked a Rumpler C.III, and by manoeuvring over and around the reconnaissance plane, staying out of its fields of fire, forced it lower and lower until it landed behind French lines. It was his first verified victory, shared with his observer. It brought him the Médaille militaire. In March 1917, Fonck scored a second time, downing an Albatros in conjunction with his observer. By this time, Fonck had amassed over 500 hours flight time, an incredible amount in those early days of aviation.

In 'Bloody April' 1917, Fonck received a coveted invitation to join the famous Escadrille les Cigognes. Groupe de Combat 12, with its four escadrilles, was the world's first fighter wing. Leading French ace, Georges Guynemer, was serving 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 the SPAD VII. He quickly made a name for himself, attaining ace status by 13 May. He picked off another target on 12 June, then went on hiatus until 9 August. He scored twice more that month, on 21 and 22 August. By year's end, he had raised his tally to nineteen, including (he claimed) avenging his 'good friend' and rival Guynemer, by shooting down the pilot who allegedly downed him. He was commissioned an officer, and received the Légion d'honneur.

Yet for all his incredible skill and success, and the admiration this drew, Fonck never captured the hearts of the public as Guynemer had. He was ascetic and withdrawn. Instead of drinking or socialising with the other pilots, he planned his flying missions and tactics, ironed his uniforms, and stayed physically fit through calisthenics.

Overcompensating for his shyness by constantly mentioning his exploits he seemed distant, arrogant, and abrasive. His friend and fellow ace Marcel Haegelen (Esc 100) said of him "He is a tiresome braggart, and even a bore, but in the air, a slashing rapier," On 18 July 1918 he brought his total to 53 to tie with Guynemer. The following day, he shot down three more to become France's Ace of Aces. By wars end he had 75 confirmed kills. 56 of them came in 1918, including 6 in a day in September. Only 3 of them were shared. He didn't shoot down any balloons and was never wounded. Apparently only 1 bullet ever hit his aircraft.

After the war he published his war memoirs 'Mes Combats' and became a Member of Parliament representing the Vosges. His inter-war contact with the likes of former World War I foe Hermann Göring and Ernst Udet, and allegations of collaboration with the Vichy government during WW2, cast a shadow over his reputation. A post war investigation by a French police completely cleared Fonck of these accusations.

He died of a stroke in his Paris apartment in June 1953, aged 59.

https://www.mediafire.com/file/1j1ehaf591yt41j/Gooseh-French+Aces-Fonck.7z/file

Edited May 12, 2023 by Gooseh

May 12, 2023

Escadrille 102

http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille102.htm

Apologies, forgot the Spad 150HP

https://www.mediafire.com/file/r55qrj7kog6rnt3/Gooseh-French+Scouts-Escadrille+102.7z/file

Edited May 12, 2023 by Gooseh

May 12, 2023

Great histories on these pilots, GooseH. I really enjoy reading them. Thanks!

May 20, 2023

Escadrille 100

http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille100.htm

https://www.mediafire.com/file/eretkgwuv2ojlhi/Gooseh-French+Scouts-Escadrille+100.7z/file

Edited May 20, 2023 by Gooseh

May 20, 2023

Escadrille 100 ace-Claude Marcel Haeglen

Haeglen was born on 13 September 1896 in Belfort, France. In September 1914, he volunteered for military service as an infantryman. In May 1915 he was forwarded for pilot training, securing his pilot's brevet in January 1916. In April 1916 he was posted to Escadrille 8 reconnaissance squadron. He was assigned to Escadrille N3 a month later following fighter training. He shot down two German airplanes on 27 and 28 May, being wounded on the latter day. We don't have him present at Esc 3 in PWCG. We can add him if necessary and I'll make the skins.

During his lengthy convalescence, he was promoted out of the enlisted ranks to become a Sous lieutenant in January 1918. On 11 March 1918, he was posted to Escadrille Spa 100. Joining in this unit's 'wolf pack' tactics, Haeglen would shoot down another 20 enemy aircraft by war's end, including 12 observation balloons.

