Aged 20 at the outbreak of war, Forick transferred from the French army to the air service in 1915 and eventually in 1917 joined Escadrille SPA 103, one of the units of the famous Groupe de Combat 12 ‘Les Cicognes’, flying SPADs. His personal score mounted slowly, and he soon acquired a reputation as a thoughtful and analytical fighter, twice destroying six enemy aircraft on single days, and on one occasion three of his victims being found to have crashed within a radius of 400 m (440 yards). He was a master of deflection shooting, his sparing of ammunition bordering on the uncanny. His many decorations included two British Military Crosses and the French Croixde Guerre with 28 palms. He died peacefully at his Paris home in June 1953.
René Fonck’s official victory score was 75 (but whose personal estimate was 127).
All Aero 