ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 204160
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| Date: | Tuesday 13 May 1941 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Hawker Hurricane Mk I |
| Owner/operator: | 615 (County of Surrey) Sqn RAF |
| Registration: | V6551 |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Irish Sea -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | RAF Valley |
On 13 May 1941, two Free French pilots of 615 Sqn RAF, sous-lieutenant René Mouchotte and adjudant Yves Brière, took off from RAF Valley airfield for a convoy patrol. At 2500 feet above the Irish Sea, the engine of the Hurricane I V6551 flown by Brière failed. Mouchotte told him to bail out but Brière decided to ditch. He landed perfectly on the sea but Mouchotte saw his head hit the collimator. Brière had probably unloosed his harness to be able to jump faster from the aircraft. Mouchotte flew around him for half an hour but the aircraft that came to relieve him could only find an empty Mae West. Brière was probably unconscious and was maintained above the surface by a badly set Mae West that finally let him slip under the sea.
Yves Brière, born on 12 August 1919, was breveted civilian pilot in 1936 and then prepared the exams to integrate the French airforce. He enlised in October 1939 and after training at Istres joined in January 1940 the GC II/9 at Oran, before going to the "École de chasse" (Fighter School), also at Oran. On 26 June 1940, he decided to go to Great Britain and went to Casablanca where he boarded the cargo Oak Creat that left then for Glasgow, arriving on 17 July.
In England, he enlisted in the Forces aériennes françaises libres (FAFL) and after some training first at the School of Army Cooperation of Old Sarum and then at 5 OTU RAF, he joined 232 Sqn RAF on 14 September. He transferred on 17 December to 615 Sqn. At that time six French pilots were members of this squadron.
Sources:
http://www.cieldegloire.com/004_briere_y.php
"Aviateurs de la liberté. Mémorial des Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres", by Colonel Henry Lafont, ISBN 2-904521-46-1
http://aerostories2.free.fr/acrobat/aventures/mouchotte.pdf
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 11-Jan-2018 09:45 | Laurent Rizzotti | Added |
| 09-Oct-2018 17:49 | Nepa | Updated [Operator, Operator] |
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