France Fights On (English Translation) - Thread III - The lost files

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1. The Morane-Saulnier MS-406
This aircraft is very maneuverable, and fairly well armed with its 20 mm HS-9 cannon (although slower than the HS-404) and two machine guns. the HS-404) and two machine guns, but its speed, acceleration and ceiling are too ceiling are too mediocre to take on the most modern fighters. This type can be considered virtually obsolete in the face of German fighters. In fact, during the during the French Campaign, units equipped with MS-406s bore the heaviest loss/victory ratio. loss/victory ratio. Nevertheless, these aircraft proved to be effective against Italian against Italian aircraft, and can still be used in Africa or in secondary theaters of operation. of operations.
By June 5, 203 MS-406s were already in North Africa and, as mentioned in the first part of this report of this report, 34 were able to be evacuated from mainland France.
Of these 237 aircraft, 44 have been lost to various causes since the start of operations against Italian forces in North Africa. Of the 193 MS-406s currently available in this theater, 31 are so worn out that they must be withdrawn from active service and will shortly be scrapped. By August 10, we need to send 24 MS-406s to the Middle East to reinforce the Allied fighters there, as the RAF seems to be very short of modern fighters in this region. These 24 aircraft will be transported by the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle, which is currently in the port of Algiers. Incidentally, 26 MS-406s were already deployed in Syria, and 6 of them have been sent to Egypt.
Once operations against Italian forces in North Africa had been successfully completed, the MS-406s would be withdrawn from the front lines, with the exception of those that could be deployed against Italian forces in East Africa, or to reinforce air defense in Indochina, where there were already 20 aircraft of this type (8 sent in August 1939 following a decision taken in February, and 12 sent at the end of 1939... by mistake!)
Depending on the number of surviving aircraft, we plan to modernize 30 to 40 of them into MS-410s (notably by fitting them with 12Y-45 engines built by Saurer) to build up a strategic reserve. We also plan to use a number of MS-406s for the fighter schools and CICs (Centres d'Instruction à la Chasse) being reconstituted in Morocco.

2. The Dewoitine D-520
This was undoubtedly the fighter with which we achieved our best results during the French Campaign. Experienced pilots claim that it can turn tighter and dive faster than the latest type of Messerschmitt Bf-109; in his combat report, the officer commanding GC I/3 states that "a 109 that tries to escape by diving is a dead 109." Nevertheless, the aircraft is slower in horizontal flight than the Bf109, and climbs more slowly. Its handling can also pose a few problems for novice pilots.
Counting the last aircraft recently evacuated by GC III/6 and II/7, we now have 377 D-520s at our disposal. Of the 284 Air Force aircraft, 12 are unserviceable due to manufacturing defects, and 71 need repairs or modifications to be fully war-grade. Of the 39 Aeronavale D-520s, 8 need repair and 5 modification. The last 54 aircraft have not yet been accepted by CRAS, even though they have often been evacuated by military personnel.
Ensuring that all D-520s are operational is a top priority for the Chasse.
These aircraft have been spared combat with Italian forces in North Africa, apart from the Aéronavale aircraft operating from Malta and Tunis. To date, only one Air Force unit equipped with this type of aircraft is likely to be engaged in combat in North Africa. N e are currently carrying out, and will continue to do so over the coming weeks, careful maintenance and overhaul operations, so as to have at least 270 aircraft operational by September 15. If we allow for the usual 120% of aircraft in depot reserve, we will then be able to line up 122 D-520s on the front line, i.e. five or six Groups, depending on the size of the Fighter Groups chosen.
We also hope to recover at least 20 operational D-520s from the Aéronavale by the end of the year. Between September and December, the French Navy is due to take delivery of the 81 Grumman G-36As it purchased at the end of 1939. The first of these flew from the Grumman-Bethpage factory at the end of May, and was officially handed over to the French authorities in early July. The Navy acquired a further 100 aircraft of a slightly different type, known as G-36Cs (these aircraft have folding wings like the G-36Bs purchased by the British, but use the same Cyclone G-205 engine as the G-36As).
Returning to the D-520, we can only regret that the loss of the SNCAM factory interrupted the modification program for this aircraft that the Chasse had planned in June. Nevertheless, SNCAM engineers are working at the Algiers AIA on a reduced aerodynamic improvement program based on work carried out from April to June in the Banlève wind tunnel. This limited modification (known as Level 1) should be applied to all wartime D-520s by December.
If the 12Y-51 engines built by Saurer are indeed available, a so-called Level 2 modification program will be launched to convert as many of our D-520s as possible into D-523s. The D-520 no. 45, used by SNCAM as a prototype for the D-523, reached a speed of 570 km/h at recovery altitude, with its full military load.
To improve the D-520's high-altitude performance, SNCAM engineers plan to combine a thorough drag-reduction program with the installation of a 12Y-49 engine. This so-called Level 3 modification could give us an aircraft capable of operating at more than 11,000 meters.
Unfortunately, none of these modification programs will enable the D-520/523 to achieve the performance demanded by the A39 program (640 km/h at recovery altitude). If German industry continues to introduce new fighter types at the current rate, we expect the D-520 to be as outclassed in a year's time as the MS-406 is now. It's impossible to overstate the priority of the Level 2 modification program. However, this program is closely dependent on the availability of Saurer-built 12Y-51 engines.

3. The Curtiss H-75
Until now, the Curtiss H-75 and its derivative H-751 have been the backbone of the Fighter Division's operational units.
The Pratt & Whitney-powered H-75 (A2 and A3 in the manufacturer's nomenclature) is a highly maneuverable aircraft, as agile as the MS-406 and notably more maneuverable than the D520 or Hawker Hurricane. Compared to the MS-406, the Curtiss benefits from better acceleration and an air-cooled engine. The current Bf-109, however, seriously outclassed the aircraft; only magnificent teamwork and esprit de corps beyond all praise prevented H-75-equipped units from suffering far worse losses than they did. Against Italian aircraft, on the other hand, the H-75 has a clear margin of superiority. Whatever the opponent, the weaponry is too weak (6 or even only 4 7.5 mm machine guns), and many H-75 pilots were killed or wounded by German machine-gun fire because they had to get close to their target to be effective.
The Wright Cyclone-powered H-751 (A4 for the manufacturer) is faster and climbs faster.
However, its armament is not superior.
Between June 18 and July 15, 161 Curtiss H-75/751s were evacuated from mainland France, and a further 10 were evacuated in the final days of combat. Meanwhile, between June 20 and August 2, 90 aircraft were delivered to Casablanca, and to date 60 have been assembled by engineers and technicians evacuated from Bourges and Toulouse. Since the beginning of the fighting against Italian forces in North Africa, 25 H-75s have been destroyed in combat or for other reasons.
To date, we have 206 Curtiss fighters in North Africa, 46 of which are of the H-751 subtype. A further 30 aircraft (H-75 and H751) are still in crates or being assembled. With the Curtiss-Buffalo plant having produced 284 H-751s, 90 of which have already arrived in France or North Africa, we are still awaiting delivery to Casablanca of 190 aircraft at a rate of around 60 a month from August to October. In all, 426 Curtiss H-75s will be available by the end of November, excluding losses due to combat or normal wear and tear.
We expect at least 360 aircraft to be operational by this date, enabling us to line up 163 aircraft in front-line units, or 6 to 8 GCs depending on the number of aircraft per Group (20 or 26). The government is about to sign a new order for another 160 H-751s, in addition to those already ordered and the Allison-powered H-81s. These aircraft will be delivered in early 1941.
There's no doubt about it: for months to come, the H-75/751 will remain an essential mount for the efficiency of the Chasse. Nevertheless, the value of the older sub-types is steadily declining. With the entry into service of the Allison-powered H-81s (230 aircraft are due to be delivered to Morocco by November), the Chasse plans to withdraw all surviving H-75s (A2s and A3s) from the front lines. These aircraft could be assigned to training units and certain allied air forces.
As we have explained, the Belgian government is eager to reconstitute fighter units. It might be possible to compensate for the Naval Aviation's use of the B-339s handed over by Belgium by assigning 20 to 30 Curtiss H-75s (A2/3s) to the Aéronautique Militaire.
The government of the Union of South Africa is also keen to increase the size of its fighter forces, especially as SAAF units are currently using completely outdated aircraft. As our government considers South Africa to be an important supplier of various goods of strategic interest, the Chasse would not object to the transfer to the SAAF of 40 to 50 H-75 (A2/3) aircraft by next autumn.

4. The Bloch MB-152/155
Very few MB-152/155s made it to North Africa or Corsica. EMGAA has not yet the exact count, but the total is unlikely to exceed 15 aircraft. They will be assigned to training units. The MB-157 prototype has been evacuated to Casablanca, but while it looks promising on paper, it has not yet made its maiden flight, and we don't know whether it can be produced locally.

5. The Potez 631
By June 25, there were 40 Potez 630s and 631s in North Africa (including aircraft belonging to the Aéronavale and equipping the AC2 squadron, deployed in Malta), and only 18 more were able to leave mainland France in the final weeks of combat. At the same time, 10 aircraft were lost for various reasons in support of operations against Italian forces in North Africa.
The Potez 631 is currently the only long-range fighter available to the French Air Force. However, it is too slow to be an effective interceptor, and not maneuverable enough to engage enemy single-engine fighters on an equal footing. As a result, these twin-engine fighters were mainly used as ground attack aircraft. It was only against the Italian air force that they were successfully used as fighters.
To date, 48 Potez 631s are in service in North Africa, Corsica and Malta, of which 37 belong to the Armée de l'Air (25 operational) and 11 to the Aéronavale (9 operational).
Armée de l'Air aircraft are deployed as part of a night fighter squadron protecting Algiers and Tunis, and as part of a Groupe de Marche sent to reinforce RAF units in the Middle East. To these must be added the 6 aircraft in Djibouti (3 stationed there before June and 3 sent as reinforcements).
Replacing this type of aircraft is a top priority.

6. Other
- D-510 : 33
The Armée de l'Air has agreed to sell 20 of these aircraft to the Belgian Aéronautique Militaire.
- D-501 : 13
8 in AFN, 5 in Côte Française des Somalis (from ES n° 6 to Dakar-Thiés).
- Spad 510: 10
The French Air Force has agreed to transfer these 10 aircraft to the Belgian Military Aviation.
- Koolhoven FK-58: 8
The Armée de l'Air has agreed to sell these 8 aircraft to the Belgian Aéronautique Militaire.

7. Total
The total number of fighter aircraft in service with the French Air Force (not including models or types existing only in very limited numbers) is 711 aircraft (193 MS-406, 272 D-520, 206 H-75/751 and 43 Potez), of which 594 are operational (162 MS-406, 201 D-520, 206 H-75/751 and 29 Potez).

 

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C. The future of fighters equipment
The lessons learned from the French Campaign made it urgent to replace most of the in service with the Armée de l'Air. Here, we'll look at the C1 and C2/CN2 CATEGORIES.

1. Category C1
We have already purchased 230 Curtiss H-81s. This is an Allison-powered variant of the H-75.
The aircraft will enter service this autumn, but its performance does not appear to be than the D-520.
We supported Curtiss' development of the H-86, another Allison-powered fighter, whose performance is expected to be close to C1-A39 specifications. Curtiss seems to have serious difficulties in developing this aircraft. Delays are piling up, and weight specifications are rising steadily. The American authorities withdrew from the project last June, preferring to develop another derivative of the derivative of the H-75/81, called the H-87 by Curtiss. If the H-86 does not fly by September 1, we'll be recommending to the government that we pull out too.
The British authorities have approached North American to investigate the production of a new Allison-powered fighter, although the company has no experience in the field of fighter aircraft design. North American does, however, have a good reputation for meeting strict delivery deadlines for basic and advanced trainer aircraft used by the French Air Force and Naval Aviation, and for the high quality of these aircraft. We suggest that you get in touch with the British authorities about this latest project, and carefully evaluate the aircraft if it does indeed fly within the contractual timeframe.
We are also negotiating with Bell for the earliest possible delivery of their famous unconventional tricycle fighter. This aircraft will have to be assessed with caution, however, as the engine is installed behind the pilot, which could be dangerous in the event of a hard landing.
It has to be said, however, that no American aircraft with Allison engines seems capable of meeting C1-A39 specifications. It might be worth supporting British efforts to have Merlin engines produced in the USA, in order to have a powerful engine with good performance at recovery altitude. The fitting of this engine on the Arsenal fighter project should be studied: perhaps industrial capacities would be available in the USA to develop such an aircraft. We know that in the UK, the De Havilland company has the industrial and technical capabilities required for such a project, but this company seems to be fully committed to its new fast reconnaissance and bomber aircraft project.
For its part, the RAF is in the process of re-equipping with Spitfire fighters, while a new variant of the Hurricane is due to enter service shortly. However, the British seem to be relatively short of trained pilots. Under the Franco-British agreement signed at the recent Supreme Allied Council in Algiers, the RAF could send us a hundred modern fighters in a short space of time if North Africa came under massive enemy attack. Conversely, if Britain is the target of the next German attack, we will provide the equivalent of two Fighter Groups, provided our pilots can speak English. RAF Command is adamant that the fighter direction system it employs requires pilots to be proficient in English if they are to be used effectively.

2. C2/CN2 category
We asked Lockheed to launch production of its 322F model. This highly original twin-engine, single-seat fighter has also been purchased by the British authorities. However, it appears that these aircraft will be fitted with standard compressor engines, whereas the USAAC's should have turbocharged engines. Combat experience shows that a twin-engine fighter cannot compete on equal terms with a single-engine fighter in horizontal maneuvers. A large margin of superiority at altitude is therefore a necessity for a twin-engine fighter, in order to gain the advantage in vertical maneuvering. However, this superiority is closely linked to engine capability. We recommend cancelling the current order for the model 322F, and instead purchasing machines equipped with turbocharged engines.
To act as a stopgap before the arrival of these aircraft, a fighter variant of the Martin M-167 light bomber currently used by the Armée de l'Air and Aéronavale is due to be developed shortly. This aircraft is already faster than the Potez 631, and a new variant, fitted with S3C4-g engines, will be as fast as the H-751 fighters. The Atelier d'Alger is currently studying the replacement of the navigator-bomber position, in the nose, by four 7.5 mm machine guns and their ammunition. This would give the aircraft a fixed forward-firing 8 x 7.5 mm armament. It is hoped that 30 aircraft from existing stocks can be converted by next autumn. Meanwhile, at our request, Glenn-Martin is preparing a variant of the M-167 with S3C4-G engines and 6 x 12.7 mm forward-firing fixed armament in the nose; this variant would be usable both as a long-range fighter and as a ground-attack aircraft, replacing the Breguet 693/5.
Douglas also offers a variant of its Wright R-2600-powered DB-7 light bomber, with four 20 mm cannons. However, the R-2600 has a lower recovery altitude than the Pratt & Whitney S3C4-G. The DB-7C2 project would therefore not be viable above 6,000 m. As a result, the aircraft is of no interest to the French Air Force, but is still of interest to the French Naval Aviation.
Night fighter missions (CN2) will temporarily be handled by Martin M-167s.
In October, we hope to be able to source a number of on-board radio detection systems (AI type) from the UK. These will be fitted to aircraft modified for the occasion. We have asked both Glenn-Martin and Douglas for a specialized night fighter with its own radio detection equipment.

3. Future C1 specifications
The C1-A39 specification is currently being revised in the light of combat experience. We expect to publish an A-40 specification in restricted form on September 1, which we can then pass on to US aircraft manufacturers. The following is the preliminary form of the new specification (the figures in brackets are those of the A39 specification).
Maximum speed not less than 750 (650) km/h at 8,000 m and never less than 690 (600) km/h between 0 and 8,000 m.
Ascent to 8,000 m in 8 (11) minutes.
Operational ceiling of at least 12,000 m.
Range enabling operational missions to Lyon at least from any base in Corsica.
Armament no less than 4 strip-fed 20 mm cannons with at least 150 cpa and, if possible, 4 heavy machine guns (12.7 or 13.2 mm) with 300 cpa. Possibility of carrying up to 250 kg of bombs under each wing. When these weapons become available, it should be possible to replace the four 20 mm guns with two 25 mm belt-fed guns at field maintenance units.
Possibility of carrying 1 or 2 motorized cameras with up to 700 exposures.
Good radio and radio-navigation equipment for operations at night or in bad weather.
Cabin armor and self-sealing fuel tanks are mandatory.
General Vernisse, who is currently in Algiers, is due to make a six-week visit to the USA
a six-week visit to the United States to study whether American aircraft manufacturing companies are capable of meeting these specifications. He proposes the use of a special twin-engine fighter, whose engines would be in the fuselage and use the hydraulic coupling he has developed at Arsenal. Such an aircraft would be as maneuverable as a single-engine plane of similar size, but far more powerful.

