Reloader
16-04-06, 22:08
Subtitled 'The Greatest Pilot's Story of World War II' -
Pierre Clostermann was one of the RAF's top-scoring aces of WWII. He was studying at the California Institute of Technology and was a 19-year old amateur pilot when France fell in 1940. By a circuitous route, he managed to get to Britain, where he volunteered for the Air Force, serving in the 'Alsace' squadron of the Free French Forces and later with the RAF.(He is France's most-decorated citizen)
He spent the war years flying missions over France and Germany: attacking V1 flying bomb sites, protecting American Bombers from German fighters, engaging in dogfights (including being shot down) and watching helplessly as less fortunate friends fell to their deaths from the skies, or burned alive in crash-landings. He also shows a great respect towards "those fine German fighter pilots, so close to us in age and mentality, in love with life, with a passion for flying and from whom we were differentiated only by the colour of our uniforms and the markings under our wings."
The book is drawn from Clostermann's wartime diary and is a terrific read from start to finish. I am not normally an avid reader of Air Force memoirs, but this one made me realise just what a terrifying war these young men fought. sal;
Highly recommended.
Pierre Clostermann was one of the RAF's top-scoring aces of WWII. He was studying at the California Institute of Technology and was a 19-year old amateur pilot when France fell in 1940. By a circuitous route, he managed to get to Britain, where he volunteered for the Air Force, serving in the 'Alsace' squadron of the Free French Forces and later with the RAF.(He is France's most-decorated citizen)
He spent the war years flying missions over France and Germany: attacking V1 flying bomb sites, protecting American Bombers from German fighters, engaging in dogfights (including being shot down) and watching helplessly as less fortunate friends fell to their deaths from the skies, or burned alive in crash-landings. He also shows a great respect towards "those fine German fighter pilots, so close to us in age and mentality, in love with life, with a passion for flying and from whom we were differentiated only by the colour of our uniforms and the markings under our wings."
The book is drawn from Clostermann's wartime diary and is a terrific read from start to finish. I am not normally an avid reader of Air Force memoirs, but this one made me realise just what a terrifying war these young men fought. sal;
Highly recommended.