Michel Donnet

On 1 June 1940, he was taken (POW) by German ground forces when Belgium capitulated, and he was held in camps in Germany and France.

[1] After release in German-occupied Belgium, he met his former colleague sergeant-pilot Léon Divoy, and they briefly planned to build an aircraft with which to escape to England.

Although German troops were stationed at the chateau, Donnet and Divoy spent four months preparing their plan, with the help of many trusted friends and the Belgian Resistance.

This involved bicycle rides of three hours from the Stockel area of Brussels to Terbloc and return at night, improvisation of flying instruments, obtaining scarce petrol, and testing systems.

[vague] Divoy won the toss to pilot the SV-4B, but the aircraft had dual controls so Donnet would assist him.

After about two hours' flying, they sighted land during sunrise, but the geography did not match the intended destination in Kent.

They quickly confirmed that they were in England, and headed on foot towards the nearest police station, Thorpe-le-Soken, near Clacton, Essex.

Vs. His time there was spent on dogfighting exercises, escort for bomber missions, ground attacks on occupied Belgian airfields, and combat against Focke-Wulf Fw 190s.

[5] Donnet flew further missions against Fw 190s from RAF Hornchurch, and in July 1942 he converted to Spitfire Mk.

On 21 July 1942, he was awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre, and soon afterwards achieved his first confirmed kill against a Fw 190.

On 6 June 1944, during the Normandy landings (D-day), he led the squadron in providing continuous fighter cover over the beachhead.

On 3 September 1944, he learned that Belgium had been liberated, and next day he led a celebratory formation of 12 Spitfires over Brussels.

During his war period, Donnet flew 375 missions, shot down four enemy aircraft confirmed, and damaged at least another five.

He took presidency of the direction committee of project NADGE (Integrated NATO Air Defense System) and afterwards became Military Attaché at the Belgian Embassy in London.

[1][6] [8] Michel was a son of Jean Georges Hyacinthe Marie Donnet (1888–1957) and Mariquita Jeanne Françoise Eyben (1891–1979).

Jean Donnet was a refrigeration contractor who served in World War One as a volunteer with the Belgian army engineer corps.