V. The Chasse situation in the Mediterranean theater of operations
At 00:00 on August 5, the Chasse situation reflected the losses suffered during the French Campaign, but also during the very active operations against Italian forces in North Africa, Sardinia and, to some extent, Sicily, whose airfields were intensively attacked to prevent reinforcements being sent to Libya and Sardinia. These operations have been a real success, and the current level of threat posed by the Italian air force is considered low, and is likely to remain so for some weeks to come. This state of affairs has prompted the Chasse to redeploy its units and prepare for the reappearance of the enemy threat in September.
Figures in brackets refer to operational aircraft.
1. ZOA-Co (Corsica and Sardinia), 68 (55) aircraft
With the destruction of the ZOA-SE, a new ZOA was set up to provide a command and control structure for units operating from Corsica and in support of landing operations in Sardinia. The ZOA-Co has been in place since 00:00 on August 5;
It is commanded by the former head of ZOA-SE, General Bouscat.
- Curtiss H-75
GC I/5: 26 (24) aircraft (one squadron on H-751) at Calvi
GC II/4: 26 (22) aircraft at Calvi
- MS-406
GC III/1: 24 (18) aircraft at Ajaccio Campo-dell'Oro
- Potez 631
ELCN-Corse: 8 (6) aircraft
2. ZOA-ANO (including Malta), 118 (98) aircraft, not including Aéronavale aircraft
This ZOA is to cover our land forces operating in Tripolitania.
- Curtiss H-75
GC III/2: 24 (22) aircraft. This Group, based in Tunis, could be deployed to Malta at short notice if required.
- MS-406
GC I/9: 22 (18) aircraft. This Group is due to be withdrawn from the front lines in a few days' time, to be re-equipped with H-75/751s. GC III/8 will then be assigned to the ZOA-ANO.
GC I/10: 18 (14) aircraft. This Group will be withdrawn from the front lines in a few days' time, to be re-equipped with H-75/751s. GC II/16 will then be assigned to the ZOA-ANO.
GC III/4: 20 (16) aircraft.
GC III/5: 22 (20) aircraft.
- Potez 631
ELCN-Tunis: 12 (8)
Note - Naval Aviation units attached to the ZOA-ANO and deployed in Malta.
AC1 : 15 (12) D-520.
AC2 : 11 (7) Potez 631.
3. ZOA-Algeria
- D-520
GC III/3: 22 (21) aircraft, defending Mers-el-Kébir.
- H-75
GC I/4: 21 (17) aircraft. Group in semi-reserve at Blida. To be sent to Cyprus by September 5.
- MS-406
GC III/8: 22 (19) aircraft.
GC II/16: 19 (15) aircraft.
These two Groups complete their operational training. They will relieve two Groups
equipped with MS-406 in ZOA-ANO.
4. ZOA-Morocco (ZOAM)
The ZOAM is to be used for training, unit reconstitution and the formation of the Chasse "General Reserve".
- D-520
GC I/3: 26 (24) aircraft.
GC II/3: 24 (21) aircraft.
These two groups are in reserve at Rabat-Salé. They are part of the General Reserve.
GC II/6: 12 (8) aircraft.
GC III/7: 12 (9) aircraft.
These two groups are currently being converted to D-520s. In a few days' time, they will replace GC I and II/3 in the General Reserve, which will go to reinforce the defense of Algiers.
5. Units being reconstituted (in Morocco)
- D-520: GC II/7
- H-75: GC II/5 (this unit has been chosen to be the first to be re-equipped with the H-81 as soon as it becomes available).
6. Near East (Levant), 56 (45) aircraft
Our command in the Levant (General Jeaunaud) is now in close contact with the local RAF command. It includes two fighter units which have been placed at the disposal of the British command in Egypt to cover land operations and defend certain strategic points.
- MS-406
GC I/7: including the 24 aircraft and 18 pilots currently being transferred to Alexandria on the HMS Eagle, this Group should be able to field 44 aircraft (36). It will be organized into three squadrons:
N° 2 at Nicosia (Cyprus), with 16 (12) aircraft (from August 14).
N° 1 at El-Alamein (Egypt), with 16 (14) aircraft.
N° 3 at Luxor (Egypt), with 12 (11) aircraft.
- Long-range fighters
Groupe de Marche Pouyade, with 7 (5) Potez 631 and 5 (4) Potez 63.11.
6bis. Fighters deployed on the French Somali Coast, 28 (22) aircraft
- GAM (Groupe Aérien Mixte) CFS: 6 (4) Potez 631
- GAM I/551: 7 (5) D-510 (since July 13)
- GAM II/551: 10 (9) MS-406, 5 (4) D-501 (from ES n° 6 to Dakar-Thiès) (since July 30)

 

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The French Air Force after the "Grand Déménagement"
2 - Bombing, Assault Aviation and Reconnaissance
2a - Orders of battle as of June 20, 1940
These figures concern only operational or semi-operational units. The figures do not include aircraft in depots and local EAA-301 units. In all cases, the first figure indicates the total number of aircraft in the unit, and the figure in brackets indicates the number of operational aircraft.

I. Modern bombers - 278 aircraft (236)
A. Metropolitan France - 90 aircraft (78)
- ZOAE then ZOA-SE (Group 6)
GB I/31, 16 (15) LeO-451 (Arles-Chanoines) Unit assigned to the ZOA-SE even though the land belongs to the belongs to the ZOAE
GB II/31, 13 (11) LeO-451 (Arles-Chanoines) Unit assigned to the ZOA-SE even though the land belongs to the ZOAE belongs to the ZOAE
GB I/12, 15 (13) LeO-451 (Istres)
GB II/12, 16 (14) LeO-451 (Istres)
- ZOAN then ZOA-SO
GB I/21, 15 (13) Amiot 354 (Marmande)
GB II/21, 15 (12) Amiot 354 (Périgueux)

B. In North Africa - 188 aircraft (158)
- LeO-451 - 64 aircraft (56)
GB I/11, 12 aircraft (9) (Blida)
GB II/11, 14 aircraft (13) (Blida)
GB I/23, 9 planes (8) (Blida)
GB II/23, 15 aircraft (14) (Blida)
GB I/25, 14 aircraft (12) (El Batha)
- Douglas DB-7 - 55 aircraft (45)
GB I/19, 13 aircraft (11) (El Batha)
GB II/19, 14 aircraft (12) (El Batha)
GB I/32, 14 aircraft (11) (Youks les Bains)
GB II/32, 14 aircraft (11) (El Batha)
- Glenn-Martin M-167F - 69 aircraft (57)
GB II/61, 11 aircraft (9) (El Batha)
Group 1 (Sidi-Ahmed) :
GB I/62, 15 aircraft (13)
GB II/62, 14 aircraft (12)
GB I/63, 14 aircraft (11)
GB II/63, 15 aircraft (12)

II. Assault aircraft - 92 aircraft (68), all in France
- ZOAE then ZOA-SE (Groupement 19, Lt-Col. Castets de la Boulbène, Le Luc)
GB II/35, I/51 and II/51: 54 aircraft (39)
19 (11) Breguet 691, 21 (17) Breguet 693, 14 (11) Potez 633
- ZOAN then ZOA-SO (Groupement de Marche Démery, ex-Groupement 18 (General Girier, Lieutenant-Colonel Démery, Bergerac) GB I/54 and II/54 (reinforced by pilots from training centers): 38 aircraft (29)
17 (13) Breguet 691, 18 (14) Breguet 693, 3 (2) Breguet 695

III. Outdated bombers - 203 aircraft (166)
A. Metropolitan France - 131 aircraft (109)
- ZOAN then ZOA-SO
Groupement de Marche Bodet (Cdt Bodet), at Saintes then Périgueux (aircraft from EAA 301 schools, training centers, test facilities and reserves) :
19 MB-200 (16)
- ZOAE then ZOA-SE
Groupement de Marche Aribaut (Lt-Col. Aribaut), comprising GB I and II/38, elements of GB I and II/34 and pilots from training centers
38 Amiot 143 (29)
Groupement de Marche Biron (Cdt Biron), comprising GB I/39 and training center pilots
32 MB-131 (28) and 8 (5) Potez 63.11s
- ZOAA then ZOA-SE
Groupement de Marche Bordes (Cdt Bordes), ex-Groupement 7, made up of pilots from GB I and II/23 (the aircraft from these two groups were reformed and replaced by 12 aircraft from GB I and II/21 and 22 from training centers).
34 Bloch MB-210 (31)
This unit operated from Cannes and then Ajaccio against targets in Sardinia.

B. In North Africa - 70 aircraft (57)
- Groupement Moraglia (Colonel Moraglia)
GB I/15, 10 Farman NC 223.3 (7)
GB II/15, 14 Farman NC 222.1/2 (12) - This group will be disbanded and its aircraft transferred to I/15.
- Groupement Boulmer, ex-Groupement 8, formed from GB II/25 and training center pilots, with aircraft from training centers in mainland France and AFN)
34 MB-200S (31)
12 LeO-257 bis (7)
This unit is not fully operational. The most experienced pilots (from GB II/25) will be converted to LeO-451s in July, and the Le0-257s will be retired. MB200s in good condition will be converted to transports.
- Groupement d'Observation et Transport [from July 1], in Marrakech
29 Potez 540s (21) and 9 Mureaux 115/117s (6)
These aircraft, transferred from schools and training centers, will be used to reinforce the observation and transport groups.

IV. Reconnaissance aircraft - 208 aircraft (166)
- ZOAN then ZOA-SO
GR I/14, 17 Potez 63.11 (13)
GR II/22, 16 Potez 63.11 (13)
Groupement de Marche d'Observation des Armées de l'Ouest (GAO 501, 1/508, 2/508, 515, 1/551, 581 and 1/589 aircraft): 37 Potez 63.11 (31) and 11 Mureaux 115/117 (7)
- ZOAC then ZOA-SO
GR I/14, 17 Potez 63.11 (13)
GR II/22, 16 Potez 63.11 (13)
Groupement de Marche d'Observation des Armées de l'Ouest (GAO 501, 1/508, 2/508, 515, 1/551, 581 and 1/589 aircraft): 37 Potez 63.11 (31) and 11 Mureaux 115/117 (7)
- ZOAC then ZOA-SO
Groupement de Marche d'Observation des Armées du Centre (aircraft from GAO 502, 505, 510, 546 and 3/551): 26 Potez 63.11 (21) and 4 Mureaux 115 (2)
- ZOAE then ZOA-SE
GR II/14, 14 Potez 63.11 (11)
Groupement de Marche d'Observation des Armées de l'Est (GAO 547, 558 and 2/551 aircraft): 17 Potez 63.11 (14)
- ZOAA then ZOA-SE
GR II/55: 17 (15) Potez 63.11
Groupement de Marche d'Observation de l'Armée des Alpes (GAO aircraft 503, 511, 2/514, 518 and 545): 29 Potez 63.11 (26) and 4 Mureaux 115 (2)
Groupement de Marche d'Observation de Corse (ex-GAO 550): 11 Potez 63.11 (8) and 5
Mureaux 115/7 (3)
Note - Potez 63.11s were used extensively as light bombers and attack aircraft, after the installation of gondolas containing six 7.5 mm forward-firing machine guns (for a total of seven). They also carried up to 200 kg of bombs, usually incendiary or fragmentation bombs.

 

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What about some secret transmission ?

Empire strategy
Maximum secrecy
Chiefs of Imperial Staff
Strategic Planning Document for the Indian Ocean, Singapore and Malaya
London, May 2, 1942

A - Present situation
Operations in Malaya and Singapore have cost the Empire dearly. Although Field Marshal Gort has commanded the defense of Singapore magnificently and inflicted terrible losses on the to the Japanese army, the city and the Imperial troops defending it are doomed in the long term.

1) Singapore
After the destruction of the Eastern Fleet, we never had a chance of holding Singapore. The loss of the fleet forced us to define a new strategy. This strategy no longer sees Singapore as the imperial center of gravity in the Far East, but as a defensive as a defensive outpost of India, a sacrificial outpost, tasked with preserving India's supply link. supply link to China via Rangoon, and thus the Burma Road to Chungking.
Preserving China's supply link became the second most important task for imperial forces in Asia. As always, their most important task was to protect India and the trade linking India to the rest of the Empire.
This hierarchy was fully understood by Lord Gort, who had been fully briefed by the Commander-in-Chief of the Indian and Asian Theatres, General Wavell, on the strategic necessity of holding Singapore for as long as materially possible. Lord Gort knows that as long as Singapore holds, the Japanese cannot seriously attack either Burma or the Burma Road. They occupied the Tenasserim Coast, but their success in Singapore prevented them from penetrating the heart of Burma before the onset of the South Asian monsoon. This was a vital strategic victory for Lord Gort and his men, as we had been unable to send enough men into Burma before then to ensure that the Salween or even the Sittang lines would hold.

2) Burma
Our forces in Burma are now large enough to hold the Salween. We shall have to try to control the approaches to the border with Siam through the Three Pagodas Pass, as well as the coast of the Kra Peninsula and the Mergui Archipelago, although Siamese troops are already occupying these areas in numbers. However, whether the Japanese are finally stopped on the Salween or the Sittang, it is now certain that they will be. Rangoon, the Irrawaddy and Burma's central valley will remain safe from the enemy.

3) Sabang
So far, we've been able to hold Sabang and its airfield, thanks to Singapore's resistance. It is doubtful whether this island at the northern tip of Sumatra will be able to hold out once Singapore has fallen.

4) Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Unlike Sabang, it is now very likely that we will be able to hold on to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. We have made great efforts to strengthen these islands, and their garrisons are now powerful.

5) Penang
We still hold the island of Penang, anchored off the Malay coast at the same latitude as Sabang, but its value is diminishing daily. Indeed, its main purpose is to disrupt Japanese communications along the west coast of the Peninsula. The island is too large in relation to its garrison to prevent the enemy from landing there. Once ashore, the attackers would inevitably overwhelm the garrison.
The forces making up the latter were mainly units of the 13th British Division, whose loss would be most regrettable. This is why, with Lord Gort's agreement, it is planned to evacuate the place once the final assault on Singapore has begun. Lord Gort was categorical on this point: the forces of the Penang garrison would be of greater value to the Empire in the Andaman Islands, the Nicobar Islands or the Mergui Archipelago. Admiral Somerville has already planned the evacuation of this garrison. For some time now, by seaplane or speedboat, we have been sheltering important European, Eurasian, Chinese, Indian and Malay personalities, as well as the sick and wounded. In this respect, the availability of numerous transport seaplanes plays an important role (see Appendix A to this document).

6) The new Eastern Fleet
The forces currently at Admiral Somerville's disposal, based around two modern aircraft carriers (but with relatively weak air groups) and two powerful but old and slow battleships, can do little more than hinder Japanese movements and inflict losses with the help of powerful air forces based in the Andaman Islands. Since moving the Home Fleet is out of the question this year, we won't be able to develop a fleet capable of offensive action in the Indian Ocean until 1944. At that time, we will be able to assemble a fleet of four to five modern squadron carriers with powerful air groups, accompanied by three or four fast battleships and as many fast light aircraft carriers, thanks to the completion of the ships under construction and the total destruction of Axis naval power in Europe, even before the commissioning of the Singapore-class aircraft carriers (ex Malta).
Current Anglo-French plans call for most of the French Navy to remain based in Europe. Most of its ships are not designed for the great distances of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific, and by 1944 the French will have neither enough ships nor enough men to accept sending a large number of them to the Pacific theater. Their participation was real, but much smaller than that of the Royal Navy.

B) Development of imperial strategy in the Far East

Phase 1

This is the original plan, using the Philippines and French Indochina as first-line defensive works
first-line defensive works covering Singapore and the Dutch East Indies. The French government agreed to this project and planned the deployment of its forces in Indochina to force the Japanese to pay dearly for the conquest of this colony, while maintaining a line of retreat to China for forces that had survived the fighting.
The destruction of the American battleship Pacific Fleet and the ease with which the Japanese conquered most of the Philippines destroyed the eastern flank of our defenses, exposing Indonesia to rapid conquest and opening up a new route for Japanese forces to threaten Australia. The elimination of the Eastern Fleet completed the dismantling of this strategy and doomed Indonesia and Malaya, then Singapore.
As explained above, we had to implement a new strategy as a matter of urgency.

Phase 2
This is the current period. In the absence of a fleet, Singapore has lost its raison d'être and can only play the role of a defensive bastion of the Indian Empire. Singapore's defenders had to buy time, and they succeeded beyond our wildest January expectations. The King has agreed that the George Cross should be awarded to the City-Fortress of Singapore in recognition of the doggedness and valour shown by its defenders.
This phase ends with the final defeat of the Japanese Army's attacks in Burma.

Phase 3
The following decisions were taken in full agreement with the French government.
(a) Anglo-French forces will conduct a series of operations known as ROUNDSHOT. Its ultimate aim was to retake Malaya and Singapore, open the Straits of Malacca
Strait of Malacca, then liberate Indochina. This last stage explains the commitment of French forces. We plan to present a united diplomatic front to the United States.
Although the French government is already planning to grant a Home Rule (which could lead to independence) for the colonies making up Indochina, the Americans are in fact bitter opponents of any French presence in Indochina, as they are of any British presence in Malaya and any form of colonial control outside their own.
...
(b) In parallel with this offensive, a secondary campaign will be launched from
Australia. This will be a dangerous campaign, as the forces involved will be limited, and the Japanese response is likely to be powerful - as we hope it will be. Australian forces will have to provide the bulk of the committed troops. The Canberra government is aware of the risks involved, but has responded positively to the proposals of the Franco-Imperial planning committee in this respect.
It will be a series of operations grouped together under the name SOUTHERN CROSS.
CROSS). It was to be a diversionary offensive designed to confuse the Japanese
Japanese strategic plans. It will be directed from Darwin towards Timor, with further developments depending on the progress of the American and Anglo-French offensives. SOUTHERN CROSS is to be conducted in conjunction with our operations in the Indian Ocean and those of the Americans in the Pacific.
...
(c) It should be noted that ROUNDSHOT and SOUTHERN CROSS will give French and Imperial forces a very substantial role in the defeat of Japan. This prospect was not appreciated by certain elements of the U.S. government and armed forces, for reasons which are the subject of a separate document.

