Jean-Paul Favre de Thierrens

Jean-Paul Jacques Favre de Thierrens (1895–1973) was a World War I flying ace credited with five confirmed aerial victories and one unconfirmed one. His courageous service would earn him the Légion d'honneur and the Croix de guerre.

Jean-Paul Favre de Thierrens
Birth nameJean-Paul Jacques Favre de Thierrens
Born18 February 1895
Nîmes, France
Died17 October 1973(1973-10-17) (aged 78)
Paris, France
AllegianceFrance
Service/branchAviation
Ranklieutenant colonel
Unit32nd Regiment d'Artillerie, Escadrille 215, Escadrille 62
AwardsLégion d'honneur, Croix de guerre
Other workmole for the French Resistance

He would return to service during World War II, becoming active in espionage for the French Resistance while rising to the military rank of lieutenant colonel. His status in the Legion d'honneur was raised to Commander as a result of his continued service to his nation.

Early life

Favre de Thierrens was born in Nîmes, France, on 18 February 1895.[1] He was raised in a Calvinist family. He passed the exam to enter at the Ecole des Beaux-arts. He did not spend much time at the Beaux-arts as the first World War broke out.

Aviation service during World War I

His initial military service during World War I was in the 32nd Regiment d'Artillerie.[1] After transfer to the Aéronautique Militaire, Favre de Thierrens underwent aviation training and received his Military Pilot's Brevet in 1916. He was posted to Escadrille F215, which was equipped with Farmans. He was wounded by antiaircraft shrapnel on 2 September 1916. After winning two citations with Escadrille 215, he was transferred to Escadrille N62 as a Nieuport pilot. After the unit re-equipped with SPAD VIIs, he began to score aerial victories. He would have five victory claims verified as scored between 21 October 1917 and 4 June 1918; in later years, he would claim a sixth win that apparently was not officially verified.[1]

On 12 June 1918, he was appointed a Chevalier in the Legion d'honneur. The accompanying award proclamation mentioned that he had amassed four citations.[1] At some point, he had also been awarded the Croix de guerre.[2]

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".

No. Date/time Aircraft Foe Result Location Notes
1 21 October 1917 Spad VII Albatros two-seater Destroyed Chavignon, France
2 6 December 1917 Spad VII Fokker Triplane Destroyed Colligis-Crandelain, France
3 15 May 1918 Spad VII LVG two-seater Destroyed Monampteuil, France
4 25 May 1918 Spad VII Enemy aircraft Destroyed Ambrief, France
u/c 31 May 1918 Spad VII Enemy two-seater Destroyed No official record of confirmation
5 4 June 1918 Spad VII Albatros D.V Destroyed Aisne River,[1] Soissons, France Victory shared with André Louis Bosson[3]

World II

Favre de Thierrens would return to service, rising to lieutenant colonel during World War II.[1] He would join the Vichy regime's prisoner of war aid society, the Rassemblement national prisonniers de guerre, as a mole on behalf of the French Resistance; he was involved in the escape of General Henri Giraud.[4] He was the immediate superior of François Mitterrand. Later, on 12 September 1994, François Mitterrand in a television interview about his Vichyst past, talked about Favre de Thierrens as a colourful character. When the zone libre or free zone was invaded, he hide in his house at Ledenon, Gard the archives of the French secret services. His services would earn him a promotion to Commander in the Legion d'honneur, the award being made on 2 November 1945.[1]

After World II

After World War II, he moved back to his estate at Saint-Bonnet-du-Gard.

In 1953, at the age of 59 years, Favre de Thierrens started to paint and became a fine artist noted for figure studies. His first exhibition took place in 1955, followed by others in Switzerland and the US. He mainly painted women but not also his estate and the countryside of Provence.

In 1971, as he became blinded, he stopped painting.

Jean-Paul Jacques Favre de Thierrens died on 17 October 1973 in Paris.[1] He is buried in Nîmes.

Endnotes
  1. Over the Front, p. 158.
  2. The Aerodrome website Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  3. Spad VII Aces of World War I, p. 30.
  4. François Mitterrand: A Political Biography, p. 11.
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References
  • François Mitterrand: A Political Biography. David Scott Bell. Polity, 2005. ISBN 0-7456-3104-5, 9780745631042.
  • Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914–1918 Norman Franks, Frank W. Bailey. Grub Street, 1992. ISBN 0-948817-54-2, 9780948817540.
  • Spad VII Aces of World War I: Volume 39 of Aircraft of the Aces. Jon Guttman. Osprey Publishing, 2001. ISBN 1-84176-222-9, 9781841762227.
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