6 Juin 1944, Les Ailes Francaises

Rendezvous with history, treading the land of France again… On 6 June 1944 there were nearly 500 French pilots and ground crew taking part in one way or another in this formidable event, engraved forever in people’s memories: the Normandy landings. Scattered throughout the RAF units of Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Command, or regrouped in units like 326, 340, 341, 342, 345, 346 and 347 Squadrons; be they FAFL or recently arrived from North Africa, the French got ready, trained and fought intensely for more than three months to get to this much awaited moment: 6 June 1944. Having become the Forces Aeriennes Francaises, under the impulsion of Generals Bouscat and Valin with the help of the British and the Americans, these Frenchmen were there when they were needed and in the best way possible, for this rendezvous with History. It was also the start of the new French Air Force which was being created. With more than 250 often unpublished documents and photos, together with more than fifty profiles, this book allows us to relive the hour by hour events of that 6 June 1944 closely and the day to day epic of those French pilots and ground staff from March to August 1944. Which marked, as General de Gaulle was to say in Bayeux on 16 June 1944, the renewal of France, the rebirth of French wings.