 

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C) ROUNDSHOT

Most of ROUNDSHOT's operations are in preparation, but some are already underway.
some are already underway, as follows (operations whose French names are indicated involve French or Belgian forces):
- Operation ANAKIM: defense of western Burma.
- Operation HANDGUN (Pistolet): reinforcement of garrisons on the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands.
- Operation ARQUEBUS (Harquebus): concentration of imperial and allied forces in Burma. A Belgian Public Force brigade, currently deployed in Madagascar, is to be added to the troops: originally from the Congo, these troops should have no problems acclimatizing acclimatization problems.
- Operation TIGER: reconquest of northeastern Burma, up to the Thai border. Thai border.
- Operation FALCONET (Fauconneau): insertion of French (and later Imperial) raiding forces into the Mergui archipelago to establish ties of trust with the Mergui Sea Gypsies, set up secret bases and set up an intelligence network all along the Tenasserim coast (the southeastern tip of Burma). This operation was the key to future operations designed to outflank Japanese defenses by frog-jumping along the coast (a tactic for which, the Franco-Imperial planning committee semi-officially pointed out, French units seemed particularly well suited).
- Operation BLACK PRINCE: reconquest of Tenasserim.
- Operation BASILISK: invasion of Malaya by land from the isthmus of Kra.
- Operation STOKER: neutralization of Sumatra by air offensive.
- Operation BOMBARD: amphibious operation on the west coast of Malaya to flank the defenders of the Peninsula.
- Operation DRACULA: capture of Singapore.
.........
ROUNDSHOT's amphibious force requirements are impressive for the regions concerned. At the very least, the available landing ships must be able to carry one infantry division and two armored battalions. The requirements are 20 attack transports totaling 150,000 GRT (including 3 in reserve), 8 landing ships tank (including 2 in reserve) and one HQ ship. It would be possible to use smaller ships to compensate for the lack of larger vessels by building up a dense network of bases in the Mergui Islands.
We'll need 200 small amphibious vessels, but most of them will be coastal coasters from 100 to 500 GRT, little more than motorized barges with landing ramps. We have already placed orders for such small vessels with local factories, triggering a boom in shipbuilding in Burma and as far afield as Bengal. There are also plans to use some of the countless small local transports of all kinds already in existence. Many of these boats will be manned by local crews.
The logistical demands of these operations will be heavy. Fortunately, Burma has a well-developed infrastructure, fuel, timber and rice are available, and India is close by. As for the engines required, they will have to be manufactured by civilian companies in India or South Africa.
General Wavell also benefits from the precious legacy that Lord Gort has already passed on to him: an efficient, well-trained staff. This staff prepared Malaya for war, waged a defensive campaign against the Japanese, achieved the greatest success possible under the circumstances, and, knowing that the fall of Singapore is inevitable, is now burning with the desire to retake the fortress-city as soon as possible.
The role of our French ally in ROUNDSHOT - Boulet will be limited in terms of the number of men involved, but crucial nonetheless. It's obvious that the French are short of men in this theater, and that most of those they will be able to deploy won't be sent there until 1944, when the time comes to reconquer Indochina. In Indochina, they continue to support the activities of the indigenous forces resisting the Japanese, as well as those of the few constituted military units that have kept a foothold on French territory, close to the Chinese border. As for Malaya, French units have been chosen to make initial contact with the Sea Gypsies of the Mergui Archipelago - a key role in keeping with their expertise with the indigenous populations, and giving them a prime position at the extreme end of our offensive.

D) SOUTHERN CROSS
Obviously, offensive operations in this area can only be launched once we have regained control of New Guinea.
This does not prevent the launch of ancillary SOUTHERN CROSS operations, some of which are already underway, as follows:
- Operation LONG HAUL, construction of a railroad from Alice Springs to Darwin, begins. Another line for military use is being built eastwards from the Queensland network via Mount Isa, to join the line leading northwards. These constructions have imposed a policy of track standardization on Australia's main lines - a tough task, but one that will generate considerable benefits within twelve months.
These efforts have American approval, because the USAAF needs extensive facilities in northern Queensland, which places heavy demands on Australian ports and workers. It's clear that Australia will have to feed and supply between two and three million American Pacific forces within the next two years. This mission will absorb the bulk of Australia's agricultural surplus and reduce the quantities available for export to the UK. However, it will also save a great deal of tonnage that would otherwise have been needed to transport basic supplies from the USA to the South West Pacific. This gives Australia a useful lever of influence in American ruling circles (a lever to be used with caution and discretion), as the Dominion becomes essential to the maintenance of their future offensive in this theater of operations.
In exchange for the conversion of the rolling stock production facilities into facilities producing small boats (for the US Army) and LVTs (which will be useful in Indonesia and for supplying spare parts to US forces), the US government has agreed to supply Australia with rolling stock and, in general, with the means to build a rail network. Early indications confirm approval for the delivery of a substantial quantity of rails by US foundries.
The US Army has also agreed in principle to provide specialist engineers, technicians and construction units. General Blamey has already informed CPO Curtin that the vast majority of workers in American or Imperial labor units will be men of color, to enable the Australian Militia Force to be used offensively.Indeed, the Australian labor force was fully employed much earlier than expected. The lack of manpower meant that the government even accepted the importation of Indian workers, Sikhs and Hindus. In so doing, they followed imperial advice that the Sikhs and Hindus in question were working satisfactorily in Christian communities and were exemplary imperial subjects. On the other hand, the Australian government remains vehemently opposed to the use of black workers. For this reason, it requested that Black Americans working on the railways be strictly confined to their camps and that their stay in Australia be kept to a minimum.
In general, U.S. forces in Australia will comprise few combatants (with the exception of units stopping over for training, equipping, training and acclimatization, which will remain under the direct control of the U.S. command). On the other hand, a large number of railroad construction, engineering, administrative, support and supply units will establish and maintain a dense logistical network. Senior officers from these units will occupy key positions in the chain of command for forces in the Australian theater. For example, the Australians have created a Department of National Railways headed by a Minister, while control of much of their domestic railroad system will be in the hands of American personnel. Suitable arrangements are currently being negotiated.
- Operation DRY WHEEL, the construction of a large port, base and road links in the Port Darwin area, has already begun. The first batch of 1,200 Sikh workers is already employed.
- Operation CHAINMAIL (shipbuilding) was the focus of intense discussions between the Admiralty, the Department of Naval Transport, the Australian Naval Board (ANB) and the Allied Consultative Shipping Committee (ACSC). Ultimately, at the request of imperial institutions and with American approval, the Australians scaled back their merchant shipbuilding program, with the exception of the small coastal tonnage essential to the functioning of their economy. In place of the suppressed merchant ships, they will produce a large number of tugs, landing craft, floating pontoons and docks, barges and other small vessels needed both for ROUNDSHOT and for American activities in the South Pacific. The largest forms will be occupied by a program of fast Thruster-class LSTs for the RAN. Australia has received a guarantee from the Admiralty that it will produce the six LSTs, three LSIs and six assault transports required for the initial stages of SOUTHERN CROSS. In addition, the US government has agreed in principle to supply a number of Liberty cargo ships and up to 200 small amphibious craft required for SOUTHERN CROSS.

Combat operations included in SOUTHERN CROSS:
- Operation PIGSTICK, landings on the Tanimbar and Aru islands.
- Operation SCEPTRE, landing at Timor.
- Operation VANGUARD, landing at Ambon.
- Operation BUCCANEER, landing in the Flores Islands.
- Operation ZIPPER, neutralization of Japanese air forces in Java, Sulawesi and the Moluccas.
As far as armored vehicles are concerned, pre-war models such as Valentines and
Matilda II are still perfectly suited to the fight against the Japanese. Great Britain is able to supply a sufficient number of these, which Australia will supplement with its own production of heavy Cruiser tanks equipped with a 25-pdr. The tanks delivered by the Americans were considered unsatisfactory, often lacking essential equipment to make them reliable war machines. Most of those delivered are used for training, or stored for the future needs of American or Dutch troops.
No command ship is available, but it would be possible to repair the HMAS Hobart cruiser (badly damaged while moored) by converting it for this purpose. ANB will also be able to supply three LSI-capable AMCs. These vessels are already being converted for Operation WATCHTOWER. One of the five iron ore transports on the Australian coast has also been dedicated to this task. This poses a real problem, as eight such vessels are eventually needed to maintain Australian steel production. Sending ore shipments to Australia is therefore a necessity, and the relevant ministries have been contacted.
The ANB has agreed that the first LST conversions carried out for the Royal Navy will be devoted to the initial stages of SOUTHERN CROSS.
Finally, as SOUTHERN CROSS is a diversion for the Anglo-French offensive, but also for the American offensive, it is appropriate to approach the American authorities to obtain the additional tonnage that will be needed to implement it.

 

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E) Australian armed forces
1) Australian Imperial Force (AIF)
The Australian government has committed to maintaining a first-rate infantry division in Europe (the 6th), as well as around half an armored division. The Empire will provide the remainder of this formation. Together with the New Zealand division, these divisions will form the ANZAC Corps, under General Freyberg, representing a powerful addition to the Imperial forces in Europe.
The other three AIF divisions are being reconstituted (8th Division) or have been sent back to Australia (7th and 9th). These three divisions will form the bulk of the forces engaged in SOUTHERN CROSS. To support them, a new armored division is being formed around the armored crews who fought the Japanese in Malaya and were evacuated from Singapore. This formation will not be a conventional armored division. It will be made up of a HQ topping a large number of small Australian and Imperial formations, most of them independent or semi-independent. This division was intended for jungle or tropical combat against the Japanese, not for large-scale armored battles as in Europe.

2) Australian Military Force (or Australian Militia Force)
This volunteer militia, equivalent to our Home Guard, will be used in combat in Papua New Guinea and in the British colony of the Solomon Islands, recently placed under Australian administration to authorize the use of AMF in this territory.
Current plans call for the 1st AMF Division to be deployed in the Solomons and the 3rd Division in Papua New Guinea. The Australian government is currently planning to deploy another AMF division to New Guinea; under this plan, some of the Imperial forces present in Australia will also be sent to this region.

3) Command
AMF troops in the Solomons will be under American operational control (probably initially the US Marine Corps). US Army troops (apart from transient units, as mentioned above) and USAAF units in Australia will be under Australian operational control, as will Imperial forces.

4) Royal Australian Navy
The RAN will remain part of the Royal Navy, except for anti-submarine and trade protection actions in Australian waters. Unfortunately, apart from ASM forces, the RAN is currently very weak, and it is feared that future battles will cost it heavy losses in men and experienced officers.
However, the government hopes to rebuild a new RAN around cruisers and light aircraft carriers. HMS Jamaica has been sold to the RAN, where she will be renamed HMAS Brisbane.
HMS Shropshire, crewed mainly by Australians, has been leased to Australia. Further sales and transfers will follow.

F) Australian national morale
General Wavell has reported that, while Australian morale was initially shaken by the speed with which the continent found itself directly exposed to Japanese attack, it has since recovered. He attributes this improvement to the rapid dispatch of Imperial units to Australia (albeit small numbers at first), as well as to the supply of Hawker Hurricane fighters to the RAAF, and above all to Lord Gort's magnificent efforts to hold Singapore. The public knew that as long as Singapore held out, Australia could not be invaded. They also know that the majority of AIF troops have now returned, accompanied by Imperial troops. These factors have authorized the deployment of the AMF in Papua New Guinea and the Solomons.
The recent bombings of Australian cities have actually improved morale. Although they caused quite a stir, it soon became clear that they were nothing more than small-scale harassment raids. The sight of a few enemy bombers over Sydney, for example, provoked a powerful public reaction against the enemy.
As it becomes known that Australian forces will be at the forefront of offensive operations against the Japanese, morale will improve further.
One problem remains, however: that of Australian industrial workers, due in particular to the strong Communist influence in the unions.

G) False problems with Australians
Due to personality conflicts, it has become fashionable in certain leading circles in London to decry the seriousness with which the Australians are pursuing their war effort.
This attitude is harmful and must be resisted when encountered.
General Wavell has informed the War Cabinet in the most direct terms that this attitude is known to the Australian Government and people, that it is very troublesome and causes them real problems, which they would gladly do without. He formally told the War Cabinet that while the Australian Government had pressed the Colonial Office to be able legally to commit its own Home Guard (the AMF) to offensive action overseas against the enemy, the UK itself had not gone so far as to take such steps.
General Wavell added emphatically that it is impossible to believe that the Australian government is acting reluctantly, unnecessarily or with only its own fate in mind. The Australians are providing half of a three-division corps to be committed in Europe, and are willing to provide the bulk of the forces to be committed to the offensive in the Dutch East Indies (including their other three front-line infantry divisions) to facilitate the American and Imperial offensives.

H) The Dutch place in the chain of command
The delegated commander of the Dutch East Indies theater of operations would probably have to be Dutch. While the Dutch are down to around 15,000 men, they retain significant naval and air forces, and above all the largest integrated logistics, maintenance and training facilities on the Australian continent to date. They also brought to the Allied cause huge stocks of strategic materials, from quinine to oil, and numerous transport ships. Dutch oil and tankers, for example, enabled the deployment of HMS Renown and American battleships in the South-West Pacific. This contribution must be properly recognized.
Nevertheless, the prospect of a Dutchman as deputy theater commander was frowned upon by both the Australian government and General Blamey. They did, however, recognize the existence of political imperatives. Fortunately, General Cox, the highest ranking Dutch officer in Australia, has shown himself to be as sociable and friendly as he is capable and hard-working. He has worked miracles to establish the Dutch logistics, maintenance and training system in and around Brisbane. This structure uses only American equipment, which is a huge advantage for the US Army and USAAF, who have saved all the time and effort they would have had to spend establishing their own system in Australia. The irascible General Blamey recognizes General Cox's abilities: he has even struck up a friendly relationship with him, defusing a potentially delicate situation.
...........................
Appendix A - Shortage of heavy seaplanes
The large seaplanes have proved extremely useful for operations in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Sqn 119 currently operates four Short G heavy transport seaplanes between Rangoon and Singapore or Penang. More aircraft of this type are needed as soon as possible. An evolution of the G-Class with two large cargo hatches at the rear and an internal gantry crane, allowing stretchers and bulky loads to be loaded more easily, would be very useful, but it is doubtful whether it can be put into production.
Sqn 11 (RAAF) uses smaller C-class Shorts in the Solomons and New Guinea. Here too, additional aircraft are required.
Sunderlands and Catalinas are not freighters, but they are occasionally used in this role to Singapore and Penang. Their losses would rise rapidly if the Japanese brought multi-seat night fighters and long-range day fighters on line. However, it would be possible to increase production of a new Pratt & Whitney-powered version of the Sunderland.
For ROUNDSHOT and SOUTHERN CROSS, we'll need heavy seaplanes to support operations in remote archipelagos. The UK does not have the resources to develop a new aircraft of this type, so the G-class Short will have to fulfill this mission.
The USA could put the very large Martin Mars into service in a cargo role, but the chances of getting even one of them to participate seem very slim.
The Americans are also developing a floatplane version of their C-47C Skytrain. This aircraft is not being evaluated for long-range missions, but would be useful for local operations. Requests on these subjects should be addressed to the US government.

 

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Women in the French Air Force
From Le Fanatique de l'Aviation, a double interview conducted in 1985 for the fortieth anniversary of the 1945 Tillon Law.
Ever since Joan of Arc and even before, French women have played an active part in military action, albeit rarely as combatants and more often than not very discreetly in the eyes of history. But it wasn't until October 5, 1945 that women entered the French military establishment through the front door for the first time. The Tillon law, passed on that day, was the final step on the road to women becoming full-fledged members of the French Air Force, i.e. combatants, and was the first step on the road to full integration of female personnel into the French armed forces as a whole, with no restrictions on weapon or position. It's no coincidence that this development, which saw French women win the right to participate in the defense of their homeland, began before they won the right to vote!
The permanent integration of women into the military institution is generally traced back to the entry of nursing sisters into the Army Medical Corps during the First World War. The situation changed very little between the two wars, as both society and the military institution considered that the role of women was to stay at home, looking after the family home and having children to compensate for the losses suffered in 14-18. Nevertheless, in the 1930s, the idea emerged of allowing women volunteers to fill non-combatant positions in the armed forces, replacing men who could then be sent to the front. When war was declared, the issue was still unresolved in France, despite (or because of) the example set by the Soviet armed forces, already the most feminized in the world. It has to be said that, in addition to social and cultural obstacles, the fact that the USSR was the "Fatherland of Communism" was an additional difficulty and a major ideological deterrent. Only four women were requisitioned from the Armée de l'Air during the Drôle de Guerre, to ferry light aircraft to units; their status was that of auxiliaries, not full members of the AdA.
To give readers a better understanding of how French women rose from auxiliary ferrymen to combat pilots, and even made their way into the aristocracy of fighter pilots, Le Fanatique de l'Aviation conducted an exceptional double interview with Marianne Sullivan and Charles Tillon.
We met them in one of the press rooms at the Paris Air Show, where they were both guests of honor on the occasion of the show's fortieth anniversary.
A meeting which, as you will read, was not lacking in spice.

