Charles Nungesser

Charles Eugène Jules Marie Nungesser (Known as "The Knight of Death")

Third Highest French WWI Flying Ace (43 Kills), Pilot of The White Bird (L'Oiseau Blanc)

Born Mar 15, 1892

Paris, France

Passed Away May 08, 1927 Atlantic Ocean (Disappeared en route to New York), Atlantic Ocean

Lifespan 35 years old

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Notice / Correction

"I fly with death painted on my fuselage so that fate knows I have already accepted the challenge."

Archival Overview

Third-highest scoring French fighter ace of World War I with 43 confirmed victories who flew with a macabre skull-and-coffin insignia, and vanished in the North Atlantic in May 1927 attempting the first Paris-to-New York flight in L'Oiseau Blanc.

Biographical Record

A fearless boxer and race driver in Argentina before the war, Nungesser survived catastrophic battlefield injuries—sustaining a fractured skull, broken jaw, multiple bullet wounds, and metal plates in his legs—often being carried to his cockpit by his mechanics.

Decorated with the Legion of Honour and Military Medal, his plane bore his famous personal emblem: a black heart containing a skull, crossed bones, candles, and a coffin. On May 8, 1927, Nungesser and navigator François Coli took off from Le Bourget in their Levasseur biplane L'Oiseau Blanc for New York, vanishing mysteriously over the Atlantic two weeks before Lindbergh.

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Rest in Peace Forever remembered and cherished Your legacy lives on in all of us With deep gratitude for your life and light

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial

Lost at sea in the North Atlantic (Nungesser and Coli Memorial at Étretat)
Étretat (Seine-Maritime), France

                         GPS: 49.7083, 0.2056                    

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