Summary of Pierre Clostermann's The Big Show

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 We had arrived at Rednal, No. 61 O. T. U. We were soon to be pilots under training at the R. A. F. college at Cranwell, dragging around manuals on navigation and armaments.

#2 My instructor let me fly a Spitfire for 60 minutes. I was terrified, but I remember feeling how light the plane was on the controls.

#3 I had flown a Spitfire, and it was beautiful. I felt alive. I dreamt of the day when I would have a Spitfire of my own, to take into combat, which would hold my life within the confines of its cockpit.

#4 The final three weeks of training were at Montford Bridge, a small satellite airfield lost in the hills. We flew constantly, and the cold was extremely harsh. We lived in Nissen huts that had no insulating walls, and keeping warm was a constant struggle. New Year’s Eve was quiet and slightly sad.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jul 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822545762

IRB Media

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Book preview

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

We had arrived at Rednal, No. 61 O. T. U. We were soon to be pilots under training at the R. A. F. college at Cranwell, dragging around manuals on navigation and armaments.

#2

My instructor let me fly a Spitfire for 60 minutes. I was terrified, but I remember feeling how light the plane was on the controls.

#3

I had flown a Spitfire, and it was beautiful. I felt alive. I dreamt of the day when I would have a Spitfire of my own, to take into combat, which would hold my life within the confines of its cockpit.

#4

The final three weeks of training were at Montford Bridge, a small satellite airfield lost in the hills. We flew constantly, and the cold was extremely harsh. We lived in Nissen huts that had no insulating walls, and keeping warm was a constant struggle. New Year’s Eve was quiet and slightly sad.

#5

The three young Sergeant Pilots arrived in Edinburgh. They were exhausted. They had just crossed England diagonally from south-west to north-east. They had spent the night in a train, with changes in the dark, and the crowding of uniforms.

#6

When the bus stopped in front of the airfield guardhouse, the conductor cried, Turnhouse! We saw great hangars camouflaged with green and brown stripes, the low buildings of the messes, and the wooden dispersal huts scattered around the big tarmac runways.

#7

The ‘Alsace’ Fighter Squadron was built up from volunteers from all over England. It was a natural selection, brought about by will-power and patriotism, of every social class.

#8

The French Spitfire squadron was transferred to the Biggin Hill Wing, which was the base with the highest number of victories. They were given Spitfire IX planes with British aero technique’s last word parsimoniously distributed to a few outstanding units.

Insights from Chapter 2

#1

The morning wore on. The mechanics were still in readiness. They were playing a game of Monopoly when the telephone rang. It was the squadron commander ordering them to report to the airfield for an early lunch for the pilots taking part in a show.

#2

I was extremely nervous. I was curious, and anxious at the same time, to know how I would react in the face of danger. I was curious to know what fear felt like.

#3

The pilots were briefed on the mission. The navy-blue French uniforms stood out among the blue-grey battledress of the British and Canadians, but the hearts of all were the same.

#4

The order of battle of