Le Fanatique de l'Aviation - This year, France celebrates the fortieth anniversary of the entry of women into the fighting units of the Armée de l'Air, Monsieur le Ministre...
Charles Tillon - I know that once a minister, always a minister, but I prefer Charles Tillon, please. Or Camarade Tillon, if you feel like it (smiling).
FdA (stammering a little) - Uh... Certainly... So, the Tillon law opened all Air Force positions to women without restrictions. While most French aviation enthusiasts are familiar with the experimental project of autumn 1942, few know that the great adventure of women's entry into our air force began during that terrible summer of 1940. What were you doing at that time, Mrs. Sullivan?
Marianne Sullivan (with bronze seriousness) - First of all, young man, if I were a man, how would you address me?
FdA (losing what was left of his composure) - Uh... I... Yes, I understand. So, uh, General, what were you doing back then?
MS (with a charming smile, rare for a general) - For a woman, we say "general", because "my" is short for "sir". But that'll do for this time. So, in June 40, I was at the Lafayette, the Club Lafayette in Paris, alas, not the other Lafayette, with my parents. After my return from England in October 1939, I had spent my time gnawing at the bit and unsuccessfully volunteering to serve as an Air Auxiliary. As there had been four requisitions, I was hoping for a widening of the measure, but to no avail.
CT - I was in Bordeaux clandestinely on behalf of the Communist Party, whose structures I was to reorganize in the greater South-West region. The Party had suffered from the arrests and resignations that followed the signing of the German-Soviet Pact and our outlawing. At the time of the Sursaut, I was seriously dreading the prospect of my country being invaded and its republican government overthrown and replaced by Nazi-backed traitors, whose arrival on the scene was predictable.
FdA - What were your reactions to the announcement of Sursaut on June 13?
CT - A huge surprise and a huge relief! I could already see us capitulating. In fact, even after the speeches on the 13th and De Gaulle's appeal on the 14th, I was still worried. In fact, it was the announcement of Pétain's "illness" that reassured me - I soon learned the truth from certain "fellow travelers" in the ministries, and I thought that if the government could get rid of such a character, it would continue the fight to the end. So, in the space of a few hours on the 15th, I wrote a text calling for us to continue the fight against the invader and his likely accomplices, which I distributed as widely as possible.
MS - It was the most spectacular thing I've ever done. I was deliriously happy to see that my country was continuing to fight, even as talk of surrender began. On the 15th, invoking a directive of May 27 to create a corps of female air force auxiliaries, which had gone completely unnoticed at the time, the government launched an appeal to all the willing women in the national air force. As soon as I could, I immediately volunteered, myself and my Tiger Moth, in which I had left Paris around the same time as the government.
FdA - How did your family react?
MS - My parents understood my motivations, and even though they weren't exactly thrilled to see me leave, they gave me their blessing. It was a great comfort and helped me a lot morally.
CT - For my part, I hadn't seen my family or the comrades of the underground Party leadership for a long time, and I didn't get to know their reactions for several months. I confess I reacted viscerally, without worrying about possible reactions.
FdA - And what did you do next?
MS - I worked as a cab driver, ferrying planes between Metropolitan France and North Africa, then to Africa, until September. I even went as far as Sudan once with a Fairey Battle to do the Belgians a favor!
CT - I did it again on July 14, for the Fête Nationale, and on August 10, just after the end of the Battle of France, with new texts calling for the fight to continue. However, I continued my mission on behalf of the Party throughout the summer. It was only in November, on my return to Paris, that I learned that my appeals had been poorly received by the leadership. Duclos and Thorez had not appreciated my deviation from the party line and the fact that I was compromising the solidity of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. I was too important an executive for the CP to condemn me openly, but the Party has a long memory. This rift would deepen over the years, culminating in 1952 in what the newspapers called the Marty-Tillon affair - but that's another story.
FdA - When did you decide to join the hunt, Madame... um, General?
MS - It was my dream from the start. But in September 1940, when we heard that the Armée de l'Air was willing, at least in theory, to recruit natives of the Empire, we thought, me and other women pilots, that if the government was willing to recruit black, yellow or Arab pilots (don't be shocked, young man, that's how we saw things in those days), women had a chance. So we applied for combat units.
FdA - You must have been disappointed by the rejection you received!
MS - And so were all the other candidates. We were all so excited at the prospect
the prospect of making a more active contribution to the war effort! Fortunately, so to speak, the situation was such that the French Air Force decided in October to see if it could do something with its female couriers, and all the female auxiliary pilots met at an air base to assess their abilities. There must have been about fifty of us in all, with quite a few celebrities. At the end of the month, we were oriented according to our results. Some stayed on as couriers, others (the older ones) as instructors, and a few of us were selected for transport pilot training.
It wasn't paradise, but at least we'd gained one thing in the process: we'd become Air Force pilot officers, with the rank of second lieutenant. That was very encouraging!
FdA - Meanwhile, what were you up to in Paris, Monsieur Tillon?
CT - Things weren't going very well for me. I was being criticized for my writings over the summer, and I was less and less in agreement with the attitude of the leadership. I had made my disagreement known when I learned that a Party delegation had asked the Germans for the right to publish l'Humanité again, and they were trying to get rid of me for fear I would go beyond protest leaflets.
That's when the idea of sending me to Africa came up. The leadership of the underground CP was faced with a major problem. On the one hand, in Paris, there was a collabo government from which there was nothing to be expected, but also Occupation authorities from which, in the name of the Pacte, we could expect preferential treatment. And on the other hand, in Algiers, the legal government, with which we had no relations. Now, given the Nazi ideology, it was foreseeable that sooner or later things would turn sour between Germany and the USSR. At that point, it would be a good idea to have a link with Algiers to clear up misunderstandings and avoid possible retaliatory measures. The Party leadership therefore decided to send me to Algiers to act as an unofficial liaison with the government-in-exile. If in the end the confrontation between the Reich and the Soviet Union did not take place, or if anything went wrong, it would be my fault alone. Moscow was informed and found the idea interesting.
So I took the road to Spain!
FdA - But you risked imprisonment in either Spain or Algeria, or both!
CT - That's true, and I'm sure some people wouldn't have shed a tear if I'd spent a few years in Franco's jails. But in those days, when the Party gave an order, we obeyed without question. So, at the beginning of November, thanks to the help of some Catalan friends I'd made the year before on my humanitarian mission, I crossed the Spanish border illegally. Getting there had been very easy, as the evaporation of a large part of the gendarmerie had left gaping holes in the coverage of the territory.
FdA - At the same time as Charles Tillon was entering Spain, you, my... er, General, were beginning were beginning your transport pilot training, weren't you?
MS - And it wasn't sad! We weak women were supposed to have only a very limited knowledge of military life, and we took advantage of this to take liberties with the regulations. Between the refusal to accept military gastronomy and hygiene, or anything in its place, and the desire of some to remain coquettish, we didn't get bored, all the more so as our poor instructors found it hard to give us the same punishments as the men. Besides, as professionals, they knew that some of us were at least as capable as they were! Finally, after four months, in March 1941, I completed my training and was assigned to transport government officials and foreign dignitaries. I owed this assignment to the fact that I spoke fluent English. I accumulated flying hours, first as co-pilot, then as captain, and kept in touch with my female colleagues. It was through them that I learned that a flight training course for women was being set up - it remained embryonic until '44, but it was symbolically important.
FdA - Is that when you arrived in Algeria, Mr. Tillon?
CT - It took me four months to cross Franco's Spain. It was quite fast for the time, and I avoided going to prison thanks to false identities, disguises, almost real false papers and even a few bribes.
Once in Africa, I decided to be cautious and took the temperature of political life. I wanted to find out who I could contact to ensure the success of my mission while avoiding prison. My former parliamentary comrades were in prison deep in the boondocks, except for those who had denounced the German-Soviet pact, whom I preferred to avoid, at least for the time being.
So I went through a parliamentary colleague from the SFIO, with whom I'd made friends in the days of the Front Populaire. Naturally, he informed Blum, who let me know he wouldn't denounce me, but nothing more - I understood from his cold reaction that he hadn't forgotten that the PC had supported his government "like the rope supports the hanged man". My friend then advised me to try and meet De Gaulle. He was a newcomer to the political game, unaffiliated with any camp and playing a key role in the government. His great personal qualities and remarkable radio performances already made him, for the most far-sighted, Reynaud's successor.
I began by meeting a young member of his team, Michel Debré, who went on to make his mark.
FdA - Debré? He must not have been very kind!
CT - You can say that again! But as soon as you mentioned the word "France", he'd shut up his prejudices. And he arranged a meeting for me with the man he was already calling "le Général" and hardly ever "le ministre" - but I had to present myself at the Ministry, alone and unescorted. I went, half-expecting to leave to visit the Sahara, but my fears proved unfounded. I found him frosty, but Debré, who was there, told me that the General had been very satisfied and that he would speak about my mission, not at the Council of Ministers, but at the National Defense Council.
But it wasn't all plain sailing: Reynaud initially wanted to have me thrown in jail, but De Gaulle managed to convince him not to "insult the future". And according to what I've since learned, he presented me to the government as "a communist, yes, but also a true patriot", based on my three texts from the summer of '40.
FdA - Women pilots were a long way from these backstage manoeuvres!
MS - To say the least! My position did allow me to glean some curious rumors, but there were so many back then! For example, during a long flight with the Minister of War in the autumn of 1941, I understood, mingling with the passengers at each stopover, that Laurent Eynac's position was fragile and that De Gaulle was irritated by Pierre Mendès-France's constant refusal to join the government. But like the other female pilots, I was far more interested in anything that might bring me closer to the fighting squadrons, such as gleaning valuable information on tactics and maneuvers from sympathetic male colleagues. Adrienne Bolland, on the other hand, managed to fly practically anything with a stick and propellers between 1940 and 1942.
On a personal note - don't forget that I was only 22 - I had the great joy, in the spring of 42, of being reunited with my parents, who had made a huge detour through Spain, Portugal and the United States, all without incident thanks to my father's American passport. They couldn't bear the idea of having a clientele at Club Lafayette made up mainly of German soldiers, nor of leaving their little daughter lost in Africa for so long. They managed to board a troop transport for Operation Bolero, and as soon as they arrived in Algiers, my father set up the Algerian Star, whose clientele was made up of American soldiers. The Star still exists, by the way, but it's now a cinema.
FdA - Charles Tillon, how did you go about your mission?
CT - At the beginning of July 1941, I set up a false identity in the suburbs of Algiers to keep a close eye on political life. I was particularly attentive to questions of armaments and aeronautics. As for my role as intermediary, I played it on several occasions, but the information Algiers asked me to pass on was often intended more for Moscow than for the PCF leadership, which didn't make my role any less important - on the contrary.

 

[demolitiondan]