After the war, he became a test pilot for the Hanriot company and gained a reputation as an aerobatic pilot. In 1931 and 1932 he won the Coupe Michelin long-distance flying competition flying the Lorraine Hanriot LH.41/2. On the second one, he set a world record for 2000 km with a speed of 263.900 km/h. He also became president of the French Civil Pilots Union.

Mobilised as fighter pilot at the beginning of World War II, lieutenant-colonel Marcel Haegelen won his 24th victory flying a Curtiss H 75, shooting down a German airplane on 14 June 1940. After the fall of France he became a member of the French Resistance, and was arrested by the Germans in 1943 and jailed in Bourges.

He died in May 1950, aged 53, at Hospital of Val-de-Grâce, Paris, holding the rank of Colonel, and Grand officier of Légion d'honneur.

https://www.mediafire.com/file_premium/dhnf8t88epn5bt1/Gooseh-French_Aces-Haegelen.7z/file

Edited May 20, 2023 by Gooseh

May 20, 2023

Escadrille 99

http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille099.htm

https://www.mediafire.com/file/gmv2hz4lsinjs7x/Gooseh-French+Scouts-Escadrille+99.7z/file

Edited May 20, 2023 by Gooseh

June 2, 2023

Escadrille 96

http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille096.htm

https://www.mediafire.com/file/rumhoxj1vbwob4h/Gooseh-French+Scouts-Escadrille+96.7z/file

Edited June 2, 2023 by Gooseh

June 18, 2023

Escadrille 95

http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille095.htm

https://www.mediafire.com/file/v8mo93rajtcfbov/Gooseh-French+Scouts-Escadrille+95.7z/file

Edited June 18, 2023 by Gooseh

June 25, 2023

Escadrille 94

http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille094.htm

https://www.mediafire.com/file/s5tqj8bmam5ixzy/Gooseh-French+Scouts-Escadrille+94.7z/file

Edited June 25, 2023 by Gooseh

June 27, 2023

Escadrille 38 & 94 ace-Pierre Marinovitch

Half Serbian and half Polish, Pierre was born in Paris in 1898. He attended school in France and Ireland, and was fluent in English. He went by the nickname 'Marino'. Seventeen-year-old Marinovitch enlisted in a dragoon regiment in February 1916. In July he transferred to aviation as a student pilot and received his Military Pilots Brevet in November 1916. He was assigned to Escadrille 38 in March 1917 but became seriously ill very shortly afterwards, and spent two months in hospital. On his return to active duty he was assigned to Escadrille 94.

By May 1918 he was being reported in the French press an 'The Youngest Ace' and picked up promotions and medals along with his kills. By the end of the war he had racked up 21 confirmed victories and was the highest scoring ace in the unit.

Having survived the war he continued to fly. He died in a flying accident in Brussels in October 1919, two months after his 21st birthday.

https://www.mediafire.com/file/w5u9fvqzw70ayqm/Gooseh-French+Aces-Marinovitch.7z/file

Edited June 27, 2023 by Gooseh

July 7, 2023

Escadrille 91

http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille089.htm

https://www.mediafire.com/file/9f569b7u7kmcdej/Gooseh-French+Scouts-Escadrille+91.7z/file

Edited July 7, 2023 by Gooseh

July 7, 2023

Escadrille 90

http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille090.htm

https://www.mediafire.com/file/tjryx016zg9jzbm/Gooseh-French+Scouts-Escadrille+90.7z/file

Edited July 7, 2023 by Gooseh

July 7, 2023

Escadrille 90 ace-Marius Jean Paul Elzeard Ambrogi

A native of Marseille, Marius Jean Paul Elzeard Ambrogi, or 'Marc' as he was known, joined the French infantry in September 1914, transferring to aviation later and achieving his pilot's brevet in late 1916. By April 1917 he was attached to Escadrille 90 flying Nieuports. He scored 3 victories over reconnaissance aircraft in his Nieuport before switching to flying Spads in May 1918. Using the more sturdy and powerful Spad he began a string of 11 balloon kills as part of a team of balloon hunters in the unit. His final gas-bag was downed was on 18th October, for a total of 14 victories. He was one of the leading french balloon busters.

