A true ace and hero

[StokesAk]

See Rule #4

In

[Guppy35]

try again with what? the first time was very clear

But inaccurate.  He learned to fly in South America before the war.  Did not get into the French Air Force.  Got his Commercial License in the US and then trained with the RAF.  He was with the Free French in England, serving first with 341 Squadron which was Free French.  I suggest tracking down a copy of the "Mouchotte Diaries" if you want a better look at the Free French Spit drivers, or you could read Clostermann's book "The Big Show".  He later went to 602 Squadron with Jacques Remlinger  where he flew Spit Vs, VIIs and IXs on ops from 42-44 before coming off Ops post D-Day.  He went back on Ops flying Tempests

As for the disparity in kills, like many of the Aces there has always been questions.  Ground kills are marked as were air to air.  Some were shared kills.

That he served his country honorably, flew a lot of combat hours in Spits and Tempests, and was an ace are not in question.

[The Grinch]

Pierre Clostermann was a Free French fighter ace whose incredible account of the air war over Britain and France has become one of the most famous memoirs of the Second World War. Over the course of five years Clostermann engaged in hundreds of dog-fights, shot down scores of Luftwaffe planes, escorted American bombers on some of the most dangerous raids of the war, and watched many of his friends falling to their deaths in the skies over the Channel. The Big Show contains everything one could wish for in a war memoir: wonderfully observed descriptions of wartime Britain, frighteningly evocative stories of in-the-cockpit action, an amazing cast of characters, and all the drama and bravery of a man fighting a desperate war thousands of feet above the ground. An undeniable classic. This edition has been updated by the author with new material and previously unseen photographs

[mechanic]

S!
A real warrior, as die hard said.

[-tronski-]

blah blah and whaaaaa............ people including myself enjoyed some light humor

no disrespect was intended with the jokes...... Im sure he was a great pilot

btw....... he didnt fly for France....... they rejected him....... imagine that (he learned to fly in the US and flew for the RAF)

and also his kills on the side of his plane were not accurate by ANY account

FFS no-one would tolerate anyone pulling the piss out of Gabby Gabreski, Bud Anderson, Chuck Yeager's, or a hundred other real flyers war record - why should there be any tolerance for this guy?

Have a good look at yourself

 Tronsky

[straffo]

plus ça change ...

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/plus_%C3%A7a_change,_plus_c%27est_la_m%C3%AAme_chose

[Hap]

You know, it's one thing to smack talk someone in the game because you don't approve of what they fly, but to apply the same standards to anyone who contributed to most of Europe not speaking German today is appalling and shows just how far we, as a society, have slipped.

No regards for ignorance and disrespect,

Hammer

[KgB]

First of all, <S> to the pilot. Wiki'ied him and found some great information.

And second, is it that big of a deal to call someone out over a joke? Where they probably didn't mean any disrespect to the pilot?

Ah...

place where anybody can write anything and claim it as truth

WIKIPEDIA

[Shuffler]

Pierre Clostermann was a Free French fighter ace whose incredible account of the air war over Britain and France has become one of the most famous memoirs of the Second World War. Over the course of five years Clostermann engaged in hundreds of dog-fights, shot down scores of Luftwaffe planes, escorted American bombers on some of the most dangerous raids of the war, and watched many of his friends falling to their deaths in the skies over the Channel. The Big Show contains everything one could wish for in a war memoir: wonderfully observed descriptions of wartime Britain, frighteningly evocative stories of in-the-cockpit action, an amazing cast of characters, and all the drama and bravery of a man fighting a desperate war thousands of feet above the ground. An undeniable classic. This edition has been updated by the author with new material and previously unseen photographs

I've never read anything about him personally. I'll have to check it out. Always looking for a good read on the air war.


As for escorting bombers..... from my reading the spits were notoriously short legged. I'll have to checkout the books. <S>

[1pLUs44]

Ah...

place where anybody can write anything and claim it as truth

WIKIPEDIA

Yes, but generally, you can find good accurate information. I did a quick search, I could probably find the same information I found on wiki on many other websites.

[straffo]

I've never read anything about him personally. I'll have to check it out. Always looking for a good read on the air war.


As for escorting bombers..... from my reading the spits were notoriously short legged. I'll have to checkout the books. <S>

his book is not really accurate but very thrilling and imersive

[texastc316]

FFS no-one would tolerate anyone pulling the piss out of Gabby Gabreski, Bud Anderson, Chuck Yeager's, or a hundred other real flyers war record - why should there be any tolerance for this guy?

Have a good look at yourself

 Tronsky

they flew runstangs.

[Anaxogoras]

I am so tired of cliche jokes about the French I get nauseous from the lack of originality and ignorance.  The only thing that cures it is reading Voltaire and about American evacuations of Vietnam and Beirut.

Ah...

place where anybody can write anything and claim it as truth

WIKIPEDIA

More ignorance...

[BigPlay]

You all could read one of his storys from the war.
f.eks. Hunt for Bismarck.

Sorry that you people that don't know, its not your foul.

Im from Norway, that country that he flew in when he found the boat. I know my country war history and our allied
that fought side by side my countrymen.

If you dont have any clue what you are gonna write about, so dont.

Read "The Big Show" by him. It's a good read.

[KgB]

I am so tired of cliche jokes about the French I get nauseous from the lack of originality and ignorance.  The only thing that cures it is reading Voltaire and about American evacuations of Vietnam and Beirut.

More ignorance...

You could also try cutting down on coffee.
My comment wasn't about France.