FdA - The next stage began with Germany's invasion of the USSR in May 1942.
CT - That's right. On June 5, my five-year prison sentence was overturned. On
September, I regained my seat as a deputy, initially as a non-registered member, of course, and on the 5th, I joined the Air Commission, at the instigation of De Gaulle, who had learned that this was one of my favourite subjects. one of my favorite subjects. I was finally back in parliament, while continuing to fulfil my my role as unofficial liaison officer.
FdA - And it was as part of your duties on the Air Board that you met the women
women pilots in the French Air Force.
CT - Exactly. In mid-September, I was given the task of checking whether the funds allocated to the training of women pilots were being used properly.
I think it was a sort of hazing, but I was delighted. I found that many of these women were driven by strong patriotic feelings, to the point of asking for a divorce, which was not taken lightly in those days.
Most felt frustrated in their desire to contribute more actively to the war effort, and would have liked to go into combat. That's when I came up with the idea of setting up a women's fighter squadron, inspired (but not out loud!) by the Soviet example. At first, however, I confined myself to making discreet contacts - what we now call a feasibility study.
FdA - The opposing prejudices must have been very strong?
CT - Without false modesty, only the determined and constant action of a man motivated on both a personal and ideological level could give women access to the combatant function. In the political landscape of war-torn France, no member of a party other than the PC was prepared to launch and support such an idea. Not even feminists like Paul Reynaud, or men such as Léon Blum who were in favor of improving the status of women, would have initiated such a measure. More than political, the obstacles were cultural and psychological. The very idea of sending women into combat, with all the risks that entailed, contrasted too sharply with the image of women at a time when they were mainly seen as wives, mothers and homemakers.
FdA - Had you planned to join the government in October?
CT - It had been clear since mid-July that sooner or later the PCF would cease to be illegal, and that a ministerial reshuffle would allow Communists to join the government.
But I hadn't planned to be one of them, let alone a forerunner, since the official entry of the Communists would only take place when the government was reshuffled after the fall of Mussolini. With hindsight, of course, it seemed natural - I had returned to national representation and my image as a "patriotic communist from June 40" was beginning to become a political asset. I accepted the offer without seeking the agreement of the PCF leadership, which I was later fiercely criticized for doing - but I would have had to go through a long circuit of secret messages that would have passed through Duclos in France before reaching Thorez in Moscow, and the matter would have been finally decided by the Soviets. After all, it was the French government! In short, I became Minister for Air Affairs on October 9, 1942, enabling De Gaulle to get rid of Laurent Eynac, whom he had always found too soft. And - among many other things - I was able to plan the implementation of my women's squadron project.
FdA - When did you hear about this project, General?
MS - In the second half of October 1942, like most of the other girls. At that time, Charles Tillon discreetly contacted most of the women pilots serving in the Armée de l'Air to see if they were interested. His initiative was obviously enthusiastically received. As I'd had the pleasure of taking him on board, he asked me personally if I'd be up for it, and I gave him an immediate positive answer, or almost.
FdA - Almost?
MS - Yes, just long enough to catch my breath and pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming!
CT - With the ladies in agreement, I easily won the support of the government, but alas, a discreet support. Parliament was full of skeptics, not to mention the general staff, who would have preferred to hire Martians! The debate began to stir the newspapers, and the female glories of national aeronautics made their voices heard. After several weeks, I realized that the socio-cultural obstacles, as we would say today, were such that my project for a women's fighter squadron would have to go forward masked. Fortunately, even the worst opponents knew how to count, and had realized that we were running out of reserves. A few dozen female pilots would be just the thing to relieve the men of ancillary tasks...
By the end of the year, I had succeeded in getting it accepted that women would have the right not only to fly transport and convoy aircraft to remote front-line areas, but also to deliver aircraft, including fighters, to front-line squadrons.
not only to pilot transports and ferry aircraft to remote areas of the front, but to deliver aircraft, including fighters, to front-line squadrons. I knew, everyone knew, that this was just a stage, but appearances were safe. Incidentally, I like to think that this debate facilitated the passage of the law on women's suffrage some time later.
MS - I'm sure it did, but we didn't think much about it at the time. The main thing was to prepare for departure for the Meknès Hunting Training Center, which took place in May 1943. The general staff hadn't really sped things up... We'd been told over and over again that it was just a training course to ferry modern aircraft to the fighting units, but nobody was fooled.
At the time, the nickname "Tillonnettes" was already starting to circulate. At the time, it was mainly used to make fun of us, and its meaning only changed later on.
FdA - What were the stages in your training?
MS - We started with a session on the North-American T-6 Texan, which was mainly devoted to teaching us how to fly in formation and apply fighter rules. We all had much more extensive general training than normal student pilots, and we were already familiar with the T-6, but we still lacked some of the military basics. After a month on the T-6, i.e. 28 to 35 flying hours, we had nothing more to learn in this respect - I remember witnessing a little domestic scene in the cockpit of one of the aircraft between Monsieur Vinchon, one of our instructors, and Adrienne, who was as experienced as he was, if not more so... and who, in real life, was Madame Vinchon. She, of course, wasn't there to go and fight - she would have liked to, but she was 45, she was all of us! She was about to become an official instructor. And she even ended up training men!
Anyway, in June we finally got down to business.
FdA - The single-seaters?
MS - Yes, first the H-751, or H-75A4, you know, the one with the Wright Cyclone.
The plane was delightful, with excellent ailerons and it turned well, but the engine was detestable. Twice I came back from gliding because the Cyclone had squeezed a piston. These planes had seen a lot of people since 1940. We were reluctant to shake them hard, which was a pity given their flying qualities. Then came the H-81, which the British called Tomahawk. It was faster than the H-751, but not worth it in terms of maneuverability. Nevertheless, I managed to land it "three points" on the first try, thanks to the advice I'd received from some American pilots - I'd flown a number of them when they arrived in 1942.
In mid-July 1943, we switched to the Dewoitines, which had all been concentrated at the CIC. This was the beast that had made us dream so much, the fighter of the Corsican battles and the Tunis Blitz. Only, it was a beast that had to be tamed.
First, a familiarization flight on a D-520 DC. My instructor was a veteran of the 1940s and the battles of Corsica, rested because of a bad wound sustained over Sicily. He immediately put me through the test. That's what we called the load factor stall. You squeeze a turn and wham, off you go in the other direction in an unleashed barrel roll that can turn into a spin. Oh, it was more spectacular than dangerous at altitude, because the plane came out of the spin quickly and well. I soon learned where the limit was. The Dewoitine would shudder significantly for an experienced pilot before stalling. In fact, it was a very interesting aerodynamic feature. It allowed you to reverse a turn at will.
I was released solo and had a lot of fun, first on a D-520M and then, by special permission, on one of the few D-520Ms in the world. special permission, on one of the rare D-523 AS. At the time, it no longer impressed anyone with its performance, but it had been the fastest plane in the Mediterranean in early 1941. In fact, it still had a lot left in the tank, and was a good stoker. And, like the D-520M, it had very light controls, which suited me fine.
On the other hand, the D-520M introduced me to another of its specialties: the wooden horse. When we landed, we taxied a little and then had to bring it right back to its place. And then, fearing I was coming in too fast, as I'd lost too much speed to control the plane at the controls, I tried differential braking to steer it. Phew, I ended up in a pylon! Good thing it wasn't a D-523! On the other hand, the left leg of the landing gear folded nicely in the right direction and there wasn't too much breakage. The mechanics had a bit of work to do, and I bought my round of drinks at the mess. We were told that the fault had practically disappeared in operations, because we'd just put the throttle back on to go under cover.
Then, just to show us a bit of everything, we were given a chance to try out the Spit V. Still a real myth. I was a little disappointed. Sure, it flew well, and turned even better. But God, the ailerons were hard! It put your biceps to the test, and was perfect for building muscles!
Finally, I moved on to the Mustang. First the Allison-powered NA-73. The plane was heavier at the controls than the Spit, and much heavier than the Dewoitine, apart from the ailerons, and it was very fast close to the ground. We did the shooting school with them. I can assure you that the 12.7s were a blast to fly... We'd come in at 500 feet, clear off at the station wagon and land in pairs. It was the ideal aircraft for ground attack.
Next came the NA-89, then the NA-102. They had kept all the good qualities of the NA-73, but added the Merlin. A real gem, that engine. It turned in every position, and you could shake it without risk. With the NA-102, we started to approach the speed of sound in a dive. The plane shook as if a jackhammer had been attached to its tail. I flew the Spit IX after the war, and it dived faster with no major problems. I was told that it was the thickness of the wing that made the difference. The Spit had a 13% wing, one of the thinnest ever fitted to a plane of this generation. The Mustang had a thicker wing, 14.5% I believe, but it had a laminar airfoil. Hence the aircraft's range, which was extraordinary. The Spit's legs were shorter and it didn't go as far, but it could dive up to Mach 0.8 without any real problems.
FdA - And you hit the nail on the head...
MS - Finally, we did the UCO in Marrakech, then in Boufarik.
In December 1943, we were officially admitted to the Chasse as "Personnel Naviguant Non Opérationnel - Chasse" or Penano-Chasse. Only that was the theory...
FdA - Meanwhile, Charles Tillon, you carried out your ministerial duties seriously and diligently, not hesitating to visit schools, workshops and combat units.
CT - I did my utmost. After the Provence landings, I even flew to the front line to see the situation for myself. But as far as my protégés were concerned, I kept my distance so that no one could accuse me of favoritism towards them. I did, however, make sure that their training was going well and that they lacked nothing. At that time, I only met them on a few official occasions.
FdA - At last the big day arrived!
MS - On January 2, 1944, the Hélène-Boucher class received their posting orders, but not really in the usual way, during a big ceremony at Algiers Maison-Blanche, with fanfare and speeches. And Monsieur Tillon, of course, as master of ceremonies.
CT - With the agreement of the government, I decided to give the event a certain political for political reasons. I also wanted to enlist the public's support, as my objective was always a fighting women's squadron!
It has to be said that some people that day looked as if they'd swallowed a rusty umbrella.
MS - We were a hundred miles away from such political considerations. Ever since the landings in the summer of '43, we'd been dreading the fact that the war would end without us! All the girls couldn't wait to fight at last, or at least to get closer to the front. Several of us had intrigued to get this or that famous Group - because of our origins, for example, Komarov (although the daughter of White Russians) wanted to go to the Besançon and I to the Lafayette. Adrienne Bolland put an end to the squabbles by discreetly organizing a draw on Christmas Eve, with the assignments that the staff intended for us.
FdA - So the rumour about the "Loto de Noël 43" was true!
MS - And it was Hélène Darmon who brought out the Lafayette newsletter. I was a bit angry with her at the time, but she really deserved her place. I couldn't complain, I was at Cigognes. After that, Hélène proved at the front that she deserved her place, right up to the end. (General Sullivan remains silent for a moment, visibly moved by this memory).
FdA - Not all women pilots of her generation had the same destiny...
CT - Indeed. Madeleine Charnaux (42 years), Yvonne Jourjon (45 years), Maryse Bastié (46
and Geneviève Lefèvre-Seillier (43) found themselves instructors, as did Adrienne Bolland (49). In all, out of thirty students, twenty-one entered the Chasse - the Académie Française officially calls us chasseresses.
FdA - How did the integration into your units go?
MS - Better than we might have feared. Of course, we were eagerly awaited.
At first, our new team-mates looked at us like curious beasts. Then, like circus monkeys, because we really knew how to fly, and we were doing a real service by saving the fighters tedious and tiring convoys. There was a curious mixture of pride, repulsion and incomprehension in these gentlemen's eyes. We were treated to dubious jokes and sexist stories, but we escaped the hazing. I think the reputation of our old-timers protected us - all those pre-war records had left their mark...
CT - And I had given very clear instructions, with the threat of transfer to Tamanrasset or Saint-Pierre et Miquelon. The prospect of the Sahara calmed those most opposed to the arrival of women in the unit.
MS - After two months, the inappropriate comments and questionable jokes disappeared.
It must be said that our brothers-in-arms were able to see that we flew as well and, in general, better than the male rookies who were sent into battle.
In 1941, I had read an interview with Aziz Ramdane in the New York Times, in which he explained that he would be accepted when he was an ace or dead. In February 1944, when Marcelle Choisnet won our first victory, we took a big step forward. And an even bigger one in April, when Claire Roman fell, the first of us. The day after we found out, the guys looked at me strangely, as if expecting me to resign, finally understanding that war was a man's business. Finally, the Boss asked me: "Did you know Claire Roman?" I said yes, of course. And I continued: "What position am I flying in today?" I was told afterwards that my eyes were red, and that was probably true. The Boss nodded and concluded:
"That's the trade coming in. You're flying Red 4."
The next day, I won my first victory.
FdA - But you were supposed to be couriering!
MS - At first, that's what I did. And then, alas, gaping holes appeared in the Group's workforce. And there I was. In the end, the boss decided it would be a shame to do without an available pilot, just because she was a pilot. The first time, I took part in a familiarization flight in the region. One thing led to another...
However, the Army being what it is, the Boss and I looked for ways to cover ourselves.
cover. At my suggestion, he wrote directly to the Minister... and to his amazement, Monsieur Tillon wrote back!
CT - In fact, I'd been waiting for this kind of letter! And I immediately gave all the
"exceptional authorizations" that were requested. For Marianne Sullivan. For Marcelle Choisnet. And for Claire Roman, of course. And for the others.
FdA - How did the Germans react?
CT - At first, they thought it was a propaganda stunt, but their intelligence services had to confirm that it was serious. They then adopted an official attitude of contempt towards women fighter pilots (although they themselves had no shortage of women pilots), but the Luftwaffe pilots respected us - it must be said that the "Witches of the Night" of the VVS had proved to them that a woman at the controls of a fighter plane was not to be underestimated. For Hitler and his gang, it was proof of France's decadence and contamination by cosmopolitan Judeo-Bolshevism.
FdA - Mad... Mon général... Weren't you afraid of the risks... uh, associated with the fact, uh... being a woman?
MS - You mean the risk of rape in the event of capture? We didn't talk about it, and preferred not to think about it. Luckily, we didn't know at the time that our Soviet sisters were regular victims, just like civilians. The Soviets made the Germans pay for it, and dearly - the right price. It was like the fear of being shot, you just had to live with it. But we knew that the minister had taken measures to protect us as much as possible.
CT - It's true, we went through Switzerland to let the Germans know in a very official
Germans that if women serving in the French armed forces were the victims of attacks on their honor during their capture or detention, we would take retaliatory measures, during the war and afterwards. When I say "we", in fact, I was hiding behind De Gaulle for the occasion, judging that a message from a Communist minister might have the opposite effect to that intended.
MS - In the meantime, the second class was following the same curriculum as us at the Ecole de Chasse. And when these girls received their wings, as the Claire-Roman promotion, the word "Tillonnette" had changed meaning. From a pejorative, it had become an affectionate nickname. Units that didn't have a female "convoyeuse" started asking for one! It was a sign that the men - the pilots, I mean - saw us as their equals, at least at the controls of a fighter. We had definitively won our place in the Fighter.
As a result, Monsieur Tillon was able to realize his dream: a women's squadron, made up of the girls from the Claire-Roman class, commanded by Marcelle Choisnet.
FdA - What were the squadron's missions?
CT - Alas, she was relegated to an obscure but not without danger task: fire support over the Atlantic Pockets. A sort of low revenge on the part of certain macho staff members. Fortunately, it only lasted three or four months, since victory in Europe came. At least the girls in "my" squadron escaped some of the trouble that didn't spare the "free-riders" who operated on the main front with exceptional authorization!
MS - What the Minister means is that some of his protégés were shot down and spent time in prison camps. The Germans were very "Korrect". The stays in prison camps were no more painful than for the men. At the end of the year, we welcomed back Suzanne Janin, Elisabeth Lion and Anne-Marie Imbrecq.
Other girls were less fortunate. After Claire Roman, we lost Paulette Bray-Bouquet over the Ruhr, Andrée Dupeyron over Remagen, and then... (sigh). These deaths brought the most euphoric among us back down to earth, but they proved to men that we were just as capable as they were of going to the supreme sacrifice.
FdA - But if there were martyrs, there were also aces!
MS - That's true. I was lucky enough to achieve this status for the first time at the end of May, when my fifth victory was confirmed.
Elisabeth Boselli followed me for a few days. Marcelle Choisnet followed in June, just before she was appointed head of the women's squadron. Maryse Hilsz (on the Lightning) and Hélène Darmon were As soon afterwards. At the armistice in Europe, the Tillon promotion had 5 aces and a total of 35 victories. For that period of the war, it was magnificent: at the time, there were far more Allied planes than German in the skies over Europe. In the last few days, I even came close to shooting down a stray La-5! I saw the red stars just in time.
FdA - That's when you met your future husband, American journalist Donald Lincoln.
MS - Donald had already noticed me at the January 2 ceremony, because of my surname, which didn't sound very Petite Française. He hadn't managed to interview me until then, so I had something else to do! But a few days before the armistice, during a low-flying mission, I picked up one or two flak shells, had to land on my stomach and ended up in hospital. I was stuck there and he managed to... get his hands on me (smile).
FdA - Your nickname dates back to that interview.
MS - Yes, but I have to say I didn't enjoy it, at least not immediately. During the interview, I was frustrated at being immobilized and spoke very freely. He turned it into a resounding article in the New York Herald, which immediately made me famous on the other side of the Atlantic. Suddenly, journalists, a little idle because of the end of the fighting in Europe, wanted to talk to me. And then came the nickname, or nicknames. Donald had called me Scarface, because of the scar I'd picked up in my crash. It seems that, later on, the word was taken up by my subordinates, who wanted to say that I wasn't a convenient boss. But shortly after Donald's article, one of his colleagues heard about the make-up kit I carried in the cockpit - in fact, a compact, a comb and a tube of lipstick, which I used to relax after the mission. The caption on my photo read: "Miss Lipstick, fighter pilot! Forty years later, I'm still Miss Lipstick! I've even heard that it's in my honor that the US Air Force uses this expression to designate young female pilots.
FdA - Anyway, Charles Tillon, when the armistice came to Europe, you'd won your bet.
CT - It's true, and I wasn't the least bit proud of it. Of course, there were bad losers in political circles and in the military hierarchy, but I was certain that the women pilots had won the respect of the overwhelming majority of the armed forces and the support of the population. They had been given the right to vote, but by paying blood money, they had shown that they deserved it. And they had won the support of some of the great male aces, like Jean-Pierre Leparc, at Lafayette, and of course Yvon Lagadec, the Ace of the Allied Naval Aviation Aces, who was particularly impressed, he confided to me at the time, by Marianne Sullivan's performance.
[Apparently touched by this praise, Marianne Sullivan blushes and starts coughing. "It's nothing," she said, "I swallowed wrong" - but the reporter got the impression she was coughing to mask a burst of laughter].
FdA - And the decorations started falling down!
MS - Indeed, we were all entitled to them, to the point where men might have been jealous. Not only national decorations, but also allied medals, starting with the USSR of course, even before the end of the fighting in Europe. Depending on where we had fought, other states - Belgium, Holland, the Balkans - did the same. We were also all promoted to the rank of lieutenant, at the very least.
CT - But I didn't really feel the change until the Victory Day parade on July 14, 1945. That day, I realized that I had opened a door that could never be closed again, and that full gender diversity in the armed forces was inevitable. It was only a matter of time, and fortunately I was lucky enough to see it in my lifetime, in 1972 for the Navy, and in 1975 for the Army.
FdA - When you left hospital, you learned that you were being sent to Asia.
MS - The Allied governments had realized that the Japanese would not surrender on the pretext that they were alone against the whole world, and De Gaulle was keen for France to be represented by a strong expeditionary corps, of which the Cigognes were to be a part.
All the selected Air Force units with women in their ranks took them along. Other pilots, both men and women, volunteered.
CT - But very few got their transfer. We only made exceptions for personnel of Indochinese origin - only two of whom were women, both from the Claire-Roman class.
MS - The fighting in Asia enabled me to finish the war at the top of the list of female aces.
with a cupboard of decorations that made me look like a Soviet general or a South American dictator. And the rest of my career didn't get any better.
FdA - Some of the first female fighter pilots, including yourself, General, became living legends.
MS - If that's how you see it... But it won't bring back those who died. At least their sacrifice will have served the Fatherland and paved the way for those who followed them. As you no doubt know, the Ministry is considering appointing a woman to head the Air Force.
FdA - At the end of the war, politics took over again.
CT - In '46, I moved to the Ministry of Armaments - but I had ensured the continuity of my project. On October 5, 1945, I had passed a law permanently opening all Air Force posts to women, without restrictions.
But it wasn't easy! The normalization of the national political situation and the cold war that was beginning to show its face led some to try to block the law. But by now, the vast majority of French men and women - who were now voting! - accepted that women should have a place in the air force, and my law passed.
FdA - The first Tillonnettes commemorative meeting took place on January 2, 1946...
MS - We were all very moved. Of course, the Minister, our patron saint, had been invited.
CT - And I made sure that all those who remained - there weren't that many of them - received their captain's stripes on that occasion.

MS - A much appreciated gesture! But the meeting also gave us the opportunity to discuss what we wanted to do with our future: re-enlist in the Armée de l'Air or return to civilian life. The oldest members decided to return to civilian life. Jacqueline Auriol and Maryse Bastié opted for a career as test pilots. Adrienne Bolland and her husband founded a private air patrol. Others stayed to make a career of it, but left the fighter, to be able more easily to start a family, as they say. Suzanne Jannin and Valérie André became Evasan pilots. Yvonne Jourjon became a transport pilot again. In the end, Elisabeth Boselli, Marcelle Choisnet and I were the only members of the Hélène-Boucher class to remain in the fighter. We would have liked to have been more, but we were aware that most of the girls had joined for exceptional reasons and had never thought of making a career of it.
FdA - And how did you start the post-war period?
CT - I continued my political career. First as Minister of Armaments, then as Deputy Mayor
after the Communists were ousted from the government. For the rest, I suggest you read some of my books. Not the Party archives, of course, I'm afraid!
MS - For my part, after my greatness, I experienced military servitude... But I was prepared for it.
prepared for it. Like Monsieur Tillon, I'll refer you to my books! Or to my talkative husband, who's probably waiting for me at the bar.
FdA - How many Tillonnettes are left today?
CT - At last year's armistice celebrations in Europe, they were all there. All seven of them. Valérie André, Jacqueline Auriol, Suzanne Janin, Jacqueline Herbinière-Golay, Elisabeth Boselli, Yvonne Jourjon - and General Sullivan.
FdA - Which of those who disappeared had the greatest impact on you?
MS - Without a doubt, Adrienne Bolland! She could have been the mother of most of the girls in our class, and her sense of humor, energy and steely character were one of our most powerful moral supports.
Just then, the door to the lounge opens; a young Air Force captain comes in to announce that the time allotted for the interview has been up for a few minutes already, and that Sophia Bradford, from London's Air Chronicle, is waiting her turn in the corridor.
MS - And she doesn't like waiting, does she, Patrick? (Addressing the journalist) Meet Captain Patrick Lincoln, my son. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree! And Patrick married Sophia last year...
FdA - Oh... I'd hate to hold up a family reunion...
MS - That's all right, young man, it was the most exciting time of my life.
FdA - Any final words?
CT - I've lived many lives, and my good fortune has been that I've never wanted to forget any of them - but my Tillonnettes remain one of my fondest memories.
MS - Well, to curse someone, the Chinese wish them interesting times. I've lived in very interesting times - but if I had it to do over again, I'd do it again.

