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Marylise Ben Haïm – Algeria

  • First Female Pilot

Marylise Ben Haïm (1928 – 2001) was born in Algiers. Both her parents were Jewish; her father, Moses Ben Haïm, was Berber while her mother, Sultana Stora, was Andalusian. At the beginning of the war, she was studying at the Lycee Fromentin in Algiers. She had to leave because of her origins during the Vichy regime. She joined the Young Communist underground in Algiers. The Allied landings in Algeria took place November 8, 1942. The following year, Maryse Ben Haim resumed classes and trained to be a teacher while pursuing her studies in philosophy at the University of Algiers.

In 1946, Marylise wanted to enroll in the Aero Club of Algiers, but her father was against it. Still a minor (the majority was at 21 years old at the time), she had to wait three years then another two years for her registration to become effective. In 1951, after 15 hours of flight lessons, she got her pilot licence.

To pay for her flying lessons, Marylise, like other students at the flying club, flew introductory flights. However, some people did not trust a woman pilot. That did not stop her from learning aerobatics with the chief pilot, a veteran of the Escadrille d’Etampes.

In 1952, she received her first assignment as a teacher substitute. Her school was located in the village of Aboutville. It was in poor condition but the young woman was motivated. The peasants did not dare send their children to school because they have no shoes, so the young woman went to fetch them home.

From 1954, Marylise’s political commitments forced her to go underground and stopped her flying activities. She immigrated to France and later became a well-known writer and painter.

1950 - 1959
July 25, 2015 Centennial Team

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