French Fighters Of World War Two, Volume One

FOREWORD

The title of this book, " French Fighters of World War Two ", is not entirely accurate - it is more the story of the fighters of 1939 - 1940. Aircraft development in France was more or less completely halted under the terms of the Armistice of June 1940 and it was 1946 before a new French fighter design took to the air. Essentially, this book describes the four main types in production in 1940, although I have taken the liberty of including one non - French design, the Curtiss Hawk 75A, to allow the story of French Air Force ( and Navy ) fighters of 1939 - 40 to be dealt with in one work. To lay the foundation for the chapters on the individual aircraft types, there is an introductory chapter which discusses briefly certain subjects complementary to them.

( ... ) Did the French bring defeat upon themselves in 1940 by their own political and military incompetence between the world wars, or were the German armies more or less unbeatable in 1940 ? The first hypothesis is generally accepted to be correct but, whichever the case, the British owe their survival in 1940 to the strip of water which separates their island from the rest of Europe more than any other factor.

( ... ) The question of the camouflage and markings of individual aircraft remains controversial despite considerable research ; it is not helped by the absence of firm directives on the matter by the French Air Ministry. The maximum possible has been done to ensure the accuracy of the colour reproductions within the limitations of the printing processes, and I hope that they will pass muster. ( ... )

Geneva, Switzerland, 1970

John F. Brindley.