| Petar Marinovich | |
|---|---|
Petar (Pierre) Marinovich |
|
| Born | August 1, 1898 Paris, France |
| Died | October 2, 1919 Brussels, Belgium |
| Allegiance | France |
| Service/branch | Armée de l'Air |
| Years of service | 1916 – 1919 |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Unit | Escadrille SPAD 94 |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
| Awards | Légion d'honneur, Croix de Guerre (with 10 palms) |
Petar Marinovich (also known as Pierre Marinovitch) (August 1, 1898 – October 2, 1919) was a French World War I flying ace credited with 22 aerial victories.[1] He was killed shortly after the war in an air accident.
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Pierre Marinovich was born 1 August 1898 in Paris, France of Serbian extraction. He volunteered for the duration of the war on 12 February 1916 and was immediately assigned to the 27th Regiment de Dragoons. On 14 July he transferred to aviation as a student pilot, and received a Military Pilots Brevet N.4910 on 15 November 1916. After further training he was sent his GDE and on 19 March 1917 he was assigned to Escadrille N.38. Unfortunately, before he was able to see action he fell seriously ill and was sent with little hope of recovery to the hospital for several months. He proved the experts and doctors wrong and recovered well enough to return to duty.
He was reassigned to Escadrille N.94, which was being formed near Châlons-en-Champagne. They were known as "The Grim Reaperers" and adopted "The Grim Reaper" as their logo, painted it prominently on the side of each of the planes in the squadron. He was promoted almost immediately to Marechal-des-logis on 26 July 1917, and in recognition of his 3rd victory he received the Medaille Militaire on 10 January 1918 (Order N.6239). Then on 20 February 1917 he was promoted to Adjutant. On 26 July 1918, he was made Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur citing his 13th victory. Followed very quickly by a temporary promotion to Sous Lieutenant that came on 20 Oct 1918. When the war ended Marinovich had earned 22 verified victories over enemy aircraft and was awarded France’s Croix de Guerre with ten palms.
Marinovich was Austen Crehore's flying partner and best friend, who he often credited with saving his life early in his career with Escadrille No.94. As Marinovich told the story a German plane was hot on his tail tearing it to shreds with machine gun fire. Crehore barrel rolled in behind the German and took him out in one long machine gun burst. Marinovich often said publicly that he felt that he shared his victories with his friend that had saved him at the beginning of his career. Pierre Marinovich and Austen Crehore were the best of friends and Austen was present when he tragically witnessed his death.
In 1919, after the war, Pierre Marinovich died in a senseless plane crash performing complicated aviation stunts to entertain the King and Queen of Belgium at Evere Airfield, Brussels, Belgium.