Ambrogi left French military aviation in 1920. He would become first an officer, then a Commander in the Légion d'honneur. He returned to active duty in WW2 flying a Bloch 152 fighter, downing a Dornier 17 in 1940. He remained active in the veteran airman's association, 'Les Vielles Tiges' post war, and became President of l'Aero Club de Provence. He died in 1971, aged 75.

The only profile I can find attributed to Ambrogi was a number 4 on Nieuports and Spads. The man in the photo isn't Ambrogi however.

https://www.mediafire.com/file/a1udk7olq7j868i/Gooseh-French+Aces-Ambrogi.7z/file

Escadrille 89

http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille089.htm

https://www.mediafire.com/file/mfldjl5uujy9cbs/Gooseh-French+Scouts-Escadrille+89.7z/file

Edited July 7, 2023 by Gooseh

July 27, 2023

Escadrille 85

http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille085.htm

https://www.mediafire.com/file/96nefv0lnkhghny/Gooseh-French+Scouts-Escadrille+85.7z/file

Edited July 27, 2023 by Gooseh

August 1, 2023

Escadrille 84

http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille084.htm

https://www.mediafire.com/file/uc8ndxp95bglhie/Gooseh-French+Scouts-Escadrille+84.7z/file

Edited August 1, 2023 by Gooseh

August 1, 2023

Escadrille 84 ace-Omer Paul Demeuldre

Omer Paul Demeuldre was born on 8 March 1892 in Cambrai, France. He joined the French military in 1912. At the start of World War I, he was an aviation mechanic and became an observer with Escadrille MF63. On 7 September 1915, working the guns on a Maurice Farman, he scored his first victory. After two mentions in dispatches, he was sent to pilot's training. He received Pilot's Brevet No. 4403 on 2 October 1916. Upon his return to his old unit as a pilot, he achieved his second win on 23 May 1917. In October 1917, he was reassigned to fly a Spad fighter with Escadrille 84. On the 30th of the month, he tallied his third triumph, which won him the Médaille militaire. Demeuldre racked three more wins in December, ending the year an ace with six victories.

Demeuldre began 1918 with a victory on 3 January. He was commissioned as Sous Lieutenant on the 25th. On 3 February, he scored twice; he scored three times more in March. His 13th and final victory came on 14 April 1918, when he sent a German two-seater reconnaissance craft crashing down over Éplessier.

On 3 May 1918, Sous lieutenant Demeuldre was killed in action while shooting it out with a German two-seater. He was posthumously awarded the Légion d'honneur to add to the Médaille militaire and Croix de Guerre with seven palmes and two etoiles.

https://www.mediafire.com/file/g9lulyb9uc8ubhu/Gooseh-French+Aces-Demeuldre.7z/file

Edited August 1, 2023 by Gooseh

August 3, 2023

Escadrille 81

http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille081.htm

https://www.mediafire.com/file/fbtwlucq9hqo7mo/Gooseh-French+Scouts-Escadrille+81.7z/file

Edited August 22, 2023 by Gooseh

August 3, 2023

Escadrille 81 & 102 ace- André René Celestin Herbelin

Herbelin doesn't appear in our roster of aces, so maybe we can slot him, he has cool planes.

Herbelin was born in Le Havre on 9 December 1889. He was a non-commissioned officer in the French infantry's inactive reserves when WWI began. On 19 August 1914, he was called to the colours again and assigned to the 8e Regiment du Train des Equipages as a Sergeant. He transferred to aviation service on 28 January 1916 for pilot's training at Avord. On 29 March 1916, he was granted Pilot's Brevet No. 3088. He then underwent advanced training at Pau and Cazaux before reporting for assignment on 20 August 1916. On 4 September, he was forwarded to Escadrille 102.

