René Paul Fonck (
27 March 1894–18 June 1953) was a French aviator who ended the
Great War as the top
Allied fighter
ace. His 75 (72 solo and three shared and a further 52 'probable' victories) victories also ranked him second only to
Manfred von Richthofen, (80 planes confirmed shot down) as the top ace of the conflict. When all succeeding conflicts are considered he remains the top scoring Allied Ace to date. Taking into account his probable claims, Fonck's final tally could conceivably be nearer 100.
Fonck was born on 27 March 1894 in the village of Saulcy-sur-Meurthe in the
Vosges region of
France. Although he had been interested in aviation from his youth, he declined an assignment in the air service when conscripted in 1914, instead choosing service in the trenches as a
combat engineer.
He eventually changed his mind and he completed pilot training in May
1915 and flew
Caudron observation aircraft with
Escadrille C 47 , where he claimed his first two kills, shared with his observers. On 25 May 1916 Fonck's Observer was killed by an anti-aircraft shell burst, a fate that almost befell Fonck a few weeks later.
In early 1917 Fonck received a coveted assignment, joining the famous
Escadrille les Cigognes (The Storks) (see ) on
15 April 1917. Flying
SPADs, he quickly made a name for himself, attaining ace status (claiming 5 or more kills) in May. By year's end he had raised his tally to 19, was commissioned and had received the
Légion d'honneur.
Fonck only got better. Known for his clinical professionalism, he applied mathematical principles to combat flying and his engineering knowledge regarding the capabilities of the aircraft he flew was unsurpassed among his fellow pilots. Fonck took few chances, patiently stalking his intended victims, and used deadly accuracy at close range, resulting in an astonishing economy of ammunition per kill. He claimed 56 victories during the whole of
1918, attaining a total of 36 kills by May 1918. On two occasions he was credited with six enemy aircraft in one day. In July he surpassed the score of the legendary Capt.
Georges Guynemer (53 victories) who had remained the leading French ace since his death in September
1917. Fonck also trialled a series of limited production SPAD XII fighters, distinguished by the presence of a hand-loaded 37mm Hotchkiss cannon firing through the propeller boss, in a Hispano-Suiza
moteur-canon installation.
For all his skill and success, Fonck remained distant, arrogant, even abrasive. His comrades respected his skills, but considered him a braggart and shameless self promoter. He always seemed to resent the fact that
Georges Guynemer remained more popular in the French press even after he surpassed him in victories. He was never given a command of his own, but at the end of the war he had accounted for all but 36 of
Escadrille SPA.103's 111 claimed victories. Unlike many leading French aces, Fonck's score contained very few shared victories.
Fonck persuaded
Igor Sikorsky to redesign the
Sikorsky S.35 for the transatlantic race the
Orteig Prize. On
21 September 1926, Fonck crashed on takeoff when the landing gear collapsed, killing two of his three crewmembers, and
Charles Lindbergh shortly afterward won the prize. Fonck returned to military aviation and rose to inspector of French fighter forces just before
WW II. His prewar veterans' affiliation with
Hermann Göring cast a shadow upon Fonck's reputation during the war and led to allegations of collaboration with the occupying forces and the Vichy regime, but he remained in
Paris, where he died at age 59.
Fonck's memoir,
Mes Combats 
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