This book carefully recapitulates the journey of French military aviation from its beginnings to the present day. A story “Made in France”.
Its 480-or-so pages curate 750 rare photographs (some of which have never been published before), around 20 paintings by Air Force artists and much more… This all adds up to some very rich content between the covers of the “New History of the French Air and Space Force” [Nouvelle Histoire de l’Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace], published by the Center of Strategic Aerospace Studies, Centre d’études stratégiques aérospatiales (Cesa).
The book is a follow-up to “The History of French Military Aviation” [L’Histoire de l’aviation militaire française], which came out in 1980, by the Air Force Historical Office and the National Air and Space Museum, published by Editions Lavauzelle, for which the publisher collected contributions from some 50 individuals. Among them: historians from the National Defense Historical Office, the French Air and Space Force Military School Research Center, the Center of Strategic Aerospace Studies, with the participation of colleges and even students.
This instructive book begins by whisking us back to 1909, the year in which the French Minister for War purchased the nation’s first aircraft, and then gradually takes us through to 2020, when the Air Force’s remit was extended to space, beyond the atmosphere. The journey is explained clearly, targeting a wide readership, but with no compromise on detail.
The illustrations that bring the text of this small encyclopedia to life were sourced from the collections of the National Air and Space Museum of France, the French Defense Communication and Audiovisual Agency, and also from the archives of the Armed Forces Information and Public Relations Department. A genuinely comprehensive work!
Book. “Nouvelle histoire de l’Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace”. Author: collective work. Coordination: Jérôme de Lespinois. Editions Pierre de Taillac. ISBN: 236445199X.
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