Les Pilotes Anglais Écrivaient : “Les Français Sont Fous”

“The French are crazy.” On June 5, 1940, over Compiègne, a British pilot from No. 1 Squadron of the Royal Air Force witnessed an astonishing dogfight: after shooting down a German ace, René Pomier Layrargues single-handedly engaged four Messerschmitts. He scored another victory before dying at the age of 23 near the Marissel bridge. This episode reveals a reality long overshadowed by the defeat on the ground: between May 10 and June 25, 1940, French fighters faced a Luftwaffe vastly superior in numbers and inflicted unexpected losses. Flying Curtiss H-75s or Dewoitine D.520s, pilots trained in precision shooting and individual initiative transformed each mission into a high-risk duel. Edmond Marin la Meslée, of Fighter Group 2/5 La Fayette, became the first French ace of the campaign with sixteen confirmed victories. On June 15th, over Provence, Pierre Le Gloan shot down five Italian aircraft in a single sortie, after taking off from Le Luc without a parachute. Behind these exploits lies a shared determination: to continue the fight even when the battle on the ground seemed lost. Why did these men attack in pairs against entire formations, or alone against multiple adversaries? Was it madness, combat doctrine, technical mastery, or a refusal to lose their honor before the armistice? This documentary revisits their aircraft, their units, and the British, French, and German accounts that have preserved the memory of this relentless struggle. If this story allows you to rediscover a forgotten chapter of the Battle of France, please like the video and subscribe to support future documentaries. 📚 To delve deeper / historical context: • War diaries and operational reports of French, British, German, and Italian air units • Flight logs, victory confirmation files, and archives of the Battle of France • Historical studies dedicated to French fighter aircraft in 1939-1940 #BattleOfFrance #MilitaryAviation #WorldWarII