MIHAIL MOUTOUSIS AKA Montoussis

MIHAIL MOUTOUSIS Collection of George Kandylakis, 7-1-04

 

L'Officier grec Lieutenant du Génie MOUTOUSIS Collection of George Kandylakis, 7-1-04

 

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES Email from Jean-Pierre Lauwers, 11-23-02      I was exploring a bit my 1913 magazines. There was a war going on between Greece and Turkey. At least 3 Farman planes they seems to have been involved, one (or two?) Maurice Farman planes and one Henri Farman plane.      At Nicopolis, each one was assembled by French mechanics. They were piloted by Lt. (of artillery) Gambéros (no photo!)and Lt. (of cavalry) Notaras (no photo). It was mentioned that at Nicopolis, a warship arrived with 3 planes, but I have no idea if they were 3 extra planes or not!      In another article there is a photo of a Greek military aviator named Lt. Montoussis. He is said to have flown above the Turkish forts of Pisani (from Nicopolis) and over the front of Janina, so it could be there were only 3 planes in total?      It is reported that he flew a Maurice-Farman and that he came under fire over Janina and was lightly wounded in his hands and his machine was perforated by many shell fragments.      But on these three "military aviators, I have found no information elswhere!   CORRECTION!      I found a website with GOOGLE! Their names are mispelled in my French versions. They probably are; Dimitros KAMPAROS (not Cambèros!), Michail MOUTOUSIS (not Montoussis! and NOTARAS. When I used Google on NOTARAS+aviation I found the others! That's a problem when you don't have the correct spelling of their names!      The planes they got were paid for by money donated by a "poet" Matsoukis" who had made a tour in America.He was present when the planes first took off from Nicopolis! Strange history

 

Lt. Mihail Moutousis, 1913 Collection of Jean-Pierre Lauwers

ONLINE RESOURCES The History of the Hellenic Airforce      On this website you will find a summary of the development of the Hellenic Airforce, beginning in 1911. The following introductory paragraph is extracted from that page.        "To accomplish this, 13 officers from France were transferred to Hellas to establish the foundation with which the Hellenic Air Force could operate and expand on. The first officers to join this new branch were Dimitrios Kamperos (First Lieutenant Artillery), Mihail Moutousis (First Lieutenant Corp of Engineers), Mihail Adamidis (Second Lieutenant Cavalry), and a little later Loukas Papaloukas (First Lieutenant Infantry), Markos Drakos (First Lieutenant Artillery), and Panoutsos Notaras (Second Lieutenant Cavalry). These officers were trained in France, where they obtained their diplomas. "   You may go directly to the page by clicking on:   History of the Hellenic Airforce   Chronicle of the Hellenic Air Force      This is an extensive website which offers information on the development of the Air Force from its beginnings in 1912, through the balkan wars, 1st world war, campaign in asia minor, inter-war period, grecoitalian war, middle east - italy, south korea, the first jets, first generation aircraft, second generation aircraft, third generation aircraft and towards the 21st century.      Each section is comprehensive in its coverage and mentions most of the pioneer aviators as well as offering many photographs of the periods. It represents a unique resource for anyone interested in Hellenic Aviation. To access the site, click on: Chronicle Homepage

 

The dates of his birth and death are unknown by me. Email from Jean-Pierre Lauwers   Editor's Note: If you have any information on this pioneer aviator please contact me. E-mail to Ralph Cooper

 

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