Marcel Albert
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Marcel Albert (November 25, 1917 - present) was a noted French World War II pilot.
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[edit] Background
Marcel Albert was born in Paris on 25 November 1917 from a working-class family. He became a mechanic, building gearboxes for Renault, and was accepted for pilot training in the French Armée de l'Air in May 1938. After primary and advanced training, he was posted at the fighter training center in Chartres, where he flew Bloch 152, Morane-Saulnier MS.406 and Hawk 75 fighters.
[edit] World War II
In February 1940, he was assigned to GC I/3, a unit operating France's top fighter, the Dewoitine D.520. When German troops invaded France in May 1940, his squadron was redeployed to Reims airfield. On May 14, Albert shot down a Do 17 bomber and later that day, a Messerschmitt Me 109 fighter, although this victory was not confirmed. He also earned another unconfirmed victory over a German bomber before the armistice.
Under the Vichy government, his squadron was redeployed to Algeria where Albert flew a few missions against the British forces in Gibraltar. On October 14 he and two other pilots defected and surrendered their airplanes to the British.
Having reached England, Marcel Albert joined the RAF and flew 47 missions in Spitfires with 340 Squadron.
In late 1942, Albert joined the Normandie fighter group, a Free French fighter unit that was being sent to the Soviet Union to help fight the Germans. Normandie entered the fight in April 1943, flying Russian-built Yak-1 fighters, and later Yak-9.
Albert quickly proved to be one of Normandie's best pilots. His score grew steadily to a total of 23 victories and 262 combat missions, making him the second highest-scoring French ace of World War II. On November 27, 1944 he was awarded the Soviet Union's highest decoration, the Gold Star and title of "Hero of the Soviet Union" - a reward almost never given to foreigners.[1]
[edit] Postwar
After the war, he flew as a test pilot in 1946 and was later sent to Czechoslovakia as air attaché, where he met his future wife. In 1948, he left the military and moved to the United States with his wife.
[edit] Awards
- Grand Officier de la Légion d'Honneur
- Compagnon de la Libération
- Croix de guerre 1939-1945 with 15 palms and 3 silver gilt stars
- Médaille de la Résistance with rosette
- Hero of the Soviet Union
- Order of Lenin
- Order of the Red Banner
- Czechoslovakian War Cross
