Normandie-Niemen, Fifteen Pilots' Destinies

They have all left us today, but they never faltered in their immense task: to restore the honour of the French wings, to mend their fractured pinions, and through them to return France to the standing she had held before that fateful year of 1940, when she was — unjustly — held responsible for her own defeat. The Russians provided them with remarkable tools with which they forged the jewel that was their unit: the Groupe de Chasse Normandie, which became, by the will of the Soviets, the Régiment Normandie-Niemen.

Numerous works have already recorded their exploits, but they deserve to have their memory celebrated again and again, and held up as an example to future generations, to convey how France — a defeated, humiliated, martyred nation — was able, thanks to a handful of them — 96 in all — over four years, to reclaim her seat among the great nations by showing the world that France was fighting on every front.

Sometimes the ardour of a handful of men in combat is enough to compel admiration and convince even the most demanding — Stalin in this case. It is the portrait of some fifteen of them that is drawn in these pages, along with an abundantly illustrated description, featuring colour profiles, of their "mounts": the Yakovlev fighters, chosen no doubt because their engine was a development of the French Hispano-Suiza 12Y engine.

The author, a former president of the Caen aero-club and himself an organiser of Souvenir air shows, knew General Risso well — the latter having served as director of the National Air Shows in the 1970s — and later when he would come to Normandy from time to time for commemorations. He built several dioramas for the Andelys museum and was invited on 20 June 1999 to the ceremony followed by the banquet at the end of which General Risso, in the company of Commandant Lorillon, declared that, for lack of members, he was compelled to dissolve the association of the Veterans of the Normandie-Niemen 39-45. He stated that henceforth their epic belonged to History. General Risso passed away on 24 November 2005 and Commandant Lorillon on 17 February 2013. At that point two survivors of the Normandie pilots from the Second World War remained: Jean Sauvage and Gaël Taburet. Jean Sauvage died on 22 August 2014 and Gaël Taburet on 10 February 2017. On that day, with his passing, a glorious page of the Armée de l'Air was turned.

These 96 heroes now belong to History. François Robinard gathered the recollections of five of them, preserved by history, principally those of General Risso. They form the foundation of this work.