Allegiance France Died November 27, 1925 Name Maurice Bizot | Unit Escadrille 90 Rank Adjutant | |
Awards Legion d'honneur, Medaille militaire, Croix de guerre with six palmes, Mentioned in Dispatches seven times | ||
Service/branch Artillery; aviation | ||
Adjutant Maurice Bizot was a French World War I flying ace credited with ten confirmed aerial victories.
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World War I
Bizot joined the French military on 8 January 1915. Rated a soldat de 2e classe, he was assigned to 11e Regiment d'Artillerie à pied. He was promoted to enlisted Brigadier on 6 April 1915. On 13 March 1916, he was transferred to 82eme Regiment d'Artillerie lourde. On 12 May 1917, he began pilot's training at Dijon. On 9 July 1917, at Istres, he was granted Military Pilot's Brevet No. 7370. He was then sent for advanced training at Avord and Pau. He reached a combat unit, Escadrille 90, on 13 October 1917. On 25 January 1918, he was promoted to Sergeant. He used a Nieuport to score his first two wins on 27 March 1918, sharing the victories with Charles J. V. Macé and Laurent B. Ruamps. Escadrille 90 upgraded to Spads, and Bizot used one for the remainder of his victories, which ran from 30 July through 29 October 1918. He teamed with fellow aces Jean Andre Pezon and Marius Ambrogi, as well as other French pilots in this series of assaults, which brought down seven observation balloons and put Bizot solidly on the list of balloon busters.
He was promoted to Adjutant on 1 August 1918. He was awarded the Médaille militaire on 5 September 1918. He also had been awarded the Croix de guerre with six palmes during the war.
Postwar
On 27 November 1925, Bizot was flying an air racer he was prepping for a world's speed record. He attempted a landing at over 100 mph (160 km/h), overturned the plane, and died in the accident.