Herbelin flew a Nieuport to score his first victory on 25 January 1917, and followed it up with two more, on 16 and 19 March. A promotion to Adjutant came on 25 March 1917. On 8 April, he transferred to Escadrille 81, which also operated Nieuports. On 20 April, he was awarded the Médaille militaire to accompany his Croix de guerre. He resumed scoring in August, downing three more German planes, including one shared with Gabriel Guérin and Marcel Hugues.

Two claims for September wins went unverified. Then, on 11 October, he was hospitalized for a brief stay. While recuperating, he was commissioned as a Sous lieutenant. On the 25th, he returned to his squadron. In December, he teamed with Hugues, Adrien L. J. Leps, and Adjutant Levecque for two more wins.

Herbelin's ninth triumph came on 30 January 1918, his tenth on 5 March. A month later, on 6 April 1918, he was appointed a Chevalier in the Légion d'honneur. He transferred to Escadrille 97 on 22 May 1918 to fly Spads. On 15 July, he tallied his final victory. By the end of the war, he had eleven confirmed victories to show for over 1,400 combat hours flown.

The 1920 listing of French civil aircraft shows Herbelin operating two Spad VII, so he apparently continued to fly after the war. During World War II, Herbelin joined the French Resistance against the Nazis occupying France. This brought him the honor of being raised to Commandeur in the Légion d'honneur at the rank of lieutenant colonel.

After the war, he served as secretary of the French Aces Association before his death on 16 December 1966, aged 77.

https://www.mediafire.com/file/kxsud2s2i5ku82y/Gooseh-French+Aces-Herbelin.7z/file

Edited August 3, 2023 by Gooseh

August 3, 2023

Escadrille 78

http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille078.htm

https://www.mediafire.com/file/lvfp6sg86hcrvi6/Gooseh-French+Scouts-Escadrille+78.7z/file

Edited August 22, 2023 by Gooseh

August 8, 2023

Escadrille 26 & 78 ace- Armand Pinsard

Pinsard was born in Charente in 1887. He joined the military in 1906 and fought in Morocco as a cavalryman, receiving the Moroccan Medal. He then transferred to aviation in May 1912, becoming one of the rare professional military men to become a pre-war pilot. He trained as a pilot in a Borel pusher two seater, and proved to be a natural. He was awarded the Médaille militaire for his performance flying a Morane in the French army manoeuvres of 1913. He was assigned to MS23 when World War I broke out.

At the outbreak of war, Pinsard was a sergeant major. In September 1914, he was promoted to adjutant and received his first citation. In October, he participated in a bombing raid that attempted to kill the German Kaiser. He was commissioned in November 1914 because of this bombing raid. It was about this time that he pioneered the use of an aircraft to place an espionage agent behind enemy lines, an act that brought him a second citation.

On 8 February 1915 he fell into German hands and was held prisoner of war when his plane was forced down behind German lines. It took him a month to recover from injuries received in the accident. Thirteen months and several attempts later, Pinsard tunneled under a 12-foot-tall prison wall to freedom on 26 March 1916. It took him another two weeks to cross the lines into neutral Switzerland and to repatriate himself on 10 April.

His reward for his daring escape was retraining as a fighter pilot and an assignment to France's foremost fighter squadron, Les Cigognes. By July 1916, he was flying a Nieuport with Squadron N26. On 7 August, in a pioneering close air support role, he made no fewer than six firing passes on German troops attempting to counterattack a French unit. Then he and his three wingmen went on to strafe a train loaded with German troops. He was made a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur for this action. He was the first pilot to test the Spad VII and flew it in combat in August 1916, scoring a victory.

On 1 November 1916, he opened his victory roll in air combat. After a winter's layoff, he resumed his winning way on 23 January 1917, flying as Commanding Officer of Squadron N78. He became an ace on 6 March, and would continue to fly Nieuports into battle until his 16th victory on 5 June 1917. Just one week later, Pinsard crashed and suffered serious injuries. He would be confined to hospital for several months. Upon his recovery, he was appointed commanding officer of Squadron Spa23. He painted his Spad black and entitled it, Revanche IV (Revenge 4).

