1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910790086803321

Autore

Bennett G. H

Titolo

The RAF's French Foreign Legion 1940-45 : De Gaulle, the British and the re-emergence of French air power / / G.H. Bennett

Pubbl/distr/stampa

London, : Continuum, 2011

ISBN

1-283-11665-0

9786613116659

1-4411-0662-6

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (284 p.)

Collana

Continuum studies in military history

Disciplina

940.5442

Soggetti

Air power - History

World War, 1939-1945 - Aerial operations, British

World War, 1939-1945 - Campaigns - France - 20th century

World War, 1939-1945 - France - Aerial operations, French

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Contents; Acknowledgements; Introduction; Chapter 1: The Debacle of May-June 1940; Chapter 2: Free France in Africa; Chapter 3: The Battle of Britain and the 13 Apostles of Charles de Gaulle; Chapter 4: Growth of the Free French Air Force in 1941; Chapter 5: The Birth of 340 (Ile de France) Squadron; Chapter 6: War from the Desert to the Atlantic; Chapter 7: War by Attrition and the Raid on Dieppe; Chapter 8: Progress of the Free French Movement, 1942-43; Chapter 9: Formation of 341 (Alsace) Squadron in the United Kingdom; Chapter 10: 342 (Lorraine) Squadron Enters the European Battle

Chapter 11: Survive, Evade, Escape Chapter 12: D-Day: Preparation and Execution; Chapter 13: Liberation; Chapter 14: War to the Bitter End; Chapter 15: Aftermath; Chapter 16: Conclusions; Appendices; Notes; Bibliography; Index

Sommario/riassunto

This book examines and analyses the relationship between the RAF, the Free French Movement and the French fighter pilots in WWII. A highly significant subject, this has been ignored by academics on both sides of the Channel. This ground-breaking study will fill a significant gap in the historiography of the War. Bennett's painstaking research has



unearthed primary source material in both Britain and France including Squadron records, diaries, oral histories and memoirs. In the post-war period the idea of French pilots serving with the RAF seemed anachronistic to both sides. For the French nati