31 July 1944

Commandant Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres. (John Phillips)
Commandant Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres. (John Phillips)

31 July 1944, famed French aviator and author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger comte de Saint Exupéry), flying for the Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres (the Free French Air Force), departed Borgo Airfield on the island of Corsica. He was on a reconnaissance mission of the Rhône Valley. His aircraft was a Lockheed F-5B-1-LO Lightning, serial number 42-68223, an unarmed photo reconnaissance variant of the P-38J Lighting twin-engine fighter.

Saint-Exupéry was never seen again.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry flying his Lockheed F-5B-1-LO Lightning near Alghero on the coast of Sardinia, 1944. (John e Annamaria Phillips Foundation)
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry flying his Lockheed F-5B-1-LO Lightning near Alghero on the coast of Sardinia, 1944. (John e Annamaria Phillips Foundation)

In 1998 a fisherman found his silver identity bracelet on the sea floor south of Marseilles. Parts of the aircraft were recovered in 2003.

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s identity bracelet. (WikiTree)

“Saint-Ex” wrote Night Flight; Flight to Arras; Wind, Sand and Stars’ and The Little Prince, as well as many other works. He was a gifted writer.

A pilot boards his Lockheed P-38 Lightning at sunset. (U.S. Air Force)

© 2017, Bryan R. Swopes

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4 thoughts on “31 July 1944

  1. Hello Bryan. In your June 30 post, you write “When his friend, Henri Guillamet, …” Actually, it is Henri Guillaumet, who would certainly deserve a post on his own also.
    Thanks for the excellent work, and best regards.
    Patrick

  2. Dear Brian
    I am Paolo, an airline pilot from Italy.
    I would like to congratulate you and give you my best appreciation for your accurate and passionate work done to the entire aviation community in spreading these important dates in its history.
    I visit your site daily as it is a great gift in growing my personal aviation knowledge.
    If this can be of any help I would like to give You some events and people who belong to the Italian history of aviation: feel free to study and to include them if You believe that they are valuable.
    Just let me know if I can mail You a brief list of those events.
    Respectfully Yours

    Paolo

    P.s. the beautiful cliff visible in the
    photo is Capo Caccia, near Alghero.

    1. Thank you, Paulo. I appreciate your offer. I have very few articles relating to Italian aviation: mostly relating to speed and altitude records of the 1930s (and the beautiful Macch-Castoldi racers). If you have some ideas, please send them to me at [email protected]

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