Description

French text and captions. This book is the result of long research by Paul Martin who, through him, put down the myth that the skies of 1940 were empty of French planes. After several decades of research, Paul Martin has succeeded in proving that the so-called “absence” or “bankruptcy” of the Air Force in 1940 were only Vichy gossip of the Riom trial. But instead of an indictment, the author has painstakingly detailed day-to-day operations of the French Air Force in the period from September 3, 1939 to June 24, 1940, in a rigorous chronology.

His study is the subject of a particularly legible and elegant layout, in a large book of excellent craftsmanship, both in printing and in binding. The overall structure of the book is that of a diary: for each day the war actions are detailed, grouped into hunting, reconnaissance, observation and bombardment, with the emphasis being placed on the losses in personnel and equipment. Note the presence of inserts essentially composed of stories and testimonies.

The appendices take up a not insignificant volume: no less than 130 pages, or a third of the book, of which they represent an element that is just as essential as the body of the work. One finds there, after the order of battle of May 10, 1940, the list of the engaged units (with identity of the commanders of group and commanders of squadron, equipment, killed and missing, parking lots and losses in equipment), that of the foreign pilots (with rank, unit and fate), homologated victories, French losses in combat and by accident (men and equipment) and the index of names cited.

Obviously, this masterful work will be a milestone, both in terms of its content and the care taken in its production. The French crews of 1940 were well worth a book that does their battles justice. This is done, and in a very nice way.