Fighting on All Fronts: The Pilots of Free France (1940-1945)

Starting in the summer of 1940, a small group of volunteers refused defeat and took to the skies to continue the fight from above, venturing into the unknown. The Musée de l’Ordre de la Libération sheds light on the odyssey of these men and women who formed the Free French Air Forces. The journey illustrates the diversity of their fates: from legendary pilots to shadowy mechanics, not forgetting the first female recruits of the Air Force. Their missions took them from the cliffs of England to the steppes of Russia, passing through the sands of Libya. Through personal objects and poignant testimonies, this presentation reveals an exceptional human adventure lived at thousands of feet above ground. Located within the Hôtel national des Invalides, it offers a renewed perspective on these combatants who kept France in the war until the final victory.