serviceyears branch death_place death_date birth_place allegiance unit awards birth_date rank article_title name
1915 - 1918 aviation maisons-laffitte , france 2 july 1933 paris , france france escadrille 26 médaille , Étoile de vermeil militaire , croix de guerre with six palmes 5 september 1897 maréchal-des-logis constant soulier
 constant frederic soulier
constant soulier

maréchal-des-logis constant frédéric soulier was a world war i flying ace credited with six confirmed aerial victories and nine unconfirmed .
soulier was a student at the École polytechnique when the war began .
his first attempts to join the military were frustrated by his ill health and his minority , as he was only seventeen years old .
soulier managed to join the artillery in march 1915 , but then wangled a transfer to aviation .
he began aviation training at pau in march 1916 , and was brevetted a pilot two months later .
he was posted to escadrille 26 under command of commandant brocard in june 1916 .
he began his aerial victories as a balloon buster , destroying a german observation balloon on 24 august 1916 .
he had two additional wins before he began a prolonged hospital stay in january 1917 .
he returned to duty in march , and in may shot down two more enemy planes .
on 27 may , soulier became the youngest ace in french service , his predecessor , paul sauvage , having been killed in action .
soulier returned to hospital at the end of june 1917 , and remained there until december .
his illness ended his combat duty .
he was sent to the united states to demonstrate combat flying to american pilots .
he made a favorable impression on this public relations trip , being referred to as short and boyish , but solemn and self-assured .
he was attributed with 430 flying hours and 60 dogfights .
