Louis Delfino, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Louis Delfino

French flying ace

Date of Birth: 05-Oct-1912

Place of Birth: Nice, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

Date of Death: 11-Jun-1968

Profession: military personnel, association football player

Nationality: France

Zodiac Sign: Libra


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About Louis Delfino

  • Louis Delfino (5 October 1912 – 11 June 1968) was a French fighter ace in World War II and a General in the French Air Force. Delfino was born on 5 October 1912 in Nice.
  • As a boy, his father was killed in World War I.
  • Delfino entered Saint-Cyr military academy in September 1931, graduated, and was promoted to second lieutenant in 1933.
  • He joined the French Air Force and, after earning his wings on 27 July 1934, began his flying career as a reconnaissance pilot.
  • In 1939, shortly before the outbreak of World War II, he joined Groupe de Chasse I/4 (GC I/4) in Reims.
  • GC I/4 was moved to Wez-Thuisy in August 1939, and Delfino, now a captain and adjutant of the unit, saw little action in the opening months of the war.On 17 May 1940, he was named commandant of the GC II/9's 4th squadron.
  • After the armistice, he rejoined his old group, GC I/4, in Dakar.
  • In August 1943, he became deputy commandant, but the coastal patrol missions did not satisfy his adventurous temperament, so he applied for transfer to the Normandie-Niemen squadron. Delfino obtained his transfer to Normandie-Niemen on 28 February 1944.
  • He succeeded Pierre Pouyade as the head of the regiment on 12 November.
  • A major in June 1944, he was promoted to wing commander/lieutenant colonel in April 1945. On 1 January 1946, he became the leader of the 611th wing, composed of only one group – the Normandie-Niemen.
  • On 11 August, he became commandant of the 11th wing upon its return from Indochina.
  • As a colonel in 1951, he was named inspector of the fighter arm the following year.
  • His tenure at this post had an important influence on the regulation and use of fighters.
  • As commandant of defense zone 901 in 1954, he received his first stars in 1957.
  • He then worked with the aerial territorial defense, of which he took command in May 1961.
  • Promoted to air marshal/lieutenant-general in 1964, he became inspector general of the French Air Force. He died of a heart attack on 11 June 1968, at age 56.

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