Gérard Muselli 1915-1970

On the 2nd February 1970 after a journey home from work,Gérard Muselli suffered a heart attack and was found dead in his car. This was not the end one would have imagined for one of the top French combat and test pilots. He was a modest man who did not seek fame,just a hard working and diligent test pilot. He had flown more than 4200 hours, a large proportion in flight testing. Gérard Muselli was a wartime fighter pilot, flying with the Escadrille GC 1/5,scoring 6 aerial victories and 4 probables. He started his test flying career in the airforce before joining Dassault. He test flew various marks of Mystere and Mirage. Roland Glavany and Gerard Muselli were involved in the flight testing of the Mystere MD-550 pushing the programme forward at top speed and by December 1955, the Mystere-Delta was delivered to the CEV for test flights through January 1956. He made the maiden flight of the the Super Mystère B2, the successor of Mystère IV A, The SMB2 01 took off on a 40 minute 1st flight at Melun-Villaroche, on 15th May 1956, breaking the sound barrier without afterburning assistance..