André Robert Lévy
André Robert Lévy | |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 June 1893 Paris, France |
| Died | 12 March 1973 (aged 79) |
| Allegiance | France |
| Service/ | Infantry; aviation |
| Rank | Sergent |
| Unit | Escadrille 29, Escadrille 561 |
| Awards | French: Légion d'honneur, Médaille militaire, Croix de Guerre, Italian: Croce di Guerra, 2 Gold and 2 Bronze Medal for Military Valor |
Sergent André Robert Lévy was a World War I flying ace credited with six aerial victories.[1][2]
André Robert Lévy began his military service in the infantry but transferred to aviation on 8 October 1916. He was initially assigned to fly a Farman for Escadrille 29. However, he used a Sopwith 1.A2 for his first victory on 7 April 1917. On 16 May, he was then reassigned, to the only French air squadron on the Italian Front, Escadrille 561. Using a mixture of Nieuport and Spad fighters emblazoned with a dogs-head insignia,[3] Lévy scored his second win on 21 June 1918, scored a double on 20 July, and became an ace on 5 August.[4] On 16 September, he became a balloon buster, destroying an Austro-Hungarian observation balloon and being shot down in the process. With the engine dead from a fuel line severed by anti-aircraft fire, Lévy purposely landed hard, bending the landing gear, and inverting his Spad XIII. He was then taken away to prison camp in Mulbach. On his second attempt, on 2 November, Lévy escaped through a mountainous wilderness smothered under 30 inches of snow. He made it back to his unit on 6 November 1918.[5]
Sources of information
- ^ SPAD XII/XIII aces of World War I. p. 27.
- ^ http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/levy.php Retrieved on 5 May 2010.
- ^ SPAD XII/XIII aces of World War I. p. 27.
- ^ http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/france/levy.php Retrieved on 5 May 2010.
- ^ SPAD XII/XIII aces of World War I. p. 27.
References
SPAD XII/XIII aces of World War I. Jon Guttman. Osprey Publishing, 2002. ISBN 1841763160, 9781841763163.
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