Henri Dericourt

Henri Dericourt (1909-1962) was a French agent for Special Operations Executive who may have become a double agent for Abwehr.

Henri Dericourt was born in France in September 1909. As an adult he first became a civilian pilot and then French Air Force test pilot. After the defeat of France in 1940 he again became a civilian pilot.

In August of 1942, Dericourt fled to Britain and eventually joined the Special Operations Executive (SOE). On January 22, 1943, he was sent back as an SOE agent to work in occupied France. He worked for Prosper Network and arranged flights of over 67 SOE agents.

However, in the summer of 1943 when the Gestapo arrested several British agents, some of the local agents noticed the Dericourt was living in the same house as the Abwehr agent Hugo Bleicher. However, many senior SOE agents and even Maurice Buckmaster vouched for him. Dericourt continued his work until February 1944.

Dericourt's possible duplicity was revealed after the war when British received what was purported to be information from German sources that Dericourt had cooperated both with the Gestapo and Abwehr and his aid has led to the arrest and execution of several SOE agents. French authorities arrested Dericourt in November 1946. At his 1948 trial, the evidence was not sufficient and Dericourt was acquitted. Dericourt himself claimed later that SOE deliberate sacrificed agents to distract attention from the Allied invasion plans.

Henri Dericourt was killed in an aircraft accident on November 20, 1962 over Laos. However, there has been speculation that the death was faked.