Sullivan (Marianne) - Paris, January 9, 1920 - Atlantic, December 2, 2000.
Father: Patrick Sullivan (1890-1967), American veteran of the Great War. Mother: Sylviane
Daugier (1895-1978), military nurse. Parents wealthy in the twenties In the import-export business, then reconverted to the music-hall business in 1930, with their own establishment, the Club Lafayette. Attends the best private schools in Paris, then the Dominicaines de Neuilly until age 18. Graduated with two Baccalauréats in 1937 and 1938.
Discovered aeronautics at the age of 12 at an airshow featuring Adrienne Bolland. Baptism of the air at 14. Discovered ballooning and airships in 1936, and the autogyro in 1937. Passed his pilot's license in July 1938 after 30 hours' flying. Her parents gave her a Tiger Moth as a reward for her academic success. Learns mechanics to be able to repair it herself if need be (and to satisfy a condition set by her parents). Licensed as a multi-engine pilot in January 1939, and as a night pilot in March 1939. Travels to England in August to continue flying and train at the PSV when private flying is banned in France. Returns to France in September: with some 300 hours' flying experience, she hopes to be drafted into the French Air Force, but her requests are unsuccessful.
Fled Paris for Orleans on June 12, taking off illegally from Toussus-le-Noble in his Tiger Moth. On June 15, she hears the government's appeal to all the goodwill, male and female, of the national aeronautical community, and decides to respond. She offered her services on the 18th and was immediately accepted as a female auxiliary pilot. Until the end of September 1940, she flew convoy flights in mainland France and AFN.
In October 1940, she applied for full membership of the Armée de l'Air. Joined with the rank of sergeant in November. Undergoes transport pilot training until March 1941. She was then assigned to transport VIPs, particularly foreigners, as she spoke English as well as French (she had also learned German with the Dominican Sisters, but this talent was of little use to her before the creation of NATO).
Contacted by Charles Tillon in October 1942 to join the planned women's squadron, she immediately agreed. Joined the Meknes fighter school in 1943, graduating in December with the rank of second lieutenant. Assigned on January 2, 1944 to the GC Cigognes, on the French front, as a courier. Flies P-51 Mustangs until the end of the war. Quickly made a name for herself as a pilot, managed to take part in the fighting and won her first victory in April 1944. Shot down over the front in April, she parachuted to safety and landed in the Allied lines. Wounded during a forced landing in September, her plane damaged by flak, she left a scar that earned her the nickname "Scarface" (among other nicknames). Became very popular in the United States, not least because of her American ancestry, following an interview conducted during her convalescence by the famous Donald "Abe" Lincoln and published under the title "Fighting Marianne", a reference to the journalist's famous article on the victory of the Richelieu over the Bismarck. Promoted to lieutenant at the armistice in Europe.
At the time, she had scored 8 sure and 4 probable victories.
Returned to unit at the end of November 1944, just in time to be sent to the
Pacific theater of operations in December. Promoted to Captain at the 1945 Armistice.
At the time, had a total of 14 sure and 7 probable victories. Requested to remain in the Armée de l'Air.
(...)
Married journalist Donald Lincoln (1916-1988) in 1948. One child, Patrick (1952-).
(...)
Promoted to Major General in 1976, she represented France on the NATO Air Staff.
Appointed Air Corps General in September 1980, when she retired. She then devoted herself to writing.
Passed away suddenly in December 2000 aboard the Concorde Paris-Washington, on her way to take part in the Armistice commemoration ceremonies in Europe organized by the US Air Force. Because of her ancestry, and with the agreement of France, the American government decided to confer dual nationality on her post-mortem, and to bury her in Arlington Cemetery. This provoked protests in France, and a kind of compensation: the pantheonization of Claire Roman-Boselli, the first female pilot to fall on the field of honor.
Author of Le Carnet de Vol avant le Bulletin de Vote - Mémoires d'une Française volante (1960, reed. 1982), La Promotion Tillon, 1942-1945 - Histoire des premières femmes pilotes de chasse françaises (1964), Les pionnières de l'Aéronautique, 1910-1940 (1970), L'intégration des femmes dans les forces armées françaises, 1940-1975 (Doctorat en Histoire, 1983), La mixité dans la fonction militaire, histoire, évolution et perspectives (1995), L'influence de la féminisation des armées sur la société française (1999).
(Extract from the Grand Larousse de la Seconde Guerre Mondiale, Paris, updated edition, 2005)

Tillon (Charles) - (...)
Refuses to denounce the German-Soviet pact and escapes imprisonment by going underground. In autumn 1939, he was appointed by the Communist Party leadership to reorganize the party in the south-west of France. He was in Bordeaux at the time of the Sursaut.
On June 15, July 14 and August 13, he produced leaflets calling for the fight against the invaders to continue. Signed on behalf of the PCF, although he was acting on his own initiative.
Having become an embarrassment to the Party leadership, he was sent to North Africa in November 1940 to establish a highly unofficial link with the government in Algiers. He crossed Spain under a false name and arrived in AFN after three weeks in prison, during which time Franco's authorities failed to discover his true identity.
Reaches Algiers in March 1941. Established contacts with SFIO representatives, then with General de Gaulle's cabinet, who saved him from imprisonment. Lives under a false identity in a suburb of Algiers until June 1942.

Regained his seat as a member of parliament in September 1942 and joined the Air Commission. Proposes the creation of a women's fighter squadron inspired by the Soviet example. Appointed Minister of Air in October, replacing Laurent Eynac. In early 1943, pushed for the integration of women into Armée de l'Air fighter units as escort pilots. In 1944, he created an all-women fighter squadron (half a group). On October 5, 1945, she passed a law permanently legalizing the opening of all Air Force positions to women.
(...)
His prestige embarrassed Duclos and Thorez, who intrigued against him. Warned by friends and family, he
retaliated at the "Tillon-Marty" trial in autumn 1952. He defended himself by highlighting the attitude of the Party leaders and the instructions of the "initial part of the conflict". Narrowly escaped exclusion from the Party's governing bodies and retained his electoral mandates, but was marginalized. He returned to favor with the de-Stalinization of 1957.
(...)
Despite the PCF's reticence, actively supports the social movements taking place in Western countries in the 1960s. (...)
In 1970, he was expelled from the Party leadership following his support for the "People's Spring" movements in Eastern Europe, against Soviet domination.
domination.He resigned his mandates, but remained a member of the CP.Her last political battles were for the 1972 law opening the ranks of the French Navy entirely to women, and the 1975 law opening all non-combat positions and many combat positions in the French Army to women.Retired from public life to devote himself to writing.
Died in Marseille in January 1993.Author of Au service du peuple (1960), La révolte vient de loin (1969), Un "Procès deMoscou" à Paris (1971), On chantait Rouge (1977), Le Laboureur et la République (1983), Les Cavalières des cieux (1985), Les F.T.P, soldats sans uniformes (1991), Mémoires pour en Rire (completed by his son after his death, 1994).
(Extract from the Grand Larousse de la Seconde Guerre Mondiale, Paris, updated edition, 2005)

SO NEXT ?

 

[Sport25ing]

Two in fact - outside of the ones that i've asked on the messages

1st - continuation of the secret tranmission of the SEA campaign

2nd - the Belgium exodus and their willing to fight as a independent force in several fronts

 

[demolitiondan]

Well be looking - but now, another - that it is, for me, one of the best of FFO. And one of the best author (who is, of course, not me).

From a hot July...
... comes an autumn during which it often thunders!
A mighty fortress
July 17, 1940, 23:30 (GMT+1), Fort de Sainte-Agnès (Alpes-Maritimes)
Lieutenant Pinon was riding through the passageway, sure he was going to crash, and he did. he telescoped into the semi-darkness a Decauville wagon being pushed by two guys the semi-darkness, he telescoped a Decauville wagon being pushed by two guys who were planning to head for Block 2. the civilian power supply had been cut off for some time, resulting in twenty days on the generators and a pallid, almost agonizing light. a pallid, almost dying light, all of which didn't smell very good, or even very bad indeed! in fact! In the early evening, he had passed through the corridor where the troop toilets opened. The smell was overwhelming, something wild and sadly human.
After painstakingly extracting himself from the wagon, he rudely scolded the two pushers and received a vague mumbled response. Shrugging his shoulders, he resumed his solitary course towards block 3.
With a sigh, he opened the first door he could find and stumbled across a heap of men huddled together in the troop washrooms, all of them waiting their turn to do tiny, improbable laundry in addition to their washing; the showers, which he barely glimpsed, oozed anemic streams of water... After what seemed an interminable wait, he was answered by a long series of inaudible sputterings. Fatalistic in the face of induction, he realized he would never be heard and hung up. Abandoning his submariners and other washermen in the stubborn fog, he made his way towards the PC-OPS, certain that he would find some understanding, some humanity in short.
Like Theseus wandering through the maze, but sure of his path, the Major d'ouvrage advanced through what was looking more and more like a cesspool, almost a month that they had been fighting, crushing under their fire all enemy progress on the corniche, the preferred target of Block 2, the most powerful of the whole line, and on the heights to the north, the target of Block 3, to sweep away any enemy infiltration like chaff. Twenty days without relief, punctuated only by two very limited supplies, except for ammunition. The cockerel had begun, on his orders, a discreet rationing policy, the consequences of which were insidiously beginning to be felt.
He saw a stretcher carried by two men preceded by a sergeant, who explained that the changing of the VDP bell at the Vieux Château had gone badly, the descending sentry had slipped on a wet bar and flattened himself on the ascending sentry, who was being taken to the infirmary.
Pinon resumed his almost blind progress and passed in front of the kitchen, from which powerful fumes were emanating. Once again, he bumped into a Decauville wagon and almost smeared himself in the various materials it was filled with; the designers of the fortified line had simply forgotten the problem of disposing of the waste that was piled up as best they could in all sorts of containers! The rooster came forward and handed him a quart of broth. Pinon took it greedily and drank it almost in one gulp, burning the roof of his mouth.
Pinon slumped a little, though he'd expected it, in combat, the water consumption of the armament was simply delirious, but the cooling of the guns came first, rapid fire had its demands, cruel to the crew. He gave the cook a famous tip on the resurgence that cascaded into the corridor of block 3 and advised him to fill at least one wagon with it before feeding it into the boiler of his stove. He would do this tomorrow, after half past five, before the opening of the fire.
Reinvigorated by the broth and its illuminating solution to the lack of ancillary water, he resumed his perilous progress with an almost martial, or at least determined, step, sure as he was of his rightfulness and the military rectitude of his decisions. He'd been told that the work had cost nearly sixteen million eight hundred and twenty-one thousand Poincaré Francs, so he wasn't so sure that after twenty-seven days of fighting, the Republic was still getting its money's worth.
Pinon approached the HQ with a light touch and saw, apart from two transmitters, only one officer, Captain Testas, who reigned supreme over the fort's artillery. He was working on the The enemy, like water, was always infiltrating, the activity never stopped, like a factory of sorts, a factory plagued by outrageous Fordism.
Testas turned and joked with him about the mess of his outfit. He was a cold, competent artilleryman who liked the Major de l'ouvrage, whom he considered, without saying so, to be the soul of fortification. Always on the move, racking up the miles and snooping around, he was a man of simple solutions to sometimes very complicated problems. Pinon dusted himself off as best he could, Testas removing a piece of macaroni that had stuck to his kepi, which they had eaten for dinner, and asked where he had picked it up, Testas nodded for a long time as he listened to the lieutenant's picaresque tale, after which he could only advise him to go to his room and get some rest, while making an appointment to meet him at 4.30 sharp in the Pacha's room.

 

[demolitiondan]

A work of too many
August 17, 1938, Nice
Late in the evening, the archdiocese received a telephone call from the Hôpital Saint-Roch. an absolute emergency, said the head nurse of the Third Ward. a priest, but the hospital chaplaincy wasn't answering, so someone was needed, and right away! immediately! The archbishop's personal secretary sighed. The only one on the premises at this late hour he had little choice but to pack all his belongings in a suitcase and take the bus to the bus to Saint-Roch. Given the urgency of the situation, there would be no altar boy.
.........
Old Gobbia was a legend in the Alpes-Maritimes building trades, owner of a company specializing in civil engineering, he was the king of soundings (which, in those days, were not at all common). opinion at the time), the king of springs too, he was a whitewater specialist. specialist. Since 1930, not a single project within a hundred-kilometre radius had escaped him. he was undoubtedly the master of drilling and coring, and when it came to coring, he knew a thing or two. he knew a thing or two about core drilling.
It was always the same old story: the old man would turn up at the crack of dawn with his flatbed truck (brand new since '37), quickly meet the architect, site manager or even the landowner, paint a large white cross in the indicated spot, push his cap back on top of his head and light a Bastos. His first worker, meanwhile, would unhitch the American compressor (brand new since '37), take out the out the pneumatic hammer and, assisted by an arpeteer, began tracing the ground. take a dozen hours to assemble their 15-meter derrick, a vast meccanoid assembly tangle of round tubes, install the motor and pump on the hoist, and set up the first motor and pump, and fit the first section of drill pipe with bit (all, of course, new since new since '37).
Proud as he was of his American equipment, he never tired of climbing onto the second platform, scanning the horizon with a fierce look and little chin movements that betrayed his Roman side, taking a photo, watching the drill pipe pissing water, scrutinizing the steam escaping twelve meters below. D.. that he'd been right to deal with the Borie company for the fort's construction site, he'd been stuck with it up to then, paid in cash and all that, that's the one and only advantage of general contractors for small subcontractors.
Yes, all this to say that from the Capitol to the Tarpeian Rock, there's often only one step, the one he had taken by stepping back on the top platform to get a better view of the horizon and the sea, way over there in the background, in the viewfinder of his camera!
It was a 1937 Eljy Lumière et Cie (yes, business had been good too), with a Lypar lens ranging from 3.5 to 40 mm, a pure marvel, and the Nice store where he'd bought it guaranteed faithful development and remarkably velvety enlargements. His faithful wife had protested when he began to wallpaper the house with his prints, so much so that he finally retorted that he could have chosen a young and ardent mistress at all costs, and that at sixty, photography was only a pisaller. She agreed and contented herself with framing the prints in fine black wooden strips, at least for the most beautiful ones. The mitre box was always busy, and Gobbia, a meticulous man if ever there was one, even made photographic files of his surveys, which he kept in technical binders that he always carried with him in a stale, saturated briefcase.
Photography had come to him as a matter of course, a passion that had seized him in '31, on the site of the fort to come; the drilling site had been photographed from every angle. At the time, his camera was much less powerful, his good old Nada with its bellows far too cumbersome, but still remarkable, thanks to its format, for closer shots.
This was all well and good, but for the time being, Father Gobbia was confined to a hospital bed, two limbs, thorax and pelvis in plaster, having fallen almost ten meters onto the bed of his truck while backing up on his derrick, his poor head even hitting the sideboard, which didn't help matters; he was in very poor condition, complicated by a somewhat careless sixties with, alas, tobacco and alcohol abuse. The head nurse came to see him every hour, but she could feel, in every sense of the word, the insidious advance of the gangrene that was taking hold of his broken leg; in short, he was a goner.
He'd been a somewhat distant Christian since his marriage, but he knew that one day he'd have to come clean, and the time had undoubtedly come. He closed his eyes for perhaps twenty seconds, cleared his throat and gave a hoarse cry as a ward maid passed in the corridor. Sensitized to the condition of the patient, who had been placed in a private room for reasons, alas, not too obscure, she rushed over, suppressed a retching (gangrene, yes) and bent over his head, a priest, he wanted a priest, she raced to the service and reported to the head nurse, who picked up the phone, Half an hour later, his wife, his first worker and his arpeteer were sobbing their eyes out in room 12, where the Reverend Father Brucellaï, Monsignor's personal secretary, duly mandated by the archbishop's office, was expected, if not eagerly awaited.

 

[demolitiondan]

Ear confession
August 17, 1938, Nice
Brucellaï, entangled in his cassock and in contingencies, was dragging his spleen along with his suitcase through the hospital corridors. It was despairing, even though at first the signage had seemed clear and had urged him to bravely climb the building, but his efforts had been in vain! First of all, he had come up against the almost satanic power of the elevators: of the three in the hospital lobby, two were out of order and the third was overloaded - there was even a queue in front of it! He had looked around and spotted, in a recessed corner, a freight elevator whose door was reduced to a simple trellis. a simple trellis that folded in on itself, notwithstanding the sign forbidding it to the public. public - wasn't he an auxiliary of D... - he had entered and painfully caught his finger in the door, which had closed too quickly, he had looked for some kind of control box, but finding none, he resigned himself to lowering his head and discovered, a superb vertical row of push-buttons framed by multiple handwritten labels. labels, he bent down even further to read them and discovered a litany of statements which failed to mention any third floor - there was, however, a block three!
Heeding only his courage, thinking of the Jesuits who had evangelized China and those who had been martyred by the Indians, he pressed the button with a decisive gesture. To his astonishment, nothing happened, except perhaps a vague, distant sound of water, a little immaterial, and only then did he notice the sign (still handwritten) next to the lock, instructing the user to securely lock the trellis lock, otherwise no montecharge.
Listening only to the very Cartesian logic of the statement, he half-opened the trellis again, then closed it again with a gesture cautious of his fingers, this time effectively locking it. To his intense (and renewed) surprise, the elevator, instead of ascending, began to descend at a very slow pace, all compassed dignity and a series of watery noises, the cabin was bizarre, relatively narrow and all in depth, the levels scrolling by at turtle speed, The light became more and more yellowed and indistinct as he descended, and it seemed as if he had passed through an infinite number of levels when the machine finally came to a halt - or rather, attempted to do so, in a series of multiple bounces that tapered off with the sound of an asthmatic toilet flush.
He reopened the trellis, stepped out, hitting his right foot painfully on the threshold, the elevator having stopped a good ten centimetres below, he unhurriedly closed the trellis, made sure the bolt clicked into place and set off down the corridor at a determined pace. His progress was quickly halted by an individual in a white coat and surgeon's cap, who was sitting in a sort of glass aedicula that took up half the corridor and roguishly asked him what the hell he was doing there, adding that ratichons were forbidden to stay in the OR, that the freight elevator was reserved for patients and staff, that it was fragile because it was hydraulic, that it would have to be replaced eventually, as it had been since 1901, that by the end of winter 40, the new one would have been delivered... and that the service staircase was just beyond the door on the left.
Brucellaï then thought that secularism could be painful, and, a little haggard, practically in one fell swoop - after a little mistake in the archives all the same, which he had mistaken for the first floor - the seven levels that separated him from the third floor, where he arrived triumphant and out of breath. The head nurse's welcome was most sour, an hour to travel from the archdiocese to Saint-Roch, the Church obviously had a most distant view of the Christian emergency, and with that, she clamped him by a fin and threw him into a foul-smelling room, then stood facing him, arms crossed.
Brucellaï timidly asked for the window to be opened wider, and looked at the crucified man in plaster whimpering on the bed, my D... He opened his suitcase, took out a stole which he kissed and announced that he was going to confess the sick man before extreme unction, so he asked the congregation to leave, he'd call them back for the last rites, he asked incidentally what this man was doing, the head nurse turned and told him it was a building contractor - big deal Brucellaï thought, I'll be here for a while!
The truth has to be told: Brucellaï was only in for a big half-hour, the usual trifles that should not be dwelt on. The dying man had been more or less professionally correct, and Brucellaï had agreed. The old man had been absent for a long time, and the priest had once again come away with some Carmes Boyer water on a sugar cube: the drilling he'd done at Notre Dame des Neiges, on the heights of the fort, which he'd only very partially filled in, plus the preliminary drilling he'd done for the Borie company - which he'd kept quiet about because they'd all been paid for in cash, he had everything in his briefcase, even the photos, and then there was the spring too! Brucellaï, suddenly attentive (luck, he wondered, or His finger?), took the briefcase and opened it, going through the files until he found a folder marked: "Borie Frères, Notre Dame des Neiges", he opened his briefcase, stuffed the envelope into it, closed his briefcase and the old man's briefcase, which he put back in its place, the old man was off again in his delirium, he quickly gave him absolution and called the grieving family back for the extreme funeral, by eight o'clock it was all over.
The next day, at around nine o'clock, a large envelope bearing the archbishop's coat of arms was posted to the Paris address of the Apostolic Society for the Propagation of the Faith. The envelope was opened, resealed, enclosed in a larger one and, via the arrived three days later at the Mother House in Rome.

