Re: French WW2 decimal score aces
Michael
As far as I know, the French (when on their own) did not acknowledge any shared victories.
If, let's say, five pilots shot down one aircraft each pilot received a full victory, but the unit as such only one.
This creates of course a problem since French pilots fought both with the British and the Russians, each nation with a different system to recognize an aerial victory. No matter how we count, we will simply not get it right!
Also don't forget, for political reasons, Charles de Gaulle needed the top ace during the war to have come from "his" side, ie Britain.
As far as I am concerned, Clostermann was a very good pilot and his book is brilliant, but I would like to know more about his relationship to de Gaulle.
It is no coincident that his final Tempest was dubbed Le Grand Charles....
Cheers
Stig
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