Found this on the net about the P-38

Parts From Saint – Exupery’s Plane Found
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: April 7, 2004

Filed at 4:49 p.m. ET
PARIS (AP) — It was one of French aviation’s enduring mysteries: Antoine de
Saint-Exupery, the pilot and author of the beloved tale “The Little Prince,”
took off on a World War II spy mission for the Allies and was never seen
again.
After 60 years, officials have confirmed that the twisted wreckage of a
Lockheed Lightning P-38, found on the Mediterranean seabed not far from the rugged
cliffs of Provence, belonged to Saint-Exupery, Air Force Capt. Frederic Solano
said Wednesday.

In France, the discovery is akin to solving the mystery of where Amelia
Earhart’s plane went down in the Pacific Ocean in 1937.
“This was our holy grail,” said Philippe Castellano, president of an
association of aviation buffs who helped authorities identify the debris. “We never
even imagined this.”
It was a stunning revelation: Teams have been searching up and down the coast
for decades, and many experts believed the plane was probably too far out to
sea to be recovered.
Clues to the crash started coming together in 1998, when a bracelet bearing
Saint-Exupery’s name turned up in a fisherman’s net near Marseille. Some
reports said the find was a fake.
“For six years, people had their doubts,” said the fisherman, Jean-Claude
Bianco. “People claimed I made it myself.”
But Bianco’s discovery jogged the memory of a local scuba diver, who first
saw the plane debris nestled in the ocean bed in the 1980s.
The diver, Luc Vanrell, pored over records of downed planes. By 2000, he was
convinced he had found the right one. But it took time to get permission from
France’s Culture Ministry to have the pieces brought up for analysis.
The plane, smashed into hundreds of pieces, lies 100 to 300 feet below the
surface, less than three miles from the coast between Marseille and Cassis. The
key find was a tail piece bearing a tiny serial number, 2734 L — the same as
Saint-Exupery’s, Castellano said.
A piece of the puzzle remains unanswered: the cause of the crash. Theories
have ranged from hostile gunfire to suicide. The debris has so far yielded no
clues.
“It’s impossible to say if he was shot down, if he lost consciousness, or if
he had a mechanical accident,” said Patrick Grandjean of the national
Department of Subaquatic and Submarine Archaeological Research.
Famous for his bravery, Saint-Exupery was selected for the dangerous mission
of collecting data on German troop movements in the Rhone River Valley. His
plane vanished in the night on July 31, 1944, when he was 44.
He has become one of France’s most admired figures, in part because of “The
Little Prince,” a tender fable about a prince from an asteroid who explores
the planets and then falls to earth. Saint-Exupery’s other works, which largely
deal with his aviation experiences, include “Wind, Sand and Stars” and
“Flight to Arras,” about a doomed reconnaissance mission.
Until the euro currency was introduced in 2002, the novelist’s image appeared
on the nation’s 50-franc note. In Lyon, Saint-Exupery’s hometown, the
international airport is named after him.
Castellano, president of the Aero-ReL.I.C. organization that helped identify
the plane, said some Saint-Exupery fans resisted the efforts. They wanted to
keep the mystery alive.
“In the end, I think everyone is satisfied,” he said. “We didn’t find a
body, so the myth surrounding his disappearance will live on.”
——
On the Net: http://www.aero-relic.org

A note of thanks to Duxford & friends of Robert Rudhall

Webmaster:

Thanks for posting this on the FlyPast Board, I did not know Mr Rudhall in person, but have many of his works and his contributions to aviation and journalism have been enjoyed by many. I exchanged several emails with Mr Rudhall over the years, regarding his book on the making of The Battle Of Britain film. He was most generous and helpful in my questions to him on the making of the film. My deep condolonces go out to the Rudhall family and friends, the FlyPast Family as well. Its a wonderful gesture by those who have organized this event, I hope someone would reprint his book on the making of The Battle of Britain. I have been looking for a copy but can’t seem to locate one anywhere. If anyone knows where I may obtain a copy, I would love to hear from them. I hope many can attend this memorial to his memory !

Thankyou!
BlueNoser352 !

[email]tcolones4@aol.com[/email]

Has anyone here been to Colditz?

Greetings from across the big pond on this sunny saturday, Moggy thanks for the laugh, to much. I once drove past the Colditz on a business trip and had no time to stop. Has anyone here been to the Castle ? I have often wanted to visit this place to see where all that history took place! The Channel 4 story on Colditz is excellent, bought it at Hendon and it covers so much about life in the castle for those interned within its walls! Would have loved to see those guys fly out of that place in the sail plane they built !

Cheers!
BlueNoser352!

Wow..talk about “Cutting the grass”!!!

Pretty impressive low level flying to say the least, I know several 8th AF B-17 pilots who did this sort of thing when there mission duties were done. Against the rules to say the least when it comes to safety, nice still from the movie! Seems to me they destroyed one of two of the B-17’s in the film for some reason?
Maybe someone here can fill in the blanks !

” Keep the Show on the Road” !
BlueNoser352!

War Lover B-17 pilot ???

Not sure what became of him, seems to me he was one of the pilots flyiing B-17’s in the film. THE WAR LOVER. Filmed in the Uk in the early 1960’s, which has some outstanding low level flying ! Not sure if he served in the RAF.
BlueNoser352!

Great Escape…Duxford Visit!

In a word…WOW, what I would not give to visit and be at Duxford on this Saturday to meet and speak with these men. I have meet several US Vets who were with these fine men, before they were sent to other camps and seperated. If anyone goes, please file a small report on how it went. Looks like I will have to get this book written by Wing Commnader Rees! A kind request from me..if anyone was lucky enought to have taped the March 17th showing on Channel 5 about the Great Escape, I would love to buy it. I can play pal tapes as well. Have a great weekend gang!

A Salute from:
BlueNoser352!