André Gibert

André Gibert
Born	31 March 1914 Paris, France
Died	11 July 2003(2003-07-11) (aged 89) La Celle-Saint-Cloud, France
Allegiance	France
Service/branch	Free French Air Force Free French Naval Forces Royal Air Force
Unit	Groupe de chasse Île-de-France No. 611 Squadron RAF
Known for	Aviator, flying ace
Battles/wars	World War II

André Gibert (March 31, 1914 – July 11, 2003) was a Second World War fighter ace in the Free French Naval Forces and a member of the Groupe de chasse Île-de-France. Gibert ended his career with more than 25,000 flight hours.

Biography

André Gilbert was born on March 31 1914 in Paris, France and died on 11 July 2003 in La Celle-Saint-Cloud aged 89.

Wartime service

In 1934 André Gibert joined the Merchant navy with the rank cadet. In 1935, he was promoted to lieutenant. On April 15, 1937, he joined the French naval aviation to be certified as a pilot which he did on October 19, 1938. From September 1939 to September 1940, he carried out missions mainly on aLatécoère 298 seaplane in the T3 squadron with the theaters of operations being in the north of France and Italy. He participated in the French campaign before being demobilized.

In February 1941, André Gibert embarked as a sailor on a mixed cargo ship, deserting it at Saint Thomas in order to join England and General de Gaulle. Passing through New York, Canada and a long crossing of 25 North Atlantic days in convoy, he was one of the first pilots to join General Charles de Gaulle and Free France. He joined the Free French Naval Forces (FNFL) on April 1, 1941. After a period of training which lasted until November 10, 1941, he became a member of the first French squadron, Squadron 340 “Groupe de chasse Île-de-France” as a Spitfire fighter pilot alongside Philippe de Scitivaux, Maurice Choron, Bernard Dupérier, René Mouchotte, and others. He remained there from November 1941 to October 1942. On April 10, 1942, he participated in an aerial battle involving three hundred Allied and German aircraft between Le Touquet and Boulogne-sur-Mer, one of the biggest aerial encounters of the war. He also participated in the Dieppe Raid on August 19, 1942.

Escadrille 6FE Jacksonville

André Gibert was then sent to Jacksonville, Florida in the United States to command the formation of the 6FE flotilla, the first exploration squadron of the Free French Naval Forces, on a PBY Catalina Seaplane. At his request he returned to air combat in December 1943 in No. 611 Squadron RAF of the Royal Air Force on Spitfire after being assigned to Boscombe Down as a test pilot to develop the new carrier-based fighter aircraft Blackburn Firebrand.

Missions to the North Sea, English Channel, Belgium and Holland followed. On June 6, 1944, Gilbert took part in the Battle of Normandy. After February 1945, he then returned to Jacksonville, Florida to command the training of Naval Aviation pilots before being demobilized on July 15, 1946 with the rank of lieutenant commander. He carried out 250 war missions, received Legion of Honour, recipient of the Croix de Guerre with 8 citations and the Aeronautical Medal when he returned to Air France on September 2, 1946 as a trainee pilot.

He became captain on October 1, 1947, then instructor. With the aim of improving the safety of commercial flights, he was co-founder in 1952 of the Syndicat national des pilotes de ligne (SNPL) and was its president from 1953 to 1955. From 1960 to 1971, he served as an elected member representing the flight crew on the board of directors of Air France, which he left voluntarily in 1971.

External Links

• décret du 13 juillet 1999 (In French)