S/L Léon Prévot RAF

197 Squadron, November 1942 – June 1943

Five Belgian pilots flew with 197 Squadron RAF: S/L León Prévot, P/O Jean Parisse, F/O Martin Soors, F/L Raymond A. “Cheval” Lallemant, and F/O André de Bie de Bellefroid. Each contributed greatly to the Squadron’s success over the two and a half years of its existence. The individual stories of these pilots, all fraught with hardship and danger, exemplify the courage, dedication, and determination these men brought to the fight against tyranny. All, except Flying Officer Martin Soors – who made the ultimate sacrifice – were highly decorated by their native and other nations; however, for reasons of space, only their British decorations are stated here.

On May 10, 1940, Second Lieutenant Léon Prévot, a pre-war regular in the Aéronautique Militaire, Belge, was serving as an instructor with the Belgian 3e Escadrille, Basic Flight School deployed to Deurne, near Antwerp. In the face of the German advance, the Flight School squadrons, complete with aircraft and equipment, moved on May 12, initially to Caen / Carpiquet airbase in Normandy, France, then quickly on to Oujda air base in Morocco.

S/L Léon Prévot DFC, MID with Typhoon Ib OV-P (Srl. No. DN607?). RAF Tangmere, summer 1943. Image courtesy of Serge Bonge.

With the capitulation of Belgium and then France, Second Lieutenant Léon Prévot, along with about 60 other Belgian pilots, chose to sail to England on the S.S. David Livingstone, where, on August 14, 1940, he was incorporated into the RAF Volunteer Reserve. Subsequently joining 235 Sqn of Coastal Command flying Blenheim bombers on convoy protection and reconnaissance missions over the North Sea, Pilot Officer Léon Prévot (Svc. No. 84285) claimed a Heinkel He-59 seaplane shot down on October 8, 1941.

S/L Léon Prévot DFC, MID at RAF Tangmere, summer 1943. Image courtesy of Serge Bonge.

Soon after, Prévot converted to the Spitfire, flying first as a flight commander with 64 Squadron and then, from May 1942, as the Commanding Officer of 122 Squadron. Squadron Leader Léon Prévot claimed two Fw-190s destroyed and three others as probable or damaged before being shot down by flak, near St. Omer on July 30, 1942. Evading capture after baling out, Prévot returned, with the help of the Belgian resistance’s “Comet” line, to England in October 1942.

Sqn Ldr Léon Prévot DFC, MID. Image courtesy of Serge Bonge.

Squadron Leader Léon Prévot, now back on operations with 65 Sqn at RAF Drem, Scotland, assumed command of 197 Squadron RAF on November 21, 1942, then forming at RAF Drem with the Typhoon Ib. In March 1943, 197 Squadron RAF, complete, trained and operational, deployed to RAF Tangmere in the south of England. Here, Prévot led his squadron on combat patrols and bomber escort missions. However, his time with 197 was coming to an end. On June 14, 1943, he handed over command to Squadron Leader Alan Corkett. The 197 Squadron ORB comments:

“14.6.43  This was a great blow to him as he lived for his Squadron and he was never happier than when chasing the ‘Hun‘.”

After leaving 197 Squadron, Prévot went on to command, in 1944, the all-Belgian squadron, 350 (Belgian) Squadron RAF, before moving on, as a Wing Commander, to a succession of staff posts with the Belgian section of the RAF and finally the command of 160 (Belgian) Wing RAF in July 1946. Post-war, and now back with the newly recreated Belgian Air Force, Major Leon Prévot served in a variety of senior positions in both the Belgian Air Force and AirCent HQ, NATO, finally retiring in January 1964.

Squadron Leader Léon Prévot, DFC, MID

Born: January 6, 1916, died: April 28, 1994

Research and text by L. K. Byrne. Sources:  197 Squadron Operations Record Book, AIR27/1169, The National Archives, UK and 350sqn-raf.be (by kind permission of Sorge Bonge). Images courtesy of Serge Bonge, Chris Thomas, Roy Allan, aircrewremembered.com and Wikipedia.