He continued to score, including a string of 9 balloons, 8 of which were downed solo. He ended the war a much-decorated captain with 27 confirmed victories.

In 1937, he ascended to the top of the Légion d'honneur as a Grand Officer. Also in 1937, he once again met film maker Jean Renoir; Pinsard had once shot down a German Fokker that had been attacking Renoir's aircraft. Renoir based the main character of his movie La Grande Illusion on Pinsard. Ironically, the movie is considered one of the great anti-war movies of all time.

General Pinsard began World War II commanding Groupe de Chasse 21. His Morane Saulnier 406 was painted all black and nicknamed 'The Pirate.' In June 1940, having just returned from a mission, he was severely wounded in an air raid on his airfield, losing a leg. After the war was over, Pinsard was convicted of collaboration with the Nazis and sentenced to life imprisonment. He had served as Inspector-General of the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism, which had served with the Nazis on the Eastern Front. He was later pardoned.

He died at a veterans dinner in Paris in 1953, aged 65.

So PWCG has Pinsard all messed up. It has him at Escadrille 77 for the whole war. We don't have Spa23 but we do have Spa26. Perhaps we can have a look at reworking him closer to the truth.

https://www.mediafire.com/file/jclxogep1toddie/Gooseh-French+Aces-Pinsard.7z/file

Edited August 8, 2023 by Gooseh

August 17, 2023

Escadrille 77

http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille077.htm

I'll be borrowing personal schemes from units we don't have to flesh out some units, because some are too nice not to have.

https://www.mediafire.com/file/0x11ytstfd9vhv9/Gooseh-French+Scouts-Escadrille+77.7z/file

Edited August 17, 2023 by Gooseh

August 17, 2023

Escadrille 77 ace- Maurice Boyau

Born in Mustapha, Algeria, on 8 May 1888, Boyau first served in the 144th Infantry Regiment before the war. Boyau was already known to the public when war began in 1914, having led the French Intenational rugby team. He served as an Army Service Corps driver for the first year or so of the conflict, then was accepted for pilot training.

He acquired his pilot's brevet on 28 November 1915. In late 1915, he was assigned as a flight instructor at Buc but arranged to join a combat unit as a Caporal in September 1916. He spent the rest of his career with Escadrille 77, known as 'Les Sportifs' for the great number of athletes in its ranks. Boyau originally flew Nieuports with them. His Nieuport's paint scheme featured a rather flamboyant serpentine dragon writhing the length of the fuselage.

He scored his first ten victories between March and September 1917, including six balloons. During this spell, he shared the first of an eventual six balloon buster victories with fellow ace Gilbert Sardier. He was then commissioned and continued his exceptional record flying Spads.

In the spring of 1918, Boyau began using air-to-air rockets, developed two years earlier. He had rocket tubes affixed to the inner set of interplane struts of his Spad XIII. He made his mark with repeated successes in the summer of 1918, scoring four victories in June; nine in July; and three in August. He burned his last four balloons in three days of September, but was killed in action, aged 30, by defending German fighters on the 16th, with Georg von Hantelmann of Jasta 15 receiving credit.

Boyau accounted for 21 balloons (14 shared) and 14 aircraft (4 shared), ranking fifth among all French aces of The Great War. He earned the Médaille militaire and Légion d'honneur for his aerial enterprises in 1917 and 1918.

A stadium of one of his former clubs, Dax, France, is named to commemorate him, the Stade Maurice Boyau.

https://www.mediafire.com/file/saekyuvj12qve72/Gooseh-French+Aces-Boyau.7z/file

Edited August 17, 2023 by Gooseh

August 18, 2023

Escadrille 77 ace- Jean Sardier

Sardier was born in Riom, France on 5 May 1897. In September 1914, he volunteered to serve his country until war's end, and was accepted as a cavalryman. In September 1915, he was posted to aviation's Escadrille 1. In February 1916, he began instruction to become a pilot. He received his military pilot's brevet in May 1916. On 10 June 1916, he was also breveted as an aerial observer. Sardier joined Escadrille N.77 at its inception, on 29 September 1916.

