# Victor Denain

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thumb|right|Denain in 1934
'''Victor-Léon-Ernest Denain''' ({{IPA|fr|viktɔʁ leɔ̃ ɛʁnɛst dənɛ̃}}; 6 November 1880 in [Dax](/source/Dax%2C_Landes) – 31 December 1952 in [Nice](/source/Nice)) was a French general, aviator and politician.<ref>[http://atf40.forumculture.net/t4272-general-denain-1939-1940 "Général DENAIN 1939 1940"], ''ATF40 - Armée de Terre Française 1940''. {{in lang|fr}} Retrieved 13 July 2012.</ref> He was behind the creation of the [Salon-de-Provence](/source/Salon-de-Provence) Air School and the general development of military aviation.

==Biography==
Denain graduated from [Saint-Cyr](/source/Ecole_Sp%C3%A9ciale_Militaire_de_Saint-Cyr) in 1901 and joined the French Army's cavalry. In 1903, he was assigned as Second Lieutenant to the 6e régiment de chasseurs à cheval (6th Cavalary Regiment) and in October 1905, as a First Lieutenant, he campaigned in the southern territories with the 5e régiment de chasseurs d'Afrique (5th Regiment of Chasseurs d'Afrique).<ref name="L'Air et l'espace">{{cite book|title=L'Air et l'espace|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qDwPAAAAIAAJ|access-date=17 July 2012|year=1953|publisher=G. Roche d'Estrez|language=fr|page=109}}</ref> In 1915, he transferred to the French Air Force where he commanded the aircraft of the [Allied armies](/source/Allies_of_World_War_I) on the [Eastern Front](/source/Eastern_Front_(World_War_I)) (1916–1918). With the French Air Force, he served in the [Levant](/source/Levant) from 1918 to 1923, mainly in Syria.<ref name="ChurchillGilbert1977">{{cite book|last1=Churchill|first1=Randolph Spencer|last2=Gilbert|first2=Martin|title=Winston S. Churchill|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=30gmAQAAMAAJ|access-date=17 July 2012|date=March 1977|publisher=Houghton Mifflin|isbn=978-0-395-25104-1|page=569}}</ref> As such, he became a protege of General [Weygand](/source/Maxime_Weygand) who arranged a foreign career for him. Denain was Head of the [French Military Mission to Poland](/source/French_Military_Mission_to_Poland) 1924 through 1931.

From 10 March 1933 to 6 February 1934, General Denain served as the Chief of the Air Force General Staff under Air Minister [Pierre Cot](/source/Pierre_Cot), replacing General [Joseph Barès](/source/Joseph_Bar%C3%A8s).  Denain and Cot dealt with the Armee de l'Air's technological issues.  They built a series of new aircraft built to make the air services competitive; they worked with French aircraft manufacturers on improvements to aircraft design and production; and they made threats to nationalize the French aviation industry.<ref name="HighamHarris2006">{{cite book|last1=Higham|first1=Robin D. S.|last2=Harris|first2=Stephen John|title=Why Air Forces Fail: The Anatomy of Defeat|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T0gt_RjeCrgC&pg=PA54|access-date=17 July 2012|date=17 February 2006|publisher=University Press of Kentucky|isbn=978-0-8131-2374-5|pages=54–}}</ref> Denain developed a strategic role for the Air Force with plans in 1933 for equipping it with 1,000 new planes.<ref>Kaufmann, J. E.; Kaufmann, H. W.: ''Hitler's Blitzkrieg Campaigns: The Invasion And Defense Of Western Europe'', Da Capo Press, 2002, p. 52. {{ISBN|9780306812163}}. {{in lang|fr}}</ref>  From 9 February 1934 to 24 January 1936, he was Aviation Minister in the [Gaston Doumergue](/source/Gaston_Doumergue) government.<ref>"Le général Denain face au défi allemand : continuité, ambitions et déceptions (février 1934 – janvier 1936)" in Thierry Vivier: ''La Politique Aéronautique Militaire de la France: janvier 1933–septembre 1939'', Editions L'Harmattan, 1997, p. 136. {{ISBN|9782738450333}}. {{in lang|fr}}</ref> During this time, and on behalf of France, Denain announced this his country would  organize a Paris to [Hanoi](/source/Hanoi) air race in 1935, modeled after the London-Melbourne race.<ref name="Aero1934">{{cite book|title=Aero digest|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o23mAAAAMAAJ|access-date=17 July 2012|year=1934|publisher=Aeronautical Digest Pub. Corp.|page=22}}</ref>

By August 1936, under the [Blum government](/source/L%C3%A9on_Blum),<ref name="GannesMarion1936">{{cite book|last1=Gannes|first1=Harry|author-link1=Harry Gannes|last2=Marion|first2=George|title=Spain defends democracy|url=https://archive.org/details/SpainDefendsDemocracy|access-date=17 July 2012|year=1936|publisher=Workers Library Publishers|page=[https://archive.org/details/SpainDefendsDemocracy/page/n4 10]}}</ref> General Denain, had become High Commissioner of [French Morocco](/source/French_protectorate_of_Morocco).<ref name="GannesRepard1937">{{cite book|last1=Gannes|first1=Harry|author-link1=Harry Gannes|last2=Repard|first2=Theodore|author-link2=Theodore Draper|title=Spain in revolt|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.157105|access-date=17 July 2012|year=1937|publisher=Knopf|page=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.157105/page/n160 142]}}</ref> The next year, as Inspector General of the Air Force overseas, he transferred into the reserves. A very skilled pilot, he performed reconnaissance trips on numerous occasions. For example, as Air Minister he piloted his personal [Breguet 27](/source/Breguet_27) to Belgrade, accompanied by two squadrons of Breguet 27s and a [Dewoitine](/source/Dewoitine), to attend the funeral of King [Alexander I of Yugoslavia](/source/Alexander_I_of_Yugoslavia) on 17 October 1934.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=[Joseph Barès](/source/Joseph_Bar%C3%A8s)<br><small>As Chief of Staff of the ''Forces Aériennes''</small>}}
{{s-ttl|title=[Chief of Staff of the French Air Force](/source/Chief_of_Staff_of_the_French_Air_Force)|years=1 April 1933 – 8 February 1934}}
{{s-aft|after=[Joseph Barès](/source/Joseph_Bar%C3%A8s)}}
{{s-end}}

{{Commons category}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Denain, Victor}}
Category:French aviators
Category:20th-century French politicians
Category:French generals
Category:1880 births
Category:1952 deaths
Category:People from Landes (department)
Category:Chiefs of the Staff of the French Air and Space Force

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Victor Denain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Denain) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Denain?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.