5 photographies d'époque de l'aviateur durant la Grande Guerre

Superb set of five original photographs, depicting famous sailor and writer (then aviator) Alain Gerbault and his crew, returning from his first air combat, between Picardie and Champagne, on March 17, 1917.
Three of the photographs have penciled notes on the back. The same three bear the printed stamp "Mme Houx Delapierre, 55, Paul Boudet, 53000 Laval", Gerbault's home town.
Gerbault scored his first personal victory by shooting down an enemy aboard "Smash", aircraft no. 7 of the "Escadrille des Loups", whose number and wolf profile are clearly marked on the plane's fuselage in the photographs: "When he landed, his mechanic saw that it was no joke: the fuselage of his own plane is riddled with 54 bullet holes": the mechanic and gunner pose in front of the plane in one of the shots. 
Gerbault poses in three photographs aboard his aircraft. Four French soldiers are seen in the last image in front of Gerbault's plane. This pioneer of wartime aviation would go on to make a name for himself on the seas, crossing the Atlantic solo from East to West in 1923, and also becoming a tennis champion.
A rare and precious snapshot of a historic moment in early military aviation, bearing witness to a glorious feat of arms.