Maurice Challe was born on June 28, 1911, in Reims. He joined aviation in 1935 and, from 1936, served as a pilot at the Istres airbase. From June 26 to September 30, 1940, he served with GC II / 4. In December 1942, he was demobilized, but by August 1943, he was back in service, an adjutant in one of the units in Malaga.
The Challe family had four brothers, all of whom were pilots. Two of them, Maurice and René, fought in the “Normandie-Niemen” regiment starting in March 1944. After retraining on the Yak-9 fighter, they began carrying out combat missions.
A Tragic Beginning
Maurice’s combat career began extremely unfortunately. On June 8, 1944, during one of his first combat sorties, he mistakenly attacked Vasily Arkhipov’s aircraft, taking it for an enemy. Arkhipov saw that a “Norman” was attacking him!
He radioed this to his wingman, then tried rocking his wings to signal he was friendly. But Maurice Challe became engrossed and immediately made a second pass, tragically killing one of the best pilots of the 18th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, Vasily Arkhipov, who had over 10 aerial victories to his personal credit.
It was a difficult day for the entire division and especially for the pilots of the two fraternal regiments—the 18th Guards and “Normandie.” Pierre Pouyade, who commanded the French at the time, sought no excuses. After reporting the incident to the commander of the 303rd IAD, G.N. Zakharov, he quietly but firmly said: “My general, tell me, how would you act in such a situation with a Soviet pilot?”
Zakharov replied that for similar mistakes in our Air Force, a pilot would be sent to a penal battalion. However, he could not ignore that the mistake was made by a young pilot with absolutely no combat experience. Yet the loss was too heavy, and Zakharov could not immediately announce his final decision to the “Normandie” commander. “Just,” Pierre Pouyade pleaded, “do not send the pilot back to France with this disgrace…”
Redemption and Valor
After some deliberation, it was decided to keep the French pilot in the regiment, giving him a chance to atone for his guilt. Maurice Challe proved himself to be one of the best pilots in “Normandie.” He shot down 10 enemy aircraft in combat (according to some sources, 5 personally and 5 as part of a group).
He atoned for his mistake but never absolved himself of the moral guilt. This first and last blunder, which cost a Soviet pilot his life, eventually, it seems, cost Maurice Challe his own life. Until his last day, he sought out the hottest spots and, like one possessed, plunged into the thick of battle.
He truly was a good pilot; an average pilot, with the constant obsession with which he plunged into the inferno, would have been shot down in the second or third fight. But he was the one shooting down. He was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War 2nd Degree, then 1st Degree. In battles over East Prussia, Maurice Challe made 4-5 combat sorties a day. He lived like everyone else and, at the same time, internally, a somewhat separate life.
The Final Mystery
The pilot had long earned the respect of his comrades for his bravery and cool determination. For his combat successes, he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, one of the most revered and valued awards among front-line soldiers. And after each award, Maurice Challe began to fight even more fiercely.
He died on March 27, 1945, shortly before the end of the war, when the French rarely suffered losses. No one knows what happened to him; Maurice did not return from a combat mission and is listed as missing in action. His brother, René Challe, who shot down 7 enemy aircraft, was seriously wounded in the winter of 1945 and, after treatment, returned to liberated France. Maurice Challe’s fate remains unknown to this day.