Charles Nungesser, a famous French pilot in World War I, is the subject of a collection of more than 300 rare photos that tell the story of the great man he was. All this by a specialist and authority on the pilot.
After “Charles Nungesser, de l’as de la Grande Guerre au disparu de l’Atlantique” (Charles Nungesser, from Flying Ace of the Great War to disappearance across the Atlantic), recently released and reviewed here, the journalist and writer Patrick de Gmeline is back with more on this French hero of World War I! The only difference is that, this time, the historian tells the war hero’s story in images.
Thus, through 300 photos, many of which are rare or even unpublished, one of France’s greatest war historians recounts the extraordinary life and career of Nungesser. To do this, he visited the National Air and Space Museum in Le Bourget and selected pictures to illustrate the pilot’s career as accurately as possible.
And what a career it was! Feast your eyes on a few highlights: thirty citations on his Croix de Guerre, with twenty-eight palms and two vermeil stars, the most decorated soldier in the French army in the 20th century (no less!), founder of a flying school and hero of the film “Le Vainqueur du Ciel”…
Not to mention his disappearance – a mystery that remains unsolved to this day – in 1927, which made him a definitive aviation legend. It was at the controls of L’Oiseau blanc (the White Bird), in the company of François Coli, most likely at sea while attempting to fly over the Atlantic to reach New York… That is, two weeks before another legendary Charles… Lindbergh, who was the first to fly from the Big Apple to Paris.
Book. “Charles Nungesser : un as à la conquête du ciel.” Author: Patrick de Gmeline. Éditions Pierre de Taillac. ISBN: 9782364452053
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