Charles de Tricornot de Rose

Jean Baptiste Marie Charles de Tricornot de Rose (14 October 1876 – 11 May 1916) was a French Army pilot. He joined the French Army in 1895 and became a cavalry officer. During a three-year suspension, for refusing orders to enter churches in support of the 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State, de Rose became interested in aircraft. Upon his return to the army he attended a flying school and became the first holder of a French military pilot's licence. In the lead-up to the First World War Tricornot de Rose served under Jean Baptiste Eugène Estienne to develop French army aviation and experimented with mounting machine guns on aircraft.

During the war Tricornot de Rose first led a squadron and then the aircraft assigned to the 5th Army. He foresaw the importance of dedicated fighter aircraft and raised the first French fighter squadron in 1915. Tricornot de Rose played a key part in the early stage of the 1916 Battle of Verdun, using groups of aircraft and continuous patrolling to establish air superiority over the German forces. He died during a demonstration of flying near Soissons.

Early life and career Tricornot de Rose was born in Paris on 14 October 1876, the son of Jean-Baptiste Charles Emmanuel de Tricornot de Rose and Jeanne Marie Jacobé de Naurois. Although noble titles were not recognised in the French Third Republic, the family were descended from the holders of the titles of Baron de Tricornot and the Marquis de Rose and retained these designations as part of their surname. Tricornot de Rose joined the French Army as an officer cadet at Versailles on 31 August 1895 and attended the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr. He was appointed a second lieutenant in the (9e régiment de dragons) on 1 August 1897, becoming the sixth generation of his family to have served as cavalry officers.

Tricornot de Rose returned from suspension on 29 March 1909 and was assigned to the (19e régiment de dragons). He was detached from his unit in 1910 to attend a flying school at Pau airfield. He afterwards worked under Colonel Jean Baptiste Eugène Estienne, an artillery officer who pioneered French military aviation as a spotting aid for his guns, at the headquarters in Vincennes.

First World War

Tricornot de Rose was granted half of the French Army's fighter squadrons, equipped with the latest Nieuport biplanes, to form the first independent air unit in the French Army, the Combat Group (Groupement de combat). Tricornot de Rose ordered his men not to act alone or to seek one-on-one duels with German pilots, instead they were to operate in groups. De Rose was keen to ensure a continuous presence in the air to deter German aircraft and instigated a series of patrols, rotating with fresh crews every three hours.

Tricornot de Rose quickly established air superiority and German artillery bombardments became less effective as they lost almost all access to aerial reconnaissance. Following this success many of Tricornot de Rose's squadrons were withdrawn by the end of March to support other sectors, and he was posted away to command the aviation units supporting the 10th Army (Xe Armée) on the Artois front. Tricornot de Rose cut his engine to perform a turn but found he was unable to restart it and crashed. The French air base at Dugny (now Paris–Le Bourget Airport) had a barracks named after Tricornot de Rose, it remains in use by the National Gendarmerie. The 1965 class of the École de l'air et de l'espace took its name from Tricornot de Rose. Graduates of the class, along with members of the Air Force general staff attended a ceremony at Jonchery's de Rose square on the centenary of his death.