Everyone knows Antoine de Saint-Exupery as the author of the legendary philosophical tale "The Little Prince". However, throughout his life, the writer's main love was airplanes. Exupery's death during a reconnaissance mission at the end of World War II has long been considered one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history. And only in 2008 it was possible to shed light on the events of fifty years ago.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery.
At the age of nineteen, Exupery made his first attempt to become a pilot, but could not pass the entrance exams to flight school. Love for the sky took its toll, and a year later the future writer went to serve in the army and still managed to get a military pilot's license. But the happiness did not last long - soon Exupery was sent to the reserve. For seven long years, Antoine made desperate attempts to go back into the air, and only in 1927 he managed to get a job as a pilot in a postal company. For two years, the pilot delivered parcels from France to the countries of North Africa, which at that time were part of the French colony. In his diary, Exupery wrote that these were difficult times. The aircraft industry was then at a low level and rarely when flights ended without incident. Every now and then they had to make emergency landings right in the middle of the desert. Later, these cases were reflected in the future works of the writer.
Due to injuries sustained in aircraft crashes, Exupery climbed into the cockpit with the help of a mechanic.
In 1929, Exupery returned to Paris with his first novel, Southern Postal, which later brought him fame and recognition in literary circles. Besides Antoine owns several patents in the field of aviation. It was thanks to his deep knowledge in the field of aircraft construction that the writer was soon transferred to the position of technical manager at Aviapostal in Argentina. In South America, Exupery devotes himself entirely to flying. He tests new aircraft and makes long-distance and extremely dangerous flights. So, for example, Antoine went alone in search of his pilot friend Henri Guillaume, who crashed in the Andes. In 1935, during a flight from France to Vietnam, Exupery himself was wrecked in the Libyan desert, but miraculously survived.
Exupery in the cockpit.
At the beginning of World War II, the commission found Exupery unfit for service for health reasons. He was assigned the position of an instructor at a flight school. Six months before that, the novel "The Planet of People" was published, which brought the writer several prestigious awards and world recognition. But, even in spite of this success, Exupery continued to make countless attempts to get to the front. Thanks to his connections and persistence, Exupery still managed to achieve his goal, and he was enlisted in the French air reconnaissance. According to Novate.ru, Antoine flew several dozen combat missions, but France soon announced its surrender. At the end of 1940, Exupery was forced to move to America to fight on the side of the Allies. It is in the USA that the writer creates his world famous works, such as: "Military Pilot", "Letter to a Hostage",as well as the legendary "Little Prince".
Exupery near his plane.
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The US military leadership in every possible way opposed the requests of Exupery, who by that time had become a world celebrity, to go to war. The writer managed to "knock out" five, and then three more sorties from the leadership. The last of these three fell on the date of the death of Exupery on July 31, 1944. On that day, the writer flew from the island of Corsica towards France. The combat mission was to collect intelligence about the German troops for the subsequent landing. But Antoine never returned from the mission. For many years, the remains of the writer were searched, but to no avail. Only half a century later, by pure chance, it was possible to establish the true cause of the death of the author of The Little Prince. In 2000, French diver Luc Varnel found a bracelet that belonged to Exupery. Later, a search operation began in this place,as a result of which the remains of the crashed plane were found.
Exupery bracelet.
In 2008, the situation turned in an even more unexpected way. Former German military pilot Horst Rippert made a statement to the press that it was he who shot down the plane from Exupery that day. On the same day, Rippert learned that a French writer was on the plane from French radio communications intercepted by German troops. Rippert noted that he made this confession in order to clear the name of Exupery, who for a long time was accused of desertion or suicide.
