Antoine de Saint-Exupéry with his F-5

[Brettafett]

Not sure if any of you have read any of his books, but they are among my favourites. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was the real-deal. Pioneer aviator, WW2 photo recognisance pilot and mystic of the winds.
His remains along with the aircraft were only recently uncovered...
On a more superficial note... Could that be a Dubow A-2 he is wearing?

 

[Brettafett]

 

[Cocker]

Read a couple books by St Ex (Vol de Nuit and Pilote de Guerre), and didn't like them at all. It's more poetry/philosophy than pilot books. Not my cup of tea.

As far as I know, the crash site was identified not far ago, but his remains were never officialy found. Moreover, we still don't know what happened on this fateful day.

 

[Grant]

Brett, Yup, sure looks like a Dubow to me as well.

 

[Flightengineer]

I've always loved his books. And my children too.

 

[Dubpynchon]

'Night Flight' is my favourite of his, it's a straightforward novel, well worth a read.

Apparently he was a terrible pilot, the mechanics would often be shocked by his flying.

 

[Flightengineer]

French made in 2015 a stunning cartoon "Little Prince" ( Le Petit Prince). My daughter adores it, as well as this book. When she watched this movie, I could not tear myself away too.
It is difficult to say how good pilot he was - he crashed often. Although at that time the aircraft were not as dependable as today. However, he was a wonderful writer and a romantic.

 

[Brettafett]

Little Prince is such a great story... I have bought this book for many friend's kids.
I can't imagine how it must have been in the early days of aviation. Open cockpit bi-planes, held together by wires, with unreliable engines, traversing deserts, mountains and oceans... I'm not surprises he crashed often... Couldn't have been that bad to have survived well into WW2. Maybe he was just very lucky.
Personally love Wind, Sand and Stars.

 

[Flightengineer]

Wind, Sand and Stars...


Brett, then you're probably should like my favorite pilot-writer Roald Dahl.

 

[Brettafett]

Ha! Yes, know how work well. Loved, Going Solo. One of my other favourites is Richard Bach.

 

[Flightengineer]

Mine too, but Dahl more.

 

[Greg Gale]

Somehow I never liked his books, even though I read "Le Petit Prince" in French too.

As for his death, I recently spoke to a retired Hungarian fighter pilot who is obsessed with Exupéry, and researched what happened. According to him there is a chance he got himself killed on purpose. Before the flight he gave some of his stuff away as if he knew - I can't recall what. Then, he deviated from his course on purpose to fly over very, very heavily defended areas. A German fighter attacked him, and the pilot said he made no evasive actions - if it was really him. I wish I remembered more, the guy had a whole ppt with maps and pictures, a very convincing case he made.

 

[Pilot]

Somehow I never liked his books, even though I read "Le Petit Prince" in French too.

As for his death, I recently spoke to a retired Hungarian fighter pilot who is obsessed with Exupéry, and researched what happened. According to him there is a chance he got himself killed on purpose. Before the flight he gave some of his stuff away as if he knew - I can't recall what. Then, he deviated from his course on purpose to fly over very, very heavily defended areas. A German fighter attacked him, and the pilot said he made no evasive actions - if it was really him. I wish I remembered more, the guy had a whole ppt with maps and pictures, a very convincing case he made.

There are posts on Wikipedia mentioning similar...they even show the Luftwaffe pilot who is believed to be “the Ace”...
...without knowing who he shot down...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Saint-Exupéry

 

[Brettafett]

Yes, thats what I read a while back. Shot down by an 'Ace'... So many pilots were shot down this way, neglecting their 'six', attention somewhere else.
Doubt he did it on purpose, he was very dedicated and protective of his fellow pilots in the squadron.
We will never know his thoughts, but he was quite an intuitive person, (judging by the material from his books, his thoughts and perspectives on things, certainly quite a philosophical and spiritual fellow, and by that I don't mean religious, 'connected' may be a better word)... likely had a 'feeling'...

 

[Pilot]

Saw an older interview of Luftwaffe pilot Rippert, he is supposed to have downed St. Ex. ( his war comrades called him like that)
During the interview apparently he did not know who was his prey...
When he was informed by the newsies about the possible victimes ID, he cried and searched for a book “ der kleine Prinz”... ( the little prince)...
...with a lot of notes and scribbled things in there...pre-war edition...his favored book he said...
Sure one can find this interview on youtube...

 

[Brettafett]

I'm always amazed at the info coming through the forum. So interesting.
In this case, it all adds another dimension to this aviation personality. I love it, thanks guys...
(and to think, all I intended to do was highlight the jacket )

 

[Pilot]

I'm always amazed at the info coming through the forum. So interesting.
In this case, it all adds another dimension to this aviation personality. I love it, thanks guys...
(and to think, all I intended to do was highlight the jacket )

I have a book about all this including the interview, but its in French.
They also made a movie about his bio....incluing the reports etc...