His victory list began on 7 November 1916, with his second on 3 June 1917; his 1918 skein of 13 victories began 4 January and nearly ran to war's end. On one occasion, he shot down three Germans in a single day; another day, two fell to his guns. During this long run, he teamed with several other aces in scoring, including fellow aces Maurice Boyau, Laurent B. Ruamps, Francis Guerrier, and Marcel Haegelen. Sardier was a balloon buster, with five observation balloons among his 15 triumphs. On 5 July 1918, he was appointed to lead Escadrille 48.

Sardier remained in aviation after war's end. During World War II, he was head of the Clermont-Ferrand branch of Legion Française de Combattants, a veterans group founded on 30 August 1940. From its original role as a veterans aid society, the Legion slid into the role of siding with the Vichy Government installed by the occupying German Nazis. Although records are lacking, it seems that Sardier was one of the Legion officials who denounced fellow French citizens who espoused left wing political views. Despite this, the occupying Germans not only would not share information about French citizens detained; they evicted Sardier from his home and housed a German colonel there. He died on 7 October 1976, aged 79.

https://www.mediafire.com/file/nvthmwr5712qgjc/Gooseh-French+Aces-Sardier.7z/file

Edited August 20, 2023 by Gooseh

August 22, 2023

Escadrille 73

http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille073.htm

https://www.mediafire.com/file/9ayxwp6pcnv6osa/Gooseh-French+Scouts-Escadrille+73.7z/file

Escadrille 3 & 73 ace-Albert Deullin

Deullin was born on 24 August 1890 in Épernay, France. He joined the French military and was a non-commissioned officer on inactive status from the Dragoons by October 1912. The outbreak of World War I saw Deullin mobilized in his old unit. He was commissioned as a Sous lieutenant in December 1914. He transferred to aviation duty in late April 1915 and earned his pilot's brevet on 14 June 1915. On 2 July 1915, he was assigned to fly two-seater Maurice Farman reconnaissance aircraft for Escadrille MF62. He scored his first aerial victory on 10 February 1916 while on a long reconnaissance flight behind German lines.

Soon he was switched to Escadrille N3 as a Nieuport fighter pilot. After downing two enemy aircraft in March 1916, Deullin was wounded in action on 2 April. He was sidelined for 15 days. After his return to action, he shot down his fifth enemy airplane on 30 April 1916. By the time he scored his seventh victory on 15 September 1916, new SPAD VIIs were coming into the squadron's inventory. On 22 February 1917, with his victory count at 11, he was transferred to command Escadrille 73, also flying Spads.

On 28 July 1917, he was again wounded in action; he remained in command despite the injury. Over the next fourteen months, he downed nine more enemy planes, with the last falling on 19 May 1918. He was promoted to higher command on 7 February 1918, to leader the Group de Combat 19. It was while leading this wing that he shot down his 20th and last opponent over Montdidier on 19 May 1918. Eleven of his 20 victories had been scored while flying a Nieuport 17.

Post-war, Deullin became a pioneer of french commercial aviation and chief-pilot of aerial company Franco-Roumaine, employing many veterans pilots from GC 19. Flying old Salmson 2A2 from military surplus, the company opened aerial lines from Paris to eastern European cities, including Istanbul. In 1923, the company flew on the early commercial airplanes such as the Caudron C.61. Albert Deullin died in a flying accident at Villacoublay on 29 May 1923 while was testing a prototype aircraft. He was 32 years old.

https://www.mediafire.com/file/s70e2ccvdkazkal/Gooseh-French+Aces-Deullin.7z/file

Edited September 11, 2023 by Gooseh

September 23, 2023

Escadrille 68

http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille068.htm

https://www.mediafire.com/file/lvdw0327jfuvlbd/Gooseh-French+Scouts-Escadrille+68.7z/file

Edited September 23, 2023 by Gooseh

October 6, 2023

Escadrille 67

http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/escadrille067.htm

https://www.mediafire.com/file/j6r6s4xexofkwpe/Gooseh-French+Scouts-Escadrille+67.7z/file

Edited October 6, 2023 by Gooseh

October 6, 2023

Escadrille 67 ace-Jean Navarre

Navarre isn't currently in PWCG.

