René Mouchotte, born August 21, 1914 in Saint-Mandé and died August 27, 1943 above the Channel, French aviator of the Second World War.
One of the first airmen to join England in 1940 from Oran via Gibraltar, Mouchotte is one of the great pilots of the Free French Air Force. Assigned to No. 245 Squadron, then to No. 615 "Churchill" Squadron, he was the first foreigner to be appointed flight commander in the RAF. He participated in the creation of the Ile-de-France fighter group, No. 340 "free French" Squadron, in 1942 where he led the "Paris" squadron as captain, then was appointed squadron leader of No. 65. Squadron, first Frenchman to command a British fighter group. In 1943, he set up the Alsace fighter group, GC III/2, alias No. 341 "free French" Squadron for the RAF, where he notably commanded Pierre Clostermann. It was alongside the latter that he was shot down on August 27, 1943 and the transfer to the RAF of the man who was to become the first French ace could have something to do with it (it was suspected that Clostermann had neglected the protection of Mouchotte to achieve a personal victory). His body was found on a Belgian beach. He was buried in 1949 in the Père-Lachaise cemetery.
His notebooks were first published under the title Carnets de René Mouchotte by Flammarion in 1949, then the Air Force Historical Service published a new edition in 2001 with a text conforming to the original manuscript and explanatory notes. .
The "rue du Commandant René Mouchotte", in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, near the Montparnasse station and in Saint-Mandé pay homage to him.
Hunting chart
* on August 26, 1941, he shot down a Junkers Ju 88D in Ireland.
* on May 15, 1943, he shot down a Focke-Wulf FW 190 above Deauville.
* on May 17, 1943, he shot down a Messerschmitt BF109G over Caen.
Decorations
* Knight of the Legion of Honor
* Companion of the Liberation
* Croix de guerre 1939-1945 with 6 palms
* Distinguished Flying Cross
* Czechoslovak War Cross