Date:	Saturday 11 May 1940
Time:	17:00
Type:	Curtiss Hawk 75 A2
Owner/operator:	GC I/4 Armée de l'air
Registration:	U072
MSN:	13003
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Zoersel, Veldstraat -   Belgium
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Dunkerque-Mardyck
Destination airport:

Narrative:
The pilot, Commandant André Hertaut, was the commanding officer of Groupe de Chasse GC I/4. On the late afternoon of 11th May 1940 he was the leader of 26 Curtiss Hawk 75s to operate over the provinces of Antwerp in Belgium and the adjacent Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. On this occasion he also led the 1st Escadrille. The Groupe intercepted Luftwaffe attacks on an allied column between Antwerp (Belgium) and Breda (Netherlands).
Soon after arriving in the area, they went after a Heinkel He 111, but came under attack by Me 109s, and he and his wingman, Capitaine Gauthrin, got separated from the rest of the Groupe and the Escadrille. The pair, defending themselves against 4 Me 109s also got split up and dove into clouds. Cdt Hertaut was never seen again.
Cdt Hertaut crashed on or near a country road in farmland at Zoersel.

It is possible that the Heinkel He 111 which crashed in nearby Zandhoven was the one Hertaut initially went after. It crashed as the result of the combined efforts by 8 pilots of GC I/4.

- Zoersel Mayor's report to the provincial administration of 11th January 1941.
- File reference numbers G7845 and G7846 at the Service Historique de la Défense.
- "Les Curtiss H-75 de l'Armée de l'Air" by Lionel Persyn ISBN 2-914017-46-4 (This book is considered the standard reference on the French use of the Curtiss Hawk)
- http://albindenis.free.fr/Site_escadrille/Groupe_Chasse_1.4_39.40.htm (An excellent website by Mr Albin Denis)

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
08-Jul-2025 16:14	Fik	Added