Allegiance France Name Antoine Laplasse Rank Adjutant | Service/branch Aviation Died August 22, 1918 | |
Awards Medaille militaire, Croix de Guerre Unit Escadrille, Escadrille SPA 75 | ||
Adjutant-Chef Antoine Laplasse was a World War I balloon buster and flying ace credited with eight aerial victories, six of which were against observation balloons.
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He was a pioneer aviator who earned his civilian pilot's license on the eve of World War I. As a result, he soon was assigned aviation duty, and defended his country throughout the war. He was killed in action less than three months before war's end.
Early life and service
Antoine Laplasse was born on 16 May 1883 in Vernay, Rhone, France. He was a pioneer aviator, receiving his Civil Pilot's Brevet, No. 1655, on 11 July 1914. France's declaration of war on 3 August 1914 sparked Laplasse's entry into military service. He was initially assigned to clerical work.
Aviation service
His civil pilot's license was noted, and he was quickly transferred into aviation service. He earned a military pilot's license on a Morane and was assigned to Escadrille 461. On 22 June 1916, he forced a German airplane into an involuntary landing. In May 1917, he repeated the feat. His distinguished service in Escadrille 461, earned him the Medaille militaire; as the award citation said, he was noted for "...strafing the German trenches and batteries at a low altitude, and returning often with his plane riddled by bullets."
He was "promoted" to flying Nieuport fighters with Escadrille 75, joining the squadron on 20 October 1917. Once the unit re-equipped with Spad XIIIs, he began to score his aerial victories. He downed two German two-seater reconnaissance planes; then, he began the highly hazardous practice of balloon busting.
On 22 August, with four wingmen flying top cover for him, he destroyed three enemy observation balloons. As he attacked a fourth one, a quintet of German Fokker D.VIIs attacked him and sent him down in flames, killing him.
List of aerial victories
See also Aerial victory standards of World War I
Confirmed victories are numbered and listed chronologically. Unconfirmed victories are denoted by "u/c" and may or may not be listed by date.