Description
To recount the conquest of the South Atlantic is, of course, to bring to life the legendary figures of Jean Mermoz, Pierre-Georges Latécoère, and Didier Daurat. But through the history of the 520 air crossings recorded here, Bruno Vielle recounts the exploits of 88 pilots, mechanics, and navigators. Sixteen of them paid with their lives for their audacity and sense of mission.
The author meticulously details the history of the flotilla of avisos deployed by Aéropostale, and later by Air France . Both companies, by necessity, assumed the role of shipowners, operating vessels initially intended for mail transport between Dakar and Natal, and later tasked with the security of transoceanic seaplanes. Twenty-four sailors perished during these missions at sea. Accompanied by valuable appendices, the book draws upon the extensive photographic resources of the Museum as well as private collections. Readers will thus discover documents that are often unpublished.
