Jean Demozay | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Demozay, under his pseudonym Jean Morlaix, made by Cuthbert Orde in 1941 | |
| Born | 21 March 1916 Nantes, France |
| Died | 19 December 1945 (aged 29) Les Loges-en-Josas, France |
| Buried | Beaugency, France |
| Allegiance | France |
| Service/ | Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres (FAFL) Royal Air Force (RAF) |
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel (FAFL) Wing commander (RAF) |
| Commands | Groupement Patrie (FAFL) No. 91 Squadron (RAF) |
| Battles/wars | Second World War |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Order Distinguished Flying Cross & Bar Croix de Guerre (France) Croix de Guerre (Belgium) |
Jean Demozay DSO, DFC & Bar (16 March 1916–19 December 1945), also known as Jean Francois Morlaix, was a Frenchman who served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He was credited with having destroyed at least eighteen German aircraft.
Born in Nantes, Demozay received a portion of his education in the United Kingdom and became proficient in English. Working in the family business, he took up flying. In the early stages of the Second World War, he was an interpreter for RAF forces in France. Attached to No. 1 Squadron at the time of the Battle of France in May 1940, he was left behind at Nantes airfield when its flying personnel was evacuated. Using an abandoned Bristol Bombay transport aircraft, he flew himself and several RAF groundcrew back to the United Kingdom. Claiming to be a fighter pilot, he joined the Free French Air Forces (Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres – FAFL) and was posted back to No. 1 Squadron as a pilot, making his first claim for an aerial victory in November. Several more followed in 1941, while serving with Nos. 1, 242 and 91 Squadrons. He commanded the latter unit for over six months in 1942, claiming his final victories during this time. For much of the remainder of the war, he held training and command posts for the FAFL. He was killed in an aircraft accident to the south of Paris in late 1945.