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| Name: |
Dieudonné Costes |
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| Country: |
France |
| Rank: |
Sous Lieutenant |
| Service: |
French Air Service |
| Units: |
MF55, MF85, N506, N507, N531 |
| Victories: |
8 |
| Born: |
14 November 1892 |
| Place of Birth: |
Septfonds, France |
| Died: |
18 May 1973 |
| Place of Death: |
Paris, France |
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On 6 February 1928, Lieutenant Dieudonné Costes and Lieutenant Commander Joseph Lebrix landed at Boiling Field, Washington, D.C., in the plane which had carried them from Paris across the South Atlantic and over South America to Mexico and the United States. In 1930 Costes and Maurice Bellonte made the first Paris to New York flight. The following year Costes was named the world's No. 1 airman by the International League of Aviation. In 1949 a French military court acquitted Costes on charges of spying for the Nazis during World War II. Needing six votes for a conviction under French military law, four judges voted to convict while five judges voted to free Costes.
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| Légion d'Honneur |
| "Detached to the aviation of the Allied armies in The East, serving with Greek Escadrille 531. An officer of great spirit and faultless bravery. On 8 September 1918, he successfully attacked an enemy balloon on the ground which has been unable to rise since this date. On 10 September 1918, during the course of combat with five scouts, he disengaged one of his comrades whose plane was seriously damaged, and downed one of the enemy planes. Six planes downed. Médaille Militaire. Six citations of which five were by the army." Légion d'Honneur citation |
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| Victories |
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Date |
Time |
Unit |
Aircraft |
Opponent |
Location |
| 1 |
29 Apr 1917 |
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EA |
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| 2 |
26 Jan 1918 |
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Roland |
Mrzenci-Negorci |
| 3 |
30 Apr 1918 |
0930 |
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Scout |
NW of Negorci |
| 4 |
01 May 1918 |
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Two-seater |
NW of Mrzenci |
| 5 |
08 Jun 1918 |
1630 |
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Scout |
Borlovc |
| 6 |
13 Jun 1918 |
0645 |
N531 |
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Two-seater 1 |
S of Hudovo-Kovanec |
| 7 |
24 Jun 1918 |
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LVG C |
Staravinc |
| 8 |
10 Sep 1918 |
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Scout |
NE of Guevgueli |
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| 1 |
Shared with Adj Basile Saune |
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| Books |
- Over the Front
- by Norman L. R. Franks, Frank W. Bailey / Hardcover / Grub Street the Basement (May 1992)
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