Born on 8 August 1895 in Jouy-sur-Morin, Navarre was a difficult child who challenged his teachers and frequently played truant with his younger brother. Despite this, he learned to fly, earning Civil Pilot's Brevet No. 581 in August 1911. This gave him immediate entry into French military aviation on the outbreak of war.

Originally assigned to Escadrille MF8, he then joined the MS12 reconnaissance squadron, flying Morane-Saulnier L aircraft. Shortly thereafter, on 1 April 1915, Navarre was the pilot when his observer shot down a German Aviatik north of Fismes. Navarre's first victory earned him a Médaille militaire, awarded just five days later, to join his Croix de Guerre. On 13 April 1915, Navarre again scored while flying with a different gunner. On 2 August 1915, he was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur, with the citation based as much on secretive special missions as on aerial victory. He would score once more, on 26 October 1915, before reassignment to Escadrille 67.

When he received new Nieuport 11 and 16 fighters in May 1916, he deliberately painted both red to challenge and intimidate the enemy in the skies over Verdun, well before his German counterpart would gain notoriety as the Red Baron. Navarre began his victory string with his new unit by scoring one of the first 'doubles' of the war, downing a Fokker E.III and a German two-seater on 26 February 1916, and becoming one of the first flying aces in history. He was dubbed the first official French flying ace, though Adolphe Pégoud preceded him. Navarre tallied half a dozen more wins during the next three months and on May 19, 1916 he shot down a German Aviatik C over Chattancourt, becoming the first Allied ace credited with 10 victories. He became known as the 'The Sentinel of Verdun.'

On 17 June 1916, Navarre teamed with Georges Pelletier d'Oisy for Navarre's twelfth win. He recalled being hit by the gunner of the 2 seater: “I understand I have been hit!...But I feel no pain. My first instinct is to shoot...I want my revenge immediately. At this point, I feel like coughing, and wiping my mouth with the back of my glove, I realise that I am spitting blood like water.” He crash-landed behind French lines and was rushed to a hospital.

Navarre was removed from active duty and sent to a sanatorium to convalesce. His challenging attitude toward authority, his alcoholism & mental instability, womanising, and reckless approach to life, provided top brass the excuse to ground him. He would return to duty in 1918, though he would not again fly in combat.

When it came time for the Bastille Day 1919 victory parade down the Champs-Élysées, he was as insulted as any French flier to learn that aviators would have to march with the infantry. He concocted a scheme to fly though the Arc de Triomphe, despite the narrow width of the arches. He practiced for the attempt between phone poles near a local aerodrome, barreling his Morane-Saulnier AI parasol monoplane again and again under the wires. The inevitable happened around 3 p.m. on July 10, just four days before the parade.

Afterward, newspapers reported that France’s hero had given his life avoiding a collision with less experienced pilots. Witnesses claimed his engine lost power at the critical moment. Some said he came in too high, catching his Morane’s overhead wing on the wires; others that he didn’t climb quite high enough and caught its landing gear. Regardless, the Morane was seen to veer left, lose speed, sideslip and pile into a wall at the edge of a field.

The Sentinel of Verdun died a month shy of his 24th birthday. Fellow pilot Charles Godefroy would perform the historic flight through the Arc de Triomphe a few weeks later, on 7 August 1919.

https://www.mediafire.com/file/ch081yni7vpyqq6/Gooseh-French+Aces-Navarre.7z/file

Edited October 7, 2023 by Gooseh

October 28, 2023

Thank you Gooseh this is an outstanding project!

PWCG skins by Gooseh

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