Marcel Perrin Pilot Date of Birth: 18.08.1919 Country: France

Biography of Marcel Perrin

Marcel Perrin was born on August 18, 1919, in Vernes, Cher. He began his service in aviation in 1937 and completed his first solo flight in 1938. After successfully completing flight school in Istres on July 16 of the same year, he received his wings. In May 1939, Perrin was assigned to the 1st group of the 15th squadron of the French Air Force in Avon, where he remained until June 1940. He was then sent to North Africa, serving in Tunisia and Morocco before returning to France.

In May 1943, Perrin once again served in North Africa, as a sergeant in the GC II/5 "Lafayette" unit. After numerous patrol flights on the P-40, in January 1944, Perrin was assigned to the newly formed GC II/2 "Berry" group (345th squadron) in Algeria, holding the rank of sergeant. A month later, he was sent to Russia and joined "Normandie", now an aspirant.

Perrin began his combat activities on the Eastern Front in the summer of 1944, but he particularly distinguished himself in the autumn during the battles for East Prussia. On October 16, the most memorable day for the squadron, he destroyed 2 FW-190 fighters. By the end of the month, he had increased his personal victories to 4, all against "Fockers".

In January 1945, Perrin personally shot down two more FW-190s. He achieved his final individual victory on February 11, by destroying an Me-109 fighter. Overall, Marcel Perrin's combat record includes 13 official aerial victories (6 of which were in a group) and 2 unconfirmed victories (1 of which was in a group).

On June 20, 1945, Perrin returned to France with other pilots from the "Normandie-Niemen" squadron. In October 1947, he was appointed to the testing center in Bretigny, where he became one of the first French pilots to fly helicopters. In late 1952, he was hired by the aircraft manufacturer Nord, where he was involved in testing transport aircraft, specifically the "Nordatlas". On April 27, 1957, Captain Perrin was one of the four individuals aboard the "Nord 2501" aircraft that crashed near Melen-Villarosh.