General (air force) Joseph RISSO, member of the honorary committee of our Federation, was born at Cadolive in the Bouches-du-Rhône. He joined the air force in 1938, and entered the Caudron d'Ambérieu piloting school that same year. In 1939-1940, he completed his training in Istres.

After the 1940 armistice, he escaped from Nouvion ( Algeria ) on board a Simoon and got to Gibraltar . After a forced landing in Linea, he succeeded in rallying the Free French Forces at Gibraltar and later on in England .

As a night fighter pilot in the R.A.F., he was one of the very first servicemen of « Normandy » Fighter Group n° 3. He arrived at Ivanovo in the U.S.S.R in October 1942 and remained in the unit until 1948. He has occupied several functions in the air force, notably at the headquarters of the 5th air region in Algiers , the 11 th fighter squadron as second in command, and the 13 th ever-ready fighter squadron as commander.

Ending 1941, Colonel LUGUET started rallying the Free French Forces. Following a meeting with General De Gaulle, the latter, in agreement with the national free France committee, put forward a proposal to the Soviet government regarding the deployment of a unit of French troops in Russia . This brought about the birth of the Normandy fighter group CG3, which later on became the « Normandy-Niemen » regiment, the only western force to have fought at the eastern front.

Negotiations begun in February 1942, lingered on for a long time. Meanwhile, recruited French volunteers thronged in from all over and rallied in the Middle East . Among them, only sixty were short listed by Major POULIQUEN to form a complete operational squadron. The name of the « Normandy » province was chosen as the squadron’s legendary name. On the day of the liberation of Paris , under STALINE’s instructions, the squadron had its name appended with « Niemen » to finally become « Normandy-Niemen ».

On November 12, 1942 , the 61 Frenchmen (14 pilots and 47 mechanics) that made up the unit took off from Rayack and headed for Bassora. After a rather turbulent crossing of the Iraqi desert and mountains, the squadron finally arrived Teheran on November 18, 1942 . These airmen were warmly received by the Soviet ambassador, Iranian military and civil dignitaries as well as members of various communities.

They left Teheran on November 27, 1942 , and landed the following day in Goriev, along the Caspian Sea , where, for the first time, the French laid foot on Soviet territory with the objective of fighting the Germans.

On November 29, 1942 , the squadron arrived Ivanovo , which became their training ground. After three months of intensive training, the squadron was on form to embrace the hostilities of war. Of the series of aircraft models they had the latitude of choosing from, the French opted for the Yak 1. On March 22, 1943 , the entire unit arrived a battleground known as Polotniani-Zavod, where they linked up with the 303 rd fighter division, within which they fought all through the war.

For a period of thirty-one months, at the front, the « Normandy-Niemen » French airmen lived the same experiences as all Soviet air force squadrons: holding operations, missions, risks, battles, glories of victory and the agony of loosing a comrade. Pilots slept in small houses or dachas and were transported to the front in trucks, which often had to be gotten out of ruts, given that thawing had come so abruptly. As for the mechanics, they used branches and leaves to construct for themselves makeshift shelters on bare ground or dug a hole in the ground. The command post was buried in a « zimlia », a huge two-metre deep hole covered with tree trunks and branches. Access into it was through a staircase made of tree trunks split into two.

Their saga cuts across three periods :

First campaign, March to November 1943

After arriving Ivanovo led by Major POULIGUEN, the pilots started practicing under the supervision of Major TULASNE. In March 1943, they entered Polotniani-Zadov: first battleground, first ordeal - thawing. On April 5, there was exultation as « Normandy » had just recorded its first two victories. But barely a week later, on the 13th, came their first shock. Three pilots did not return to base; a heavy toll despite the three enemy FW190 planes shot down. On May 7, yet another pilot reported missing. Barely 10 of them were now left…

Then, June came with its boreal nights, and the first reinforcements arrived. They became integrated into general ZAKHAROV’s 303rd division.

Suddenly, an intensive artillery preparation started, and on July 10, the Orel Battle began. Fierce fighting raged on; the ground was total hell and the air was an utter tournament arena.
Having already detected the presence of French airmen at the front, the Germans mobilized heavy units with the best pilots and dealt a deadly blow to the French on July 14, the French National Day.

