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Saint-Yves Yves – Roll of Honor: French Fighter Aces 1939–1945 (2013) (Print Edition)

Saint-Yves Yves – Roll of Honor: French Fighter Aces 1939–1945 (2013) (Print Edition)

by Saint-Yves Yves
133,00 zł - 133,00 zł
133,00 zł
133,00 zł - 133,00 zł
133,00 zł

 Roll of Honor: French Fighter Aces 1939–1945

Author: Yves Saint-Yves

Self-published (2013)

Yves Saint-Yves, born in Normandy during World War II, dedicates this work to the French fighter aces of 1939–1945—pilots credited with at least five confirmed victories. Inspired by the exceptional archives of Émile-Joseph Lassalle (an avid aerophilatelist and close to the pilots), the author pays tribute to their courage, self-sacrifice, and patriotism.

The book first sets the historical context: the invasion of Poland (1939), France’s defeat (June 1940), and General de Gaulle’s Appeal of June 18. Three resistance efforts emerged: the Internal Resistance, the Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres (FAFL, integrated into the RAF), and the Eastern Front commitment with the Normandie-Niémen Group (60 French volunteers in the USSR, 96 pilots engaged, 14 pioneers arriving in 1942). Their exploits, often at the cost of their lives, marked the battles of Orel, Kursk, and Smolensk (1943), as well as the liberation of Europe (1944–1945).

The roll of honor lists 36 French aces, ranked by number of victories, including:

  • Pierre Clostermann (top Allied ace in 1944, 33 victories),
  • Marcel Albert (23 victories, hero of Normandie-Niémen),
  • Jean Demozay ("Morlaix," 21 victories),
  • Pierre Le Gloan (18 victories, the only French ace to score for both sides in 1940),
  • Roland de la Poype (16 victories, Compagnon de la Libération),
  • Joseph Risso (11 victories, survivor of the first contingent in the USSR),
  • Albert Durand (11 victories, killed in action in 1943).

Other figures, such as René Fonck (75 victories in 1914–1918) and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, are also honored.
The book highlights their social diversity (workers, aristocrats, career military) and their voluntary commitment, often defying Vichy orders. Equipped with Spitfires or Yak-7s, the FAFL played a key role in the liberation. It concludes with a duty of remembrance, noting that half of the Normandie-Niémen pilots perished, and their sacrifice contributed to the Allied victory.
112 pages – in French