French planes hit above NL between May 10 & May 15,1940.

[fredcompa]

Hello again!
Who has infos about French planes shot down above the Netherlands between May 10 >>>May 15,1940 ???
Thanks!
Fredcompa

[Laurent Rizzotti]

I have 5 French losses over Netherlands for this period

Sources:
(1) Book "Ils étaient là" (Armée de l'Air losses)
(2) Book "Les victoires de l'aviation de chasse française, tome 1. 10-15 Mai 1940", by Arnaud Gillet
(3) Aéro-Journal n° 18

10/5: nil

11/5:
Six heavy fighters Potez 631 of flotilla F1C of Aéronautique Navale (French Fleet Air Arm) attacked He 111 of KG 27s near Walcheren , shooting down two, but were then attacked by Bf 110s and two French fighters were lost. One crew (lieutenant de vaisseau Albert Folliot (pilot) and maitre Frey (air gunner)) baled out, Frey being seriously wounded, while the ptehr crew (maitre Samery (pilot) and quartier-maitre Le Maresquier (gunner)) was lost at sea.
Source (2) (3)

12/5: nil

13/5:
During a morning patrol of Breda area by 9 Morane 406 of GC III/3, the capitaine Roger Trouillard (born 10 May 1909) was shot down in flames by German fighters and killed when his Morane 406 n° 549 crashed at Etten-en-Leur. This was probably in a battle vs I./JG 26.
Source (1) (2)
Potez 63.11 n° 297 of GAO 501 shot down by 9 Bf 109s at Oirschot, near Eindhoven. All 3 crew members (Cne Albert Wiccaert (pilot, born 28 February 1911), Lt Louis Coqueton (observer) and Sgt Louis Leygnac (air gunner)) were killed.
Source (1)

14/5:
Amiot 354 n° 30 of GB I/34 was hit by Flak in Maastricht aera and crash-landed in the country, crew escaped unhurt, so probably the crashplace was in Belgium (as in this Dutch part of this area the crew will probably have been captured by Germans) (this was very probably a night raid, but I don't know if it was during the night of 13-14 or 14-15).
Source (1)

15/5: nil

[Lucien]

Two remarks :

- The Folliot/Frey was shot all right above Netherlands but they landed with their parchutes, in Belgium.
- The Samery/Le Maresquier crew was not lost at sea but were killed in the crash of their a/c into a house in Flushing. They are buried in the French Military cimetary of Kapelle, in Zelande.

[Wim de Meester]

Just a few comments. Lieutenant de Vaisseau Folliot and Maitre Frey (wounded) were able to leave their stricken plane shortly before it crashed near the hamlet with the name "Pyramide" just southeast of Biervliet (still Holland). The two crew landed at Biervliet and were treated by French troops in the area.

and yes Maitre-Pilote Saméry and Quartier-Maitre Le Maresquier were (re)buried in the French military cemetery at Kapelle in 1949. At first they were laid to rest at the Roman-Catholic churchyard at the Seisweg in Middelburg.

[Lucien]

Lt Folliot was shot down and killed by USN AA gun fire on November 8th 1942 in Fedala, Marocco and could of course not be interviewed but I met Frey twice before his death in 1995. He told me his whole story ; at the moment he jumped from the disabled Potez, he was hit by a full burst of machine gun (fourteen bullets in his body !!!). His parachute which was on automatic mode, did open normaly and landed him, he was unconscious, in Belgium. That is whai he told me the last time I saw him in Toulon in 1993.
Now, human memory being what it is, after 50 years, anything can happen...

[Laurent Rizzotti]

Hello Lucien,

Interesting story about Mr Frey, but explaining maybe the discrpency between his memories and the local account. I supposed he woke up in a French and Belgian hospital and was brought by troops retreating through or from Belgium, so he was probably told he has been shot down there.

If you have them, I will be interested by the following details of these two losses:
_ serial numbers of both Potez.
_ full names of involved airmen.

Merci d'avance