Henri Gonay (original) (raw)

Squadron Leader Henri A. C. "Moustique" Gonay, DFC (21 July 1913 – 14 June 1944) was a Belgian airman who was killed in action while flying with the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Gonay was born in Theux, Belgium. He joined the Belgian Army as a student pilot at the age of 18 in 1931. After the invasions of Belgium and France in 1940 he flew to England, where he enlisted in the Royal Air Force (RAF). After instructing pilots he requested to fly with an operational unit, he flew with No. 123 Squadron RAF until being given command of No. 263 Squadron RAF on 25 February 1944. Flying Hawker Typhoons, missions were flown against French coastal targets. Shortly after D-Day, Gonay was wounded while attacking shipping. He was killed when his aircraft hit the ground in Jersey, where h