Lieutenant Colonel Charles Marie Joseph Leon Nuville was a World War I 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 twelve confirmed aerial victories.

Early service

On 2 August 1914, as World War I began, Charles Nuville was called from the reserves to active military duty as a Sergent with the 83e Regiment d'Infanterie. On 21 January 1915, he was promoted to Adjutant

Adjutant

Adjutant is a military rank or appointment. In some armies, including most English-speaking ones, it is an officer who assists a more senior officer, while in other armies, especially Francophone ones, it is an NCO , normally corresponding roughly to a Staff Sergeant or Warrant Officer.An Adjutant...

. On 26 March 1915, he was severely wounded in the foot in an action that brought him a Mention in Dispatches. After a lengthy recuperation, he was forwarded to 1e Groupe d'Aviation on 18 January 1916. He undertook pilot's training at Buc

Buc

Buc may refer to:* Buc, Yvelines, a commune of the Yvelines département, in France* Buc, Territoire de Belfort, a commune of the Territoire de Belfort département, in France* Búč, a village in south Slovakia* buc, the ISO 639-3 code for the Bushi language...

 and Avord

Avord

Avord is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre region of France.-Geography:A farming area comprising the village and several hamlets situated by the banks of the river Yèvre, some east of Bourges at the junction of the D976 with the D36 and the D71 roads...

, and was awarded Military Pilot's Brevet No. 1721 on 9 June 1916. Further training followed, at Pau and Cazaux

Cazaux

Cazaux is a commune of the Ariège department in southwestern France....

, before he was sent for assignment on 2 October 1916. He reached Escadrille N57, a 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:...

 squadron, on 25 November 1916.

Aerial success

Nuville would not score his first aerial victory until 24 September 1917; in exactly one year, he would score a dozen. In all but one instance, he shared the victories with one or more fellow French pilots, including such fellow aces as Jean Alfred Fraissinet

Jean Alfred Fraissinet

Lieutenant Jean Alfred Fraissinet served in the French Air Force during World War I, becoming a flying ace credited with eight aerial victories. Postwar, he took the helm of his family's shipping line in 1927. He founded two newspapers and bought another. He also bought the Château Saint-Maur and...

, Marius Hasdenteufel

Marius Hasdenteufel

Sous Lieutenant Marius René Marie Hasdenteufel was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories.-References:...

, Andre Petit-Delchet

Andre Petit-Delchet

Adjutant Andre Marie Paul Petit-Delchet was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories.-References:...

, Jean Dubois de Gennes

Jean Dubois de Gennes

Aspirant Jean Charles Augustin Dubois de Gennes was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. He was wounded three times in defense of his country.-References:...

, and Marcel Haegelen.

Promotions and honors

On 6 November 1917, Nuville was commissioned a Temporary Sous lieutenant. This commission was confirmed on 1 July 1918. On 8 August 1918, he was appointed a Chevalier de Legion d'honneur in a citation that dubbed him, "Elite officer, model of bravery, taking part daily in difficult combats where his skill and audacity always win over his adversaries thereby gaining for him the admiration of those around him. During recent battles his efforts have been superb. He reported his 10th official victory by downing a plane behind our lines." On 6 November 1918, he was appointed to command of a Spad

Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés

SPAD was a French aircraft manufacturer between 1911 and 1921. Its SPAD S.XIII biplane was the most popular French fighter airplane in World War I.-Deperdussin:...

 Squadron, Escadrille 54. A month later, he was promoted to Lieutenant. Now that the war was over, he had, in addition to his Legion d'honneur, his country's Croix de Guerre with five palmes and five etoiles de vermeil, the Belgian Croix de Guerre, and the Italian Silver Medal for Military Valor.

Post World War I

Nuville remained in military service after World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. In 1919, he was elevated to the status of Officier de Legion d'honneur

Légion d'honneur

The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...

. He was still in service when World War II began, and defended his nation as a Lieutenant Colonel commanding the 5e Escadre de chasse. He finally retired in 1945.

Reference

• 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 0-948817-54-2, 9780948817540.

Endnotes