Allegiance France Battles/wars World War I Unit Escadrille 15 Rank Adjutant Battles and wars World War I | Years of service 1912 – Died September 19, 1961 Service/branch Cavalry; aviation Name Armond Berthelot | |
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Born July 11, 1894
Saint Marc ( 1894-07-11 ) Awards Legion of Honour, Medaille militaire, Croix de Guerre | ||
Adjutant Armond/Armand Jean Berthelot was a French World War I flying ace credited with eleven confirmed aerial victories. He was a scourge to enemy aerial observers.
On 8 October 1912, Berthelot enlisted in the French military for three years. He first served in the 3eme Dragons. He was promoted to enlisted Brigadier on 3 August 1913, and once more, to Maréchal-des-logis on 2 April 1915. On 5 November 1916, he entered pilot training; he earned Pilot's Brevet No. 5703, which was awarded him on 18 March 1917. He was also awarded metallic pilot badge number B 12324. His first aerial assignment, on 22 May 1917, was to Escadrille 365 in defense of Paris. Two months later, on 27 July, Berthelot was reassigned to Escadrille N15 ('N' denoting the unit's use of Nieuports).
On 24 March 1918, he destroyed a German observation balloon. On 12 April, he was again a balloon buster, ruining one over Mézières. Upgraded to a Spad, he started downing enemy observation planes: three in May, including a shared win with Bernard Artigau; another on 6 June. Exactly a month later, he was awarded the Médaille militaire; a prerequisite of the award was the Croix de guerre, which he held with ten palmes and an etoile de bronze. On 14 August, he picked up his winning skein, shooting down a Rumpler observation plane. Berthelot scored twice in September, then doubled on 9 October to finish the war with eleven victories.
On 25 April 1919, Armand Jean Berthelot was appointed a Chevalier in the Légion d'honneur.