Jacques Lamblin GCII/7

[keith A]

Another French ace that appears and disappears in the sources.

His only campaign was in 1939-40.

According to Les pilotes francais 39-45 he has four confirmed victories. "Les as de la guerre 1939-45" (Porret/Thevenet) he has five confirmed and four probables.

The website Cieldegloire credits him with more... and yes, I agree it has been proved inaccurate in the past but it is still more accurate than many others, and it's information provides a sound base for further research.

K

[focusfocus]

Hello

His claims
22/11/39=Do-17 shared(1/4) including Gruyelle..4(F)/121

07/04/40=Ju-52 shared(1/11) including Gruyelle..Fliegerkompanie des Luftnachrichtenregiment Obdl

11/05/40=He-111 shared (1/14) including Gruyelle...9/KG51

15/05/40=He-111 prob. shared(1/8)...réel...Stst KG55

19/05/40=Do-17 shared (1/8)...unsubstantiated

01/06/40=He-111 prob. shared(1/3)
01/06/40=He-111 shared (1/9)...9/KG55

10/06/40=Do-17 shared(1/5),17h14 ...unsubstantiated

10/06/40=Do-17 shared(1/3),17h45...1(F)/123

15/06/40=Do-17 shared(1/5)...8/KG3

Total:8 offi + 2 prob.
after correction:7 (all shared) + 1 prob + 2 unsubstantiated

Best Regards
Michel

[Stig Jarlevik]

Keith

At least until now, I believe the two volumes by Porret and Thevenet can be classified as the official
French view and is unlikely to be corrected.

Unfortunately the official French view is that it was enough to be present when the combat took place
and have a verified claim. That makes things a bit complicated when comparing the French with other
Allies (or enemies at the time)

With regard to the list Michael produced, the "official" French view is - no unsubstantiated claims exist.

The list does not contain a double claim on 1.6.1940.
His claims of 9 aircraft were thus 5 certain and 4 probables.

As with any claims made during the war it is highly unlikely that the French official view will be changed,
certainly not because of discussions made on various forums, regardless how relevant they may seem
to us.

Cheers
Stig

[focusfocus]

Informations about victories of Lamblin

The history of the GCII/7 assigns him 5 "sures" + 5 prob.victories.
Lamblin in a 1992 letter detailed his victories confirmed by his flight Log,and the work of Cdt Durieux,"Boss" of GCII/7.
His citation officielle acconpanying his Military Medal MENTIONS also 8 aircraft shot down ("sures)

The correct list is the one attached above (not Porret/Thevenet....I have their book and many informations are wrong and "obsolete"),with my comments on the identity of his victims and the accuracy of his claims (unsubstantiated for ex.)

Michel

[keith A]

Many thanks, chaps.

[Stig Jarlevik]

It may be so Michel

But your book is very unlikely to be the "official" view.
When (and if) you receive an official statement from the responsible French Government agency
that their standpoint given by Porret/Thevenet is wrong, then you can start changing your list.
As it is right now, both the book and and your list are unofficial. At least that is how I see it.

Cheers
Stig

[keith A]

A fair point but my query was more to establish if there was a reason for the different scores. I like Michel's exact account. In truth, as we know medal citations are pretty inaccurate a lot of the time, and unit histories have their own issues of accuracy. Official versions can be re-written in the light of new evidence but often aren't. The fact is that I have five different sources for French aerial victory claims, each well-written and authoritative but with slightly different details of some pilots. The French method of attribution is very difficult to justify, but the accuracy of their claims for German, British and American aircraft is from my research very high. Porret/Thevenet is the bedrock but within it are details where several pilots are involved in a claim but the brief biographies, sometimes in the same volume, do not agree despite the authorship being the same in each case.

[keith A]

The Decot brothers histories have helped me greatly because they are presumably based on the pilots combat reports. Therefore although officially a pilot may be awarded a victory despite not contributing to the demise of an enemy aircraft, using the Decots recounting of the combat I can in my own research remove the individual from the event. Regrettably I don't have a comparable resource for 1939-40.

The Italian method of confirmation is equally difficult to understand.

regards

Keith