By July 17, 1943 , some 60 years ago, the squadron had already scored 30 victories, which unfortunately were very cost as six pilots were reported missing just from the 13 th to the 17 th July. These were Major TULASNE, Captain LITTOLFF, Second lieutenants BERNAVON, De TEDESCO and CASTELAIN as well as Senior officer cadet VERMEIL. Major TULASNE was replaced by Major POUYADE. Within four days « Normandy » staged 112 outings, during which 17 aircrafts were shot down.

On August 1, the survivors flew to Smolensk after some reinforcements had arrived in the course of the month. French mechanics returned to the Middle-East. On September 22, 1943 , an eleven-Yak patrol took a group of Stukas off guard. During this brief battle, nine enemy aircrafts were shot down, whereas on the side of the French no loss was incurred.

On October 11, the « Normandy » group was made Compagnon de la Libération (comrade of the liberation) and took the credit for over 50 officially recognized victories. On November 6, 1943 , their first campaign came to an end with 72 victories scored and 23 comrades lost.

From November 1943 to May 1944, « Normandy » took base in Toula.

With the influx of many new pilots, the group was transformed into four squadrons ( Rouen , Le Havre , Cherbourg , Caen ).

On May 25, 1944 , they took off from Toula on board their Yak 9 for Dubrovka. On June 26, they scored a victory but lost one of their men. The intensity of the offensive pushed back the front over a distance of more than 400 km. On July 15, they left for Mikountani , Poland . On the 29th, they were once more en route; this time their destination was Alitous, along the banks of the Niemen . The beginning of August was marked by a series of extremely violent engagements, which swelled up their victories to 12 and their losses to six since the second campaign started. They received the first Yak 3’s in Alitous, where they celebrated the liberation of Paris and where, under STALINE’s orders, « Niemen » became part of their name.

On October 16, an offensive started in the east of Prussia , towards Königsberg. This was the offensive during which in an eventful unforgettable week, the « Normandy-Niemen » regiment wrote one of the most glamorous pages of its history: 95 victories (29 of which took place on the 16 th alone) without incurring a single loss. On October 22, they were at a new battleground in Stierki-Didvige, along the Lithuanian-Prussian borders.

On December 18, 1944 , they were once more at the front, with their base located on the territory of the 3rd Reich, near Königsberg. They staged a series of outings, but beyond the Gumbinnen, Interburg and Bladiau battlegrounds, any victory was at the expense of heavy losses.

February 1945: for a few days, while fighting over Königsberg, they had been observing the shores of the Baltic Sea from the air.

On April 10, the city surrendered. Fifteen days later, it was the turn of Pillau, the last hideout and ultimate refuge of the air squadrons of the enemy.

Ending April, 13 new pilots came in to provide backup, but arrived too late to take part in the fighting.

On May 31, they took off for Moscow , where Soviet authorities decided to reward the « Normandy-Niemen » pilots for their feat of arms by letting them return to France with the planes in which they fought.

Triumphant return to France

Elbing, June 15: they were heading westward in order to return to Paris via Posen, Prague and Stuttgart .

On June 21, they finally entered French airspace, and at 06:15 p.m. , they were flying over the Champs-Elysées. At 06:40 p.m , they landed at Bourget.

In Moscow , at Kpopotkine quay, stands a building called « Normandy-Niemen block », which is the residence of the French defence attaché general. In front of this building is a memorial board bearing the names of the 42 pilots who lost their life. This board, having undergone depreciation over the years, was on July 7, 2003 replaced with a new one that was unveiled by Madam ALLIOT-MARIE, Defence Minister, in the presence of Russian and French high authorities.

Commemorative ceremonies are organized several times a year. In April 1989, the Rhone section of the FNCV went and laid a wreath on the memorial as homage to the memory of their comrades, thanks to the blood of whom our Fatherland regained its lost freedom.

The saga of this brave unit was and will forever constitute a glamorous page in the history of the French Air Force.

In their memory, we will just repeat the words of General De Gaulle :

« While passing out your last breathe, you said « Long live France ! ».
Rest in peace , France will live on for you opted to die for her. »