80th anniversary of D-Day: Henri Déplante, freedom from the sky
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Left, Pierre-Louis Bourgouin, SAS unit commander; right, Henri Déplante
As part of the Normandy landings, from the night of June 5 to 6, 1944, a number of Special Air Service (SAS) paratroop operations were carried out in Brittany by French SAS. The aim of these commandos was to prevent German troops in Brittany from reaching Normandy.
These elite paratroopers were the first Allied troops deployed on French territory as part of Operation Overlord.
The first two teams parachuted into Morbihan. Their mission was to set up two bases for sabotage operations.
One of the teams was led by Henri Déplante.
Having worked with Marcel Bloch (later Dassault) since 1930, he decided to leave France via Spain after the invasion of the free zone in 1942. After many adventures, he arrived in England, where he joined the SAS. After parachuting into Brittany, he fought to cut off the German retreat and carried out a number of dangerous missions.
After the war, he headed Dassault Aviation’s design office in Saint-Cloud for 32 years, first as Technical General Manager until 1973, then as Technical Advisor until 1981.
The company’s Chairman and CEO from 1955 to 1986, Benno-Claude Vallières, was also a member of the SAS. From August 1944, he took part in military operations in France and the Netherlands.