 

[demolitiondan]

The butcher's bill
July 1, 1940, Rome
The meeting of the entire royal staff lasted almost twelve hours. The Italian military were treated to a massive brace-up by a hysterical Duce, supported by more than a few insulting members of the Fascist Grand Council.
The gallant men, not too proud though, managed to get together as a small committee of Chiefs of Staff during the meal. The situation was simply dismal: no significant territorial gains, and losses that were downright unacceptable; failure would jeopardize Italy's foreign policy and the founding principles of the royal army, if not those of royalty. In short, national prestige was at stake.
Two clans clashed fiercely, with the first, the old-timers, advocating an immediate halt to the offensive, a rest for the troops and a redefinition of resources, with a view to resuming the assault in thirty days or so at the most - this clan saw its conclusions swept aside by the second, younger and more enthusiastic, who simply declared that, at the rate things were going, taking a month's break meant letting the Tedeschi win the war single-handedly! It was obvious that this could not be allowed to happen: Italy had to be guaranteed a place at the negotiating table, and a zone of occupation - and presumed annexation - had to be secured, including at the very least Nice, Corsica, Savoy and even Tunisia.
So, let's attack! However, the old-timers insisted: this was all well and good, but unrealistic without additional resources, so it was decided to bring in even more reinforcements and to get the heavy artillery across the French border as quickly as possible, despite a very negative first experience, even if this meant risking material losses, a vast air offensive would cover everything! And then there was the demand for naval action - the Navy had been asleep since the beginning, it was a scandal, it could at least cannonade those French forts that were costing the Army dearly! Everyone turned towards the back of the room, where the sailors were making themselves very small.
The owner of Supermarina rose to his feet, a grim look on his face, followed by two orderlies who, on his orders, brutally pulled back the tablecloth as it swept away the dishes. On the cleared table, the admiral unfolded a large map, around which everyone gathered. The presentation was succinct and definitive: the Italian fleet would be sunk within hours of leaving the Gulf of Genoa by the French fleet based in Toulon. What if reinforcements were brought in from Taranto? The Allies would bring in reinforcements from Gibraltar and Africa, and the disaster would be all the greater. In short, going to the massacre in an attempt to sweep away three or four forts whose brothers in the north of France had shown they could withstand any caliber, was an inordinate effort with no return. Was this what they wanted?
The audience agreed with a contrite air that this was not the desired outcome, but that something had to be done to alleviate this abominable butcher's note, that all these bodies could not be allowed to pile up for nothing, without any hope of victory, the courage of the infantrymen was immense but alas useless, what could be done?
The admiral was about to reply when a staff officer, no longer young, a little red, paunchy and out of breath, came to warn them that the meeting was about to resume; their presence was urgently desired, and without delay! Everyone rushed to the door in apparent disorder, with the Chief of General Staff leading the way, preceded by the Admiral. The Admiral turned around and told him he might have something for him, some kind of special operation that could finally be effective, and an appointment was made for a discreet medianoche that very evening.
The afternoon was, of course, most abominable. The evening meeting, on the other hand, was most attractive and even productive, at least for the participants.

 

[demolitiondan]

43°45'56.06'' North and 7°27'45.07'' East
July 18, 1940, 04:00 (GMT+1), Sainte-Agnès
Lieutenant Pinon had placed his alarm clock under his pillow, so he was inevitably roused from his dreams at around 04:00. Had he not wound up his alarm clock, Mina, the Pacha's little fox dog, would have woken him up just as inevitably - it's a strange thing about animals, Pinon thought, faithful and unchanging whatever the circumstances! After a quick caress of the dog's mane, which she would have loved to play with, he headed for his tiny washbasin to perform a perfunctory but ultimately meticulous grooming; when he set about shaving his cothurn, Lieutenant Nicolas, the infantry commander of the works, leapt to his feet, overcome by the dog's attentions, and offered to make him a juice, which Pinon gratefully accepted as he pulled on a clean shirt, G... knows when they could have another!
.........
Fifty-five meters above, three men were working on all fours in the red-filtered glow of an electric torch in the old chapel of Notre-Dame des Neiges, where the village had been located in historic times, driven from its site by the fortress whose chapel adjoined the rickety walls, a castle finally destroyed by the iron fist of Louis Dieudonné in times long past. Dressed in greenish coats held in place by canvas belts, the men seemed to be searching for something on the ground, one of them uttering a muffled cry when, by dint of dusting the beaten earth, he finally unearthed a cross made with paint, The Captain smoothed the surface of the cross with his hand until he perceived a convex relief, which he gently felt as he held out his hand to the man next to him. The Captain got to his feet, glanced at the phosphorescent hands of his watch and, putting his head level with the parapet, looked in a very precise direction that his compass had indicated to him, he discerned with difficulty three flashes made, undoubtedly, with a red-tinted flashlight, after repeating the phenomenon, he answered with four very short flashes, repeated twice, it was launched.
They had infiltrated the Cap beach at night on July 14, after long hours at sea in two submarines and appalling promiscuity with their twenty companions, half Alpine, half Marines. They were all very happy to be on dry land and, after a brief rest, to start climbing a steep spur where the Alpinians had a lot of work to do to help the sailors. Once over the obstacle, the Captain passed through a village busy celebrating its national holiday, no doubt in defiance of the looming defeat. He and his two companions headed for the fort while other detachments wandered off into the wilderness, their progress well covered by the simply marvellous fireworks display that had been maintained despite the war.
.........
Pinon, followed by the little dog, entered the Pasha's room. All the officers of the garrison were there, some on the bed where four of them were sitting, some on the desk where several of them were sitting, and with the Pasha standing and walking up and down the room, Pinon resigned himself to taking the chair, The Pasha greeted him with a nod and got down to business, after Pinon had passed him a small piece of paper and the bitch had gone to bed in her woven wicker basket on her red cushion, suddenly very well-behaved.
After an initial reminder of what the Republic, General Montagne and General Magnien expected of them, he immediately admitted that direct communications had been cut off with Nice HQ, but that this was not so serious, as the mountain provided the voice relay, as did the fort on the basse corniche, with which the optical links worked perfectly; As far as the latter was concerned, Block 2 seemed to be out of action, while to the north the batteries were spitting out all their weapons. No problem on their side, but we'd have to take care to stop any infiltration from the top of the works, so we'd have to specifically support the lower corniche fort with a hell of a fire, starting at 6 a.m. or as soon as we saw something. The officers drank the juice and left the room in good order, though the Pasha held back Pinon, the work major.
.........
The Captain observed the extraction of the plug, which in the end was only made of consistent plaster covered with a thin layer of concrete for protection; Once the orifice was clear, he took a coin and dropped it through the hole, listening with his ear to the ground. After what seemed an infinite time, he heard a small, dry, clear and distant metallic noise; to be on the safe side, he doubled it with a polished steel ball, Satisfied, he stood up and called for the introducer, which was placed over the hole and pushed in some fifty centimetres, all at a five-degree angle. The men then began to feed the twenty-millimetre pipe through it, applying black soap from time to time. Multiple sections of pipe, piled up along the parapet, had been deposited there by the rest of the workforce, now flown off like starlings in spring.
.........
Like everyone else aboard the ship, Pinon greatly respected Commander Panzani, the fort's pasha. He was a very good officer, with a melancholy air, a little scrupulous no doubt, but feared by the crew, who obeyed him almost reflexively. He was a bachelor, with no known affairs, and the only female presence in his entourage was his dog, although he could have recruited the charming customers who swarmed the Righi in '38 and '39, as the fort's popote was very popular on the ledges... Pinon had unknowingly come close to the truth when he saw him take the train from Nice to Digne on a day's leave.
The Pacha told Pinon three things.
Firstly, that, exceptionally, the watch would be relieved by the picket watch at 5:30 a.m. and sent directly to the showers and washbasins, ready to reinforce the new watch if necessary.
Secondly, that Lieutenant Pinon, the works major, would personally head up a corvée that would push out, with the drawbridge lowered, the four Decauville wagons full of garbage parked in front of the lazarette. An attempt would have to be made to get them over the small parapet outside. The Pasha pointed out in passing that he had authorized the filling of another wagon with water from the resurgence, but that he would have preferred to be informed of this in the proper manner.
Thirdly, that he, the work's Pasha, would move to the ventilation room at 05:30, take charge of team Z and thoroughly ventilate the fort from top to bottom for thirty minutes, with forced ventilation no less. Once his first mission of the day was completed, he would ask the works major to join him in the aforementioned room before the fire was opened.

 

[demolitiondan]

Four ways to die
July 18, 1940, 05:10 (GMT+1), Notre-Dame des Neiges and Sainte-Agnès
The Captain looked down at his hands with a sigh, they were in a sorry state, he wouldn't be playing again for a while. he wouldn't be playing the piano again for some time to come. hose into the bowels of the fort's tops. His companions helped him into his cumbersome before taking cover behind the castle wall. boots, gloves and mask; the air bottles on his back fed the closed circuit fed the closed circuit that allowed him to breathe before he grabbed the heavy, pressurized metal bottle. He screwed the pressure reducer fitting directly onto the threaded end of the last cylinder. the threaded end of the last section, opened the tap and watched the needle rise slowly to three bars. It would take half an hour, maybe forty-five minutes, albeit with help from the source!
.........
The chief, a model of punctuality, left the lazarette at 5:30 a.m., accompanied by a second-hand cook from the watch, pushing their astonishing wheelbarrow without too much effort, they made their way gently towards Block 3, and after a quarter of an hour came to a section of curving passageway, made of bare rock cut directly from the mountain, and which had not benefited from the usual piss-colored coating.The infantryman bent down and set about removing a foreign object from the right-hand front wheel, while the chief's gaze was drawn to something hanging from the ceiling. Climbing onto the wagon to get a clearer view, he made out a piece of pipe with a complicated metal end-piece that had a sort of protective cup, His companion was no better off, dying on the painted floor, clutching a one-lira coin in his clenched fist.
The steel ball, for its part, animated by an isochronous movement, had stopped, guided by the right-hand rail, just at the threshold of the ventilation room door that the Pasha had passed through earlier.
.........
The Captain looked at his watch, thirty minutes had passed and the manometer needle was oscillating around one hundred millibars, it was all over, his men had all gone back up into the castle courtyard, even those from the spring, the latter all carrying bottles, They all carried bottles, smaller than his and of a different model, some carried curved poles and sections of pipe, they looked very weary, some wore a wicked grin and others trembled in spite of themselves, it takes courage to kill your fellow man, especially in a certain way. The Captain closed the pressure gauge, dissociated the bottle from the hose, fitted it with a threaded stopper and began to un-equip himself, keeping the gloves which he placed at the very end in the thick rubber bag he left open against the low wall of the chapel. Two men came down to join him and pulled on the pipe, which resisted at first, but could only give way at once to the bowed men. Recovery took ten minutes, until the penultimate section was found to have ruptured - it must have been lost somewhere in the borehole.
Everyone gathered in the ruins of the chapel, where the Captain appeared to be praying behind clasped hands, and then, at six o'clock, gave the order to move.He was carrying the big bottle in the sack on his back.
.........
Lieutenant Pinon was living a nightmare. He had been in charge of the wagon chores, and once the drawbridge had been lowered, the parapet had been breached on the fourth attempt, with the rubbish wagons plunging into the ravine. With the drawbridge up, Pinon let the men off for the showers, lingering with the team in block 1, where he stepped with his left foot on a large stain of odorous, oily matter hidden behind the door, then hobbled over to block 2 - not only did it stink, it was sticky! A desolate sight greeted him: on the various levels, all the men were on the floor in the most baroque positions, most had vomited and no one was moving, an extremely powerful garlic scent permeating the whole block. Automatically, he put on his brand-new mask, which he was the only one in the company to have - he got it on a trip to Paris.
Having seen no projectile impact, he ran back down and caught a glimpse of the crew of Block 1 lying on the ground, shit, what could be going on, quick, tell the Pasha, he passed the barracks where most of the men were stretched out on their beds, the others lying on the ground, he passed the kitchen where nothing was moving, then the washbasins where bodies were spilling out of the door, Finally, he reached the corridor leading to the ventilation room, where he came across a staggering white bitch, which he took under one arm, and a shiny steel ball, which he clutched in his left hand, with pink foam on his lips and a face deformed by pain, his hand clenched on the by-pass valve, in traction, as if he'd tried to close it again - for the forced ventilation, the shunt had been opened to bypass the filter... Pinon fiddled once more with the polished steel ball and slumped over the bitch, vomiting into his mask, everything turned black.

July 18, 1940, 06:30 (GMT+1)
In his Nice HQ, General Magnien was desperately agitated, as the guns on Sainte-Agnès remained mute! Once again, he asked for information from the ouvrage du Mont Agel, who could only tell him that the voice link had been lost. Some had quietly attacked the fort?
In desperation, Magnien ordered a sweep shot over the heights of Sainte-Agnès. The 155 battery reacted in less than three minutes, the targets having been spotted in advance. Four shells landed on the western wall of the old château, followed by a dozen more at close range. Magnien was unaware that the shots had the desired effect on the supposed attackers.
The Captain's detachment was wiped out. The men spared by the shells were crushed under tons of crumbling stone blocks, from the level of the château to that of the chapel, and the Captain, mortally wounded by shrapnel, was thrown to the bottom of the ravine. But that didn't help Sainte-Agnès.

July 18, 1940, 07:00 (GMT+1)
It was also too late for Mont Agel. Some twenty transport planes had just dropped three hundred white corollas, each carrying one man. The 1st Carabinieri Parachute Battalion had made Regio Esercito history. For a first operation, a mountain parachute drop, indeed! At the same time, the Italians launched a classic attack in grand style, supported by artillery and aircraft, on Scuvion, Pierre Pointue and Castillon. What was left of Cap Martin was of no help, and Mont Agel, assailed from the air, could not intervene, but what was Sainte-Agnès doing, the whole world wondered?
The Carabinieri paratroopers suffered some casualties, but that was to be expected - over fifty percent casualties just to create a diversion - that's what elite troops are for! Less than a year later, the survivors, proud to have given birth to the Folgore Division, fell for the most part during the reconquest of Sardinia - a new victory, a new massacre. At least, killed in the Alps or in Sardinia, they were entitled to promotions, decorations and commendations, even posthumously - not like the Captain's men, lying under Sainte-Agnès and whose fate was known to their families only by a brief death notice, months later.
.........
After four hours of fighting, the breakthrough came. General Montagne, desolate, prepared to defend Nice by the Tinée, fresh troops were coming up to the line, a reserve battalion of Alpine chasseurs equipped to the nines and, in three hours' time, the remains of a battalion of Senegalese riflemen withdrawn from the Menton trap two days earlier - it was rather light, but he had pulled back the artillery two or three hours before, the 155 GPF were gaining new positions, alas, to the west of Nice, Montagne had seen the guns pass under his windows.
A bombardment by the Italian air force had come up against the French fighter, which was becoming stronger all the time. That said, it was absolutely essential to reinforce the defenders of the Tinée, otherwise the Alpins and Senegalese would not make it through the night, and he was tragically short of troops, While he waited, his aide-de-camp whispered in his ear, on behalf of Magnien, that there was still no news from the Sainte-Agnès fort. We didn't know what could have happened, Cap Martin had fallen, as had Scuvion, Pierre Pointue and Castillon.

