Bron air accident of 10 May 1938

On 10 May 1938 a Potez 540 bomber of the 55ème Escadre de reconnaissance crashed at Bron during landing, killing all five crew members.

The accident

On 10 May 1938 the Potez 540 twin-engine aircraft of the Groupe de reconnaissance 1/55 were carrying out training flights over the Lyon region. Despite a fairly strong north wind, the takeoffs and landings continued without the slightest incident from Lyon-Bron airport.

At around 15:30, Potez 540 n.36 (code 5) of the I Escadrille of GR 1/55 was preparing to land, with engines throttled back, above the fields located beyond the N°6 Lyon-Grenoble national road, south of the Bron airfield. Suddenly during the descent, the aircraft appears to slip on its left wing, suddenly diving towards the ground, probably struck by a sudden and violent gust of wind. The aircraft hit the ground on the boundaries of the communes of Bron and Saint-Priest.

Some witnesses to the accident immediately rushed to the scene, and shortly afterwards the personnel and firefighting equipment, as well as the ambulance, of the Bron base arrived, but all assistance proved useless. The whole front part of the aircraft was crushed into the ground, and only the tail unit, which had broken off, was almost intact. The bodies of the airmen were extracted from the wreckage, placed in their white canvas parachutes and taken to the mortuary of the "Desgenettes" military hospital, where the funeral chamber was set up.

It did not appear that the engines had caught fire, and it was estimated that the aircraft had fallen from a height of 300 metres.

The crew was made up as follows: Second Lieutenant Guillaume des Champs de Saint Léger, aircraft commander, 30, a native of Paris, married and father of a 6-month-old daughter, assigned to the Bron air base for about 15 months; Staff Sergeant Frank Robert, instructor pilot, 28, a native of the Bordelais region, married, assigned to the Bron air base since 1929. An excellent pilot and first-rate instructor, a night-flying specialist, he had 2000 flight hours to his credit, of which 1100 at night; Sergeant Georges Dupuy, student pilot, 21, a native of Arles, who was doing his military service and continuing his training as a twin-engine pilot; Aspirant Louis-Lucien Prémillieu, observer, 23; Sergeant Louis Ragois, mechanic, 23.

A solemn funeral was held in Lyon on the morning of 14 May 1938. After the bodies were collected from the "Desgenettes" hospital, the five coffins, draped in the tricolour, were loaded onto gun carriages towed by an aviation tractor, preceded by another tractor carrying the flower wreaths. The Band of the 99th Alpine Infantry Regiment opened the long procession which, from the quai Gailleton, along rue de la Barre, through the Bellecour area, arrived in front of the Primatial Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Stephen, where the religious service was held. A detachment from the Bron base rendered military honours.

The funeral was attended by General Joseph Vuillemin, chief of staff of the Armée de l'Air, General Roger Pennès, commander of the 2nd Air Region, Colonel Mochel, commander of air base 105, Colonel Chambe, commander of the 35ème Escadre d'observation, and Lieutenant Colonel Fine, commander of the 55ème Escadre de reconnaissance.