General Leclerc's aviation accident

Having departed on from Villacoublay, in the Paris suburbs, for an inspection tour in North Africa, General Leclerc spent the afternoon of the 26th and the day of the 27th in the Arzew–La Macta region on the coast, east of Oran, to attend an interservice maneuver. This troop movement took place in an area where potential future oil fields had just been identified by the geologist explorer Conrad Kilian, sites of strategic value for France in a world where the United States and the United Kingdom still held a near-monopoly on oil reserves. On the morning of 28 November, General Leclerc attended a military ceremony in Arzew, then headed to La Sénia Aerodrome, where his personal aircraft, a B-25 Mitchell named Tailly II, awaited him. This aircraft, originally a twin-engine medium bomber, had been converted for the transport of military authorities. (this line connected Colomb-Béchar to Oujda in Morocco, near the Mediterranean). Witnesses saw it pass, about above the ground, at an estimated speed of . == Identification of the bodies ==

The legionnaires and rescue workers began identifying the bodies on the afternoon of the 28th at the crash site. All victims had been decapitated upon impact with the ground, so the trunks were identified based on uniforms, ranks, and personal papers. General Leclerc's body was identified by his partially burned wallet, signet ring, and a piece of his cane. and early-morning newspapers in London on the 29th, given time zone differences. Once the bodies were transported to the morgue of the Colomb-Béchar hospital in the evening, 13 bodies were formally counted before final burial by Lieutenant Doctor Paul Judeau and Commander Roque, even though the plane was believed to be carrying 12 men. == Reactions and investigations ==

The 12 identified bodies arrived in Algiers by train on 2 December, alongside Foch, Turenne, and Vauban after a day of national mourning. The official report concluded that the crash was due to the recklessness of pilot François Delluc, despite his experience and extremely distinguished service record, and the persistence of General Leclerc, who ignored the unfavorable weather conditions. In his biography of Leclerc, Jean-Christophe Notin demonstrated that the American-made B-25 had been dangerously modified by the French Air Force by adding a bunk at the rear, which may have caused a counterbalance and led to the crash, especially since the aircraft was known to tip backward at low speeds. • Leclerc, overshadowing de Gaulle, was allegedly assassinated by loyal Gaullists; • the KGB allegedly assassinated Leclerc, as he could have suppressed a hypothetical communist revolution in France; • Conrad Kilian, oil discoverer in the Fezzan, and Leclerc allegedly opposed British views on Libya, and the assassination was allegedly organized by British secret services. Notin refuted these rumors, as the impact site demonstrated a crash rather than an explosion; the engines, carefully inspected, showed no defects. == List of passengers and crew ==

with a drawing of the crash site memorial The B-25 was known to be carrying four crew members and eight passengers: During the repatriation of the bodies to France, one coffin was missing during disembarkation in Marseille, fueling rumors. However, this body was buried in the Saint-Eugène Christian Cemetery in Algiers. == Gallery ==