In May 1944, returning from a mission over Vitebsk, Marcel Lefèvre’s Yak-9 hemorrhaged fuel and burst into flames a few feet off the ground; he died in a Moscow hospital a month later. (He survives in spirit as a host figure at the Normandie regiment museum in his home town, Les Andelys.)

The Normandie-Niemen regiment left quite a record in its wake: 5,240 missions flown, 273 confirmed kills, 37 probable, and 45 enemy aircraft damaged. Of the 96 pilots who went to Russia, 46 did not return. Jacques André and Marcel Lefèvre were posthumously named Heroes of the Soviet Union. Marcel Albert, and Roland de La Poype were also named Heroes of the Soviet Union.



If you have not been to the Sim-Outhouse site lately it's worth giving it another look.

Nice pic.

Enjoyed reading the stats