 

[demolitiondan]

"We never lie as much as we do before elections, during the war and after the hunt." (Georges Clemenceau)
September 1945
1945 was one of the darkest years in Europe as a whole, and France was not spared. It was a harsh winter without coal, rationing persisted and reconstruction had barely begun. But the French people were not deprived of elections and political debates of all kinds and on all subjects. One of the most famous of these debates, which will live long in the memory, was that between the government of the French Republic and the two assemblies meeting in Versailles on a more than thorny issue: the creation of a commission of enquiry into the events that took place from the beginning of 1940 to the Victory of 1944, and even 1945, in the ill-named Pacific.
In response, the President of the Council warned Congress that if it wanted to investigate any event after a certain 12 July, the implementing decrees would simply not see the light of day, the assemblies cried Caesarism, mediation was attempted by the presidents who met with some influential ministers and the damage was limited, After a great deal of negotiation, the period between 1 January and 7 August 1940 was covered. Fortunately, an enabling law would be passed, if it ever came into force, to complete the system, the decrees were issued and the Commission could begin its work.
It was no picnic, as the Commission could take up any subject, and a somewhat laughable game of banter ensued between politicians and the military, laughable but absolutely tragic if we consider that everyone was blaming each other for what had been clearly established by public opinion. A few administrative corpses were exhumed and quickly resurfaced, but in the Alpes-Maritimes, the fire was smouldering on the ledges, fanned by deputies and senators who weren't doing each other any favours. The fire exploded on 14 July when a former senator and mayor, who had been invited by the Conseil Général and was hoping to make a political comeback in the next elections, gave a lengthy speech that is still famous for its various allegations, including "the undoubtedly culpable passivity of the crew of the Sainte-Agnès fort". Since none of his constituents were listed on the role of the fort, he didn't mince his words and the whole eastern part of the département went up in flames!
A week later, a general aviation officer travelled by train from Menton to Paris in response to a summons from the President of the Council. Given the coal shortages, the bridges that had not yet been rebuilt and other minor obstacles, it took him thirty-two hours. It lasted a good hour and the results were tangible: in September, on the 4th to be precise (Vive la République!), a thousand soldiers from the 1st (and only) Demi-Brigade d'Infanterie Légère d'Afrique, commanded by Brigadier General Brécargue in person, peacefully stormed the village of Sainte-Agnès.

The sadness of the Joyeux
General Brécargue's diary
On 5 September 1945, General Brécargue decided, for the sake of posterity, to keep a very personal diary which his family entrusted to us and from which we quote a few extracts below.

What will follow is the sequel of an FFO-Cinématic Universe : la Geste des Joyeux (the joyful gesture) of the very talented (and now retired) Carthage. The Joyeux are the men of the 1st DBILA - theirs stories can be bought at the FTL website (do it !).

 

[demolitiondan]

"September 6 - Yesterday and today, a thorough reconnaissance of the site was carried out. it seems strange that the Italians and then the Germans had it guarded by various at least according to the mayor. Blocks 5 and 6, not connected to the rest of the the rest of the building, are carefully inspected visually, but to no avail. keys will be delivered tomorrow by the Nice DTG. On a secondary note the debris of four Decauville waggons that crashed through the small parapet facing the entrance to the fort.

September 7 - Captain Roblin, who is in charge of reconnaissance at the top of the fort, informs me that bodies have been found at the bottom of a ravine, under a large stone scree below the old château. Two diggers are assigned to this excavation site and are struggling to tackle the area. The keys to the structure finally arrive from Nice, enabling the infantry blocks to be opened tomorrow.

September 8 - Eleven skeletal bodies were pulled from the scree at the top of the fort. They were undoubtedly Italians, identifiable by their specific identity plates, and, astonishingly, they were carrying pressurized metal bottles of undetermined content, the analysis of which will be attempted. Portions of reinforced rubber hose and hollow, curved poles, more or less crushed, were also found.
Blocks 5 and 6 were painstakingly opened to reveal four skeletal bodies lying on the ground, one of them still holding the butt of his FM. The eight French bodies are evacuated, along with the eleven Italian ones, to the tented morgue set up in the village and run by médecin-général Locard, on loan to us from the Ministry of the Interior.

September 9 - First attempt to open the drawbridge, an obvious failure, a request is made to Nice to send engineering personnel with knowledge of the SFAM, Doctor-General Locard makes a surprising remark to me: French uniforms give off a vague but persistent scent of garlic, I joke to him about Mediterranean cuisine, we are invited to dinner tonight at the home of our comrade Mathis, who lives on the slopes of Sainte-Agnès.

 

[demolitiondan]

September 10 - Arrival of the engineering detachment commanded by a young lieutenant, we show him the drawbridge and he begins to erect a scaffold at the bottom of the diamond ditch scaffolding at the bottom of the diamond ditch, on which he leans two ladders. a hoist was installed to hold the metal bridge, which was slowly lowered. which is slowly lowered, the entrance door is finally clear! On the advice of our young of our young colleague from the Engineering Department, to open it after lunch. have been unspeakable since the beginning of our stay in these parts, nothing to compare with what we ate yesterday. with what we were able to eat last night, our comrade Mathis, who came to share our to share our frustrating food, advises me to reopen the restaurant on the Righi spur, an excellent pre-war address, which had been used in '38, '39 and early '40 by the fort's officers, I warmly approve of this project, which he suggests I take on.
We leave the mess table and meet Captain Roblin, who precedes two soldiers carrying a stretcher. I direct them to Doctor Locard's infirmary tent without listening to the Captain [Later note: an oversight which, I must confess, I shall come to regret very much]. With the opening of that damned door becoming an obsession for everyone, I follow the engineer lieutenant who carries two keys and opens the armored door, then the gate, when a deafening thunderstorm bursts over the fort, and we take three steps into the entrance to the work, where a powerful smell of garlic seems to stagnate and even amplify, The lieutenant turned sharply around and grabbed me by the arm. We ran out into the rain, into the arms of Doctor Locard, who took us to the infirmary, put us on oxygen for a good hour and gave us a series of injections. The lieutenant then points out that we'll only be able to explore the structure with suitable gas equipment. I have my own idea and discreetly place two battalion sentries equipped with gas masks in front of the door.
We make our way to the small villa reserved for us and sleep a restless sleep as the rain continues to fall.

September 11th - Roblin wakes me up at five o'clock and tells me that the sentries have disappeared, having taken refuge indoors from the rain, which ended early in the morning. Recalling our adventure of yesterday, I send for the engineer officer, who arrives with four of his men, They came out after ten minutes, carrying our two men on their backs. My battalion members were taken to the infirmary, where they were pronounced dead after a very short time by Doctor Locard, my G... They had survived the whole war, but what had I done!
The lieutenant takes my mask, I'm equipped with the same as my men, he looks at it and raises his eyes to the sky, it's an ANP 31... It's then that Locard, whose profound sagacity I know, asks me to assemble a small staff who will organize, under my direction, the exploration of the fort, I acquiesce, my head down. On our way down, we meet our colleague Mathis aboard a dusty gazogène driven by the owner of the Righi. I ask General Mathis to come down and join us, and give the restaurant owner a reinforcement of six men and one of our cooks, The two cooks fall into each other's arms - they started out together in '29 - and both ask me for bags of coal to fuel their "piano". I give in once again and have Roblin telephone Nice. Locard also asks me to arrange for two men to be found and brought to the site, and gives me their identities and service numbers on a page of squared notebook paper.
I spend a difficult late morning, reproaching myself for crucial facts and feeling that the others are going easy on me, but General Locard balms my wounds, explaining, and I quote:
1) that we were dealing with something we knew little or nothing about.
2) that we had to apply a method of investigation based on criminal police techniques, since there was no doubt that the crew had somehow been murdered!
3) that it seemed certain that the vulnating agent was arsenic hydrogen, AsH3, which had caused such panic in the line command in '40 and had, among other characteristics, a persistent garlic odor and proven flammability.
Our young engineering officer then added vigorously to the Doctor's comments, telling us that, as the Commission had full powers, we would have to ask for additional materials that could be found, for example, at the sailors' stores in Toulon, Fenzy model 36 devices, caps and model 39 collections.
A long silence ensues, and then I realize that everyone is looking at me intently. Coming to my senses, I hastily validate all the proposals, our colleague Mathis tells us that it's time to sit down to dinner, the meal at Le Righi is excellent, the view is sumptuous, the Gulf of Menton sparkles endlessly.
I give my troops thirty-six hours' rest.

 

[demolitiondan]

September 12 - Doctor Locard undertakes an autopsy on my poor battalion members, refusing any help refusing any help except from two of our nurses, our lieutenant of engineers is struggling on his lists, Mathis has other things to do, and Roblin offers me a tour of the ravine I give in!
Nature here is simply magnificent, and I fully understand why my colleague Mathis who has decided to put his bag down in a very comfortable house, with sumptuous views over the massif and the Gulf of Midi. and the Gulf of Menton, and he even has what he calls a summer kitchen, where he concocts on a charcoal-fired brazier - paradise!
Roblin takes me up to the old castle in the company of two battalionnaires, we see the tops of block 3 which was guarding the north and descend a very steep path, I stop to take a breather and light a cigarette when one of the battalionnaires, who was following me, bumps into me and nearly knocks me over, he apologizes flatly in Franco-something slang, I reassure him and raise my head to relight my cigarette. Just then, halfway down the slope, I catch sight of a black mass held back by a bush; I point it out to the two battalionaires who climb up to look for it, they join us at the bottom of the ravine and lay a large rubber bag at our feet, I'm about to open it when Roblin grabs my arm and tells me to save it for the doctor-general.
We quietly make our way down the ravine and come across Air Force General Mathis, dressed in civilian, albeit militarized, clothing, walking around with a small black fox and a beautiful, visibly English rifle, three days before our arrival, that the fort is a military right-of-way with reserved access, that he has been granted hunting rights by the Nice DTG, that hares abound there, but that he has to hurry because with all the snares set by my Joyeux, there won't be anything left!
Stunned by so much human ingenuity in the service of a cause that may seem secondary to superficial observers, we abandon the general to his hunting passion and make our way slowly towards the infirmary tent, which is free of any doctors. The emptiness of the place amazes us, with only a dozen or so sheet-covered forms resting on stretchers that we don't take a closer look at. I push open the door of the restaurant and come upon the good Doctor, who seems to be deep in thought, which I disturb with a discreet cough. He snorts and I tell him about the chance discovery of the rubber bag, which suddenly seems to interest him enormously, He throws himself at the poor Roblin carrying the bag, snatching it positively out of his hands, and sets off for the infirmary tent, asking us to follow him. I'm a little annoyed at this, as the whole restaurant is wafting with a delicious aroma, the olfactory promise of this evening's meal, and we arrive at the infirmary, in front of which two small trucks and a light car are being parked, The trucks bear the unmistakable markings of the French Navy.
Sixteen men get out of the convoy: nine riflemen, three sailors, a naval officer, a chief medical officer and two civilians, the oldest of whom introduces himself as Prefect Escande. He hands me a document in an envelope summarizing the latest instructions from the commission of inquiry, and tells me that he has to return to Nice with his apologies, The chief physician in turn introduces himself as Doctor Laborit and hands me another envelope, and with my glasses on, I can read: "Brécargue, Chambrée 5, Ingolstadt". It'is really for me personally!
Dumbfounded, I read the contents of the two letters, the one from the Commission being slightly contradicted by the one from the President of the Council, old Charles, who used to cheat so well at manila and who doesn't seem to have the touch on this one, I immediately call a small staff conference at the Righi, in the small dining room at the back, the door closed and guarded by two riflemen and two battalionaires. I want to summon General Mathis, but I'm told it's pointless, as he's already present, albeit in the kitchen, He joins us immediately in his Tartarinesque outfit.
I give my orders: we're going to carry out an exhaustive reconnaissance of the fort from seven o'clock tomorrow. An ad hoc reconnaissance team will be formed with engineers and riflemen, whose task will be to reconnoitre the entire structure in its most secret depths. The whole day will be devoted to this task.
In addition, we'll be starting the census and evacuation of the bodies the following day, following a procedure to be established by General Medical Officer Locard. For reasons that are entirely personal to me, I place an order with our Engineering Officer for three hundred and twenty lead-lined coffins, to be delivered as soon as possible; as he, like the others, seems to want to ask me a few questions, I tell him that these are my orders and cannot be discussed! Then, looking serious and martial, I invite everyone to join me for dinner, with a jugged hare à la royale on the menu this evening. The troops will be eating the same thing, but from our roulantes - it's good that the officer eats the same thing as the soldier, the new army as it were! The meal and the evening are anthology, but the old soldier that I remain senses, for some reason, other disastrous events to come.

 

[demolitiondan]

September 13 - In the morning, sixteen men equipped with uncomfortable anti-gas collections and breathing apparatus enter the bowels of the fort, their breathing autonomy being one hour. The engineer officer gives them an appointment for 08:15, and they all leave at 08:00. admitting that they couldn't see a thing and that they'd trampled over piles of bodies. The lieutenant then reads the large-scale plan he has received and, after consulting me, decides to re-establish the civilian power supply. To do this, he goes in search of the transformer supplying the power, which must be located near the town hall.
risk. Where I'm standing, just beyond the drawbridge, I'm surprised to see the fort's interior lights come on as if by magic, and I can even hear the hum of an electric motor. A strong draught is coming out of the fort's galleries, and the smell of garlic is omnipresent, which surprises me five years after the fall of the fort - even during the First World War, the gases weren't so persistent! Nervously, I nervously fiddle with the cap of my mask, as the lieutenant, dressed in a gas suit and wearing a breathing apparatus, followed by three similarly equipped men, enters the fort.
He comes out after an hour with his companions, has his 39 collection taken away by two of my battalion men wearing gloves and aprons, and leaves for the shower without saying a word. The wait crucifies me, I take off my mask, he finally gives me a little oral report which, alas, I was unable to transcribe literally, he's obviously very shaken, he tells me that there are bodies all over the place and ammunition, I send for the doctors, to whom he repeats his story, adding that it seems to him that there is another vulnating agent, some bodies showing more or less long agony, others appearing to have been struck by lightning on the spot in combat postures. Locard looks at Laborit, who says nothing but lowers his head with a more than concerned expression, Locard then tells him about the large rubber bag I found on the edge of the ravine and the solitary corpse found separated from the others, they both leave for the infirmary tent and I follow them, accompanied by the lieutenant, we of course meet General Mathis on the road, in little clothes but still accompanied by his black fox, I invite them to follow us.
All would be well if it weren't for the fox who distracts us by running towards the entrance to the fort. To our astonishment, the dog stops right in the middle of the drawbridge, sits down and starts howling to death, the dog lets out a plaintive whimper that accompanies us all the way, I've had more than enough, I'm not thinking straight and I've arranged to meet them all in the council chamber at the town hall in half an hour's time. I absolutely must see the mayor, newly elected in April. Mr. Jean Gaudo receives me warmly, but I sense some concern in his tone of voice. I try to reassure him by producing the Commission's documents, which in a way accredit me to him, and he relaxes when I tell him that my prerogatives end where his begin: he has his commune, I have the fort and its rights-of-way for the duration of what I must call my investigation, He agrees, but advises me to have my perimeter guarded by the military, so as to make things clearer. According to him, the worst dangers will come from outside, and public order could be disturbed as a result, He sighs and initials the form with a dry Marianne, and that's it!
After a brief silence, I dictate new orders to Roblin on guarding the perimeter, reminding him of the confidentiality of everything we do and the elementary precautions to be taken with regard to the inhabitants. Our young colleague from the Engineers speaks first, recalling his aborted exploration of the fort and pointing out the differences in the crew's posture. He also asks us to remove the ammunition from the fort before any other operation, which I readily agree to, we'll take advantage of the return of the truck train that will bring us the leaded coffins to remove as many shells as possible,
General Locard goes on to call for the ventilation plant to be restarted in full forced operation to aerate the whole complex, while at the same time requesting that the water supply be interrupted and the fort's reservoirs emptied completely. I also agree, while Chief Medical Officer Laborit takes the famous pressurized bottle out of the rubber bag, showing it to us by turning it under the light and stopping its rotation on a precise sector, Although it has been painted, the letters appear, almost illegible. The doctor-general blocks the rotation of the bottle, while above, the chief medical officer tirelessly sharpens the lead of his criterium, I'm about to protest at this childish occupation when Locard beckons us to come closer. Stunned, I can read like everyone else, thanks to the lead dust, two unmistakably German words: ACHTUNG - TABUN, framed by two skulls.
Laborit takes the floor and asks us to forget what he's about to say: the active product, the tabun in question, certainly obtained by the Italians from their Nazi allies, is none other than an organophosphorus close to a product well known to the French services, the carbamic ether of choline or B31, discovered by the Bouchet laboratory and tested at the BéniOunif site, he telephoned Professor Baranger at the IEEC, who gave him the information he is passing on to us, under the seal of secrecy: this product is a central nervous system inhibitor which disrupts all vital functions and has a devastating effect; there is no antidote, however, it does not persist beyond one month in the air; on the other hand, beware of residues deposited on metal surfaces. Roblin stopped taking notes. In a strangled voice, the mayor asks if there are any risks for the population, and Laborit reassures him.
In the light of everything we've been told, I ask the mayor to issue a municipal decree prohibiting unauthorized access to the fort and facilitating access for military vehicles. He will do so tomorrow and communicate his decree to Prefect Escande, we leave the council chamber to go and eat at the Righi. I invite the mayor to join us, and we dine very well, but in silence.