ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 243539
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| Date: | Monday 22 March 1948 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk IX |
| Owner/operator: | GC 1/4 'Dauphiné' Armée de l'Air |
| Registration: | |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Son Ca Li, Tizard Bank, Spratly Islands, South China Sea -
 Vietnam
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | |
Spitfire LF. IX, GC 1/4 'Dauphiné' Armée de l'Air (French Air Force): Written off (destroyed) 22 March 1948 when crashed at Son Ca Li, French Indo-China. Pilot Capt Georges Gérard (aged 22) killed
According to a rough translation from French into English of a biography of the pilot (see link #1 for the original French text):
"Georges Gérard was born on June 14, 1916 in Saint-Dizier (Haute-Marne). Enlisted in the Air Force on August 24, 1935, he was licensed as a pilot in December 1935 and admitted to the Air Force Academy in 1939. he participated in the Battle of France in the area of operations of the Alps with the Fighter Group 2/4 on Curtis H-75 Hawks and he obtained an approved, confirmed aerial victory. He returned to combat in 1943 with EC (Escadrille de Chasse) Fighter Group 1/3 on Spitfires and participated in the campaigns of Italy, France and Germany by winning an approved, confirmed aerial victory.
In 1947, he left for Indochina as second in command of the EC (Escadrille de Chasse) 1/4 "Dauphiné" Fighter Group. He died on March 22, 1948 in Son Ca Li during a combat mission. Captain Gérard was awarded the Croix de guerre 39/45 with four citations and the Croix de guerre with one citation".
Son Ca Li (Sand Cay Island or Lark Island at 10°22′30″N 114°28′48″E), also known as Bailan Island (Tagalog: Pulo ng Bailan); Son Ca Island (Vietnamese: Đảo Sơn Ca); Mandarin Chinese: 敦謙沙洲/敦谦沙洲; pinyin: Dūnqiān Shāzhōu, is a cay on the north edge of the Tizard Bank of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. With an area of 7 hectares (17 acres), it is the ninth largest, and the fourth largest former Vietnamese-administered territory of the Spratly Islands. The island has been occupied by Vietnam since 1974, (first by South Vietnam, then by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after 1975). It is also claimed by China (PRC), the Philippines, Vietnam, and Taiwan (ROC).
Sources:
1. https://www.traditions-air.fr/Biographies
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_Cay
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 02-Oct-2020 15:56 | TB | Added |
| 20-Aug-2023 09:37 | Nepa | Updated |
| 24-Aug-2023 19:49 | Dr. John Smith | Updated |
| 25-Aug-2023 08:01 | Nepa | Updated |
| 27-Aug-2023 21:11 | Dr. John Smith | Updated |
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