Exhibition. “Saint-Exupéry, fragments d’histoire”
©
National Air and Space Museum of France
Don’t miss this exhibition dedicated to the author of the “Little Prince”, on show at the Air and Space Museum until September 29, 2024. An event for young and old alike.
Rarely has an exhibition on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry been so comprehensive: a worthy tribute to this multi-talented man. Visitors can pore over a wealth of maps, memorabilia, photos, personal accounts, and more. To retrace the story of this legendary figure, the event’s organizers have split the exhibition into two parts. The first part looks back over the life and work of the navigator, while the second relates how the aircraft that he had boarded on the fateful morning of July 31, 1944, was finally located.
The exhibition starts off by delving into his (legendary) beginnings with Aéropostale, the French airmail service (1920-1930s), and his diverse desert adventures (which inspired his book “Wind, Sand and Stars”). The public can then go on to learn about Saint-Exupéry’s time in the military during the Second World War, assigned to the Reconnaissance Group II/33. He was forced to leave that unit after the defeat of 1940, but returned to it when he came back from New York in 1943, this time as a member of the Free French Forces. He disappeared on board his P-38 one year later, after a final take-off from Corsica.
The second part of the exhibition continues with the events of July 31, 1944, and narrates the discovery, identification, and study of the aircraft’s fragments, the wreckage of which was found off the coast of Marseille in 2000. Several fragments of the reconnaissance aircraft are on show: a landing gear leg, a turbocharger, and more. To round off the tour, visitors will be able to watch a documentary revealing the science behind the scenes of the aircraft’s discovery. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, a legend to discover or rediscover!
Exhibition. “Saint-Exupéry, fragments d’histoire”. National Air and Space Museum of France. Paris-Le Bourget Airport, 93350 Le Bourget.
