Pilot: May have shot down Saint-Exupery:
A former pilot for Nazi Germany’s air force writes in a forthcoming book that he believes he shot down the author of The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery.The aviation pioneer’s Lockheed Lightning P-38 disappeared July 31, 1944. In the book, former Luftwaffe pilot Horst Rippert says he believes that he shot down the plane — although he is not completely sure.
Le Figaro magazine published extracts of the book, “Saint-Exupery, the ultimate secret,” over the weekend. [...] Rippert says in the book that he is a fan of the author’s works.
“In our youth, at school, we had all read him. We loved his books,” he said. “If I had known, I would not have opened fire. Not on him!”