Antoine Laplasse
Encyclopedia
Adjutant-Chef Antoine Laplasse was a World War I balloon buster
and flying ace
credited with eight aerial victories, six of which were against observation balloons.
He was a pioneer aviator who earned his civilian pilot's license on the eve of World War I. As a result, he soon was assigned aviation duty, and defended his country throughout the war. He was killed in action less than three months before war's end.
and was assigned to Escadrille 461. On 22 June 1916, he forced a German airplane into an involuntary landing. In May 1917, he repeated the feat. His distinguished service in Escadrille 461, earned him the Medaille Militaire; as the award citation said, he was noted for "...strafing the German trenches and batteries at a low altitude, and returning often with his plane riddled by bullets."
He was "promoted" to flying Nieuport
fighters with Escadrille 75, joining the squadron on 20 October 1917. Once the unit re-equipped with Spad XIIIs, he began to score his aerial victories. He downed two German two-seater reconnaissance planes; then, he began the highly hazardous practice of balloon busting
.
On 22 August, with four wingmen flying top cover for him, he destroyed three enemy observation balloons. As he attacked a fourth one, a quintet of German Fokker D.VII
s attacked him and sent him down in flames, killing him.
Confirmed victories are numbered and listed chronologically. Unconfirmed victories are denoted by "u/c" and may or may not be listed by date.
Balloon buster
Balloon busters were military pilots known for destroying enemy observation balloons. These pilots were noted for their fearlessness. Seventy-six fighter pilots in World War I were each credited with destroying five or more balloons, and thus were balloon aces....
and flying ace
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
credited with eight aerial victories, six of which were against observation balloons.
He was a pioneer aviator who earned his civilian pilot's license on the eve of World War I. As a result, he soon was assigned aviation duty, and defended his country throughout the war. He was killed in action less than three months before war's end.
Early life and service
Antoine Laplasse was born on 16 May 1883 in Vernay, Rhône, France. He was a pioneer aviator, receiving his Civil Pilot's Brevet, No. 1655, on 11 July 1914. France's declaration of war on 3 August 1914 sparked Laplasse's entry into military service. He was initially assigned to clerical work.Aviation service
His civil pilot's license was noted, and he was quickly transferred into aviation service. He earned a military pilot's license on a MoraneMorane
Morane may refer to:* Morane, an uninhabited atoll in French Polynesia* Morane-Borel, a French aircraft manufacturer* Morane-Saulnier, a French aircraft manufacturer* Bob Morane, a fictitious character of novelist Henri Vernes...
and was assigned to Escadrille 461. On 22 June 1916, he forced a German airplane into an involuntary landing. In May 1917, he repeated the feat. His distinguished service in Escadrille 461, earned him the Medaille Militaire; as the award citation said, he was noted for "...strafing the German trenches and batteries at a low altitude, and returning often with his plane riddled by bullets."
He was "promoted" to flying Nieuport
Nieuport
Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars.-Beginnings:...
fighters with Escadrille 75, joining the squadron on 20 October 1917. Once the unit re-equipped with Spad XIIIs, he began to score his aerial victories. He downed two German two-seater reconnaissance planes; then, he began the highly hazardous practice of balloon busting
Balloon buster
Balloon busters were military pilots known for destroying enemy observation balloons. These pilots were noted for their fearlessness. Seventy-six fighter pilots in World War I were each credited with destroying five or more balloons, and thus were balloon aces....
.
On 22 August, with four wingmen flying top cover for him, he destroyed three enemy observation balloons. As he attacked a fourth one, a quintet of German Fokker D.VII
Fokker D.VII
The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the summer and autumn of 1918. In service, the D.VII quickly proved itself to be a formidable aircraft...
s attacked him and sent him down in flames, killing him.
List of aerial victories
See also Aerial victory standards of World War IAerial victory standards of World War I
During World War I, the national air services involved developed their own methods of assessing and assigning credit for aerial victories.The victory scores of the pilots represented at List of World War I flying aces often cannot be definitive, but are based on itemized lists that are the best...
Confirmed victories are numbered and listed chronologically. Unconfirmed victories are denoted by "u/c" and may or may not be listed by date.
| No. | Date/time | Aircraft | Foe | Result | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| u/c | 22 June 1916 | German airplane | Forced to land | |||
| u/c | May 1917 | German airplane | Forced to land | |||
| 1 | 15 December 1915 @ 1125 hours | Spad XIII | German reconnaissance airplane | Destroyed | Saint-Mards Saint-Mards Saint-Mards is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Haute-Normandie region in northern France.-Geography:A small farming village situated by the banks of the Vienne river in the Pays de Caux, at the junction of the D23 and the D76 roads, some south of Dieppe.-Population:-External... |
|
| 2 | 13 March 1918 | Spad XIII | German reconnaissance airplane | Destroyed | Septvaux Septvaux Septvaux is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.... |
|
| 3 | 18 June 1918 | Spad XIII | German observation balloon Observation balloon Observation balloons are balloons that are employed as aerial platforms for intelligence gathering and artillery spotting. Their use began during the French Revolutionary Wars, reaching their zenith during World War I, and they continue in limited use today.... |
Destroyed | Moulin-le-Comte | |
| 4 | 17 August 1918 | Spad XIII | German observation balloon | Destroyed | Blerancourt Blérancourt Blérancourt is a commune in the department of Aisne in Picardy in northern France.-Population:-Sights:The Château de Blérancourt, an influential design by Salomon de Brosse houses the National Museum of French-American Friendship and Cooperation, , founded by Anne Morgan, daughter of the financier... |
Victory shared with another French pilot |
| 5 | 17 August 1918 | Spad XIII | German observation balloon | Destroyed | Cuts | |
| 6 | 22 August 1918 | Spad XIII | German observation balloon | Destroyed | Saint-Gobain | |
| 7 | 22 August 1918 | Spad XIII | German observation balloon | Destroyed | Saint-Gobain | |
| 8 | 22 August 1918 | Spad XIII | German observation balloon | Destroyed | Saint-Gobain | Laplasse killed in action Killed in action Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to... shortly thereafter |
Sources of information
- Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914-1918 Norman L. R. Franks, Frank W. Bailey. Grub Street, 1992. ISBN 0948817542, 9780948817540.
- SPAD XII/XIII Aces of World War 1: Volume 47 of Aircraft of the Aces: Volume 47 of Osprey Aircraft of the Aces. Jon Guttman. Osprey Publishing, 2002. ISBN 1841763160, 9781841763163.