French Aces of World War 2
Product details
- ISBN 9781855328983
- Weight: 324g
- Dimensions: 184 x 248mm
- Publication Date: 15 Sep 1999
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
Our Delivery Time Frames Explained
2-4 Working Days: Available in-stock
10-20 Working Days: On Backorder
Will Deliver When Available: On Pre-Order or Reprinting
We ship your order once all items have arrived at our warehouse and are processed. Need those 2-4 day shipping items sooner? Just place a separate order for them!
French pilots endured fighting both with and against the Allies during World War 2.
Possessing obsolescent aircraft at the outbreak of the war, the Armée de l'Air was decimated in the wake of the Blitzkrieg; however, a number of fighter units still achieved creditable scores flying Curtiss Hawks, Morane MS.406s and Dewoitine D.520s.
This book tells the story of these aces, many of which continued to fly with the now Vichy French Squadrons after the capitulation of France in 1940 and subsequently saw action against their former Allies in North Africa. With detailed accounts from the aces themselves, it discusses the numerous French pilots also escaped to Britain, and a handful achieved notable success with the RAF flying Hurricanes, Spitfires and Tempests. In Russia, the formation of the French-manned 'Normandie-Niemen' regiment in 1943 also saw near on 40 pilots achieve ace status flying Yak fighters on the Eastern Front.
Barry Ketley runs his own aviation publishing company which specialises in the more esoteric aspects of military aviation. He has been a student of the Armée de l’Air’s wartime exploits since the 1960s.
Mark Rolfe is an extremely talented profile artist. He has worked on a number of titles in Osprey's Aircraft of the Aces and Combat Aircraft series.