They Did Not Make The Sun Stand Still, But They Sure Made Him Run!
In 1927, Charles Lindbergh exploded onto the world stage with his stunning flight of the Atlantic, solo. Lindbergh was an excellent pilot with no lack of skill and courage. Later it would be revealed that he was treasonous, not near as intelligent as presented, and so arrogant as to think that it was his duty to commit adultery and propagate more children for the benefit of the world's genetic pool. He was a one hit wonder, and never surpassed or equaled his flight that brought him so much fame. In a fit of pique against Roosevelt, he resigned his Colonelcy from the Army Air Corps and played into the president's hands. He was refused permission to serve in WWII unless he apologized for his blatant defeatism and pro Axis statements. He later served as a flying instructor and shot down at least one Japanese plane. In his diary he did nothing but bitch about the war and the American way of waging it.
But it is possible that two far better men flew the Atlantic two weeks before Lindbergh and no one ever knew it.
Charles Nungesser.
The third ranking French ace at 43 kills, Nungesser is the very definition of a stud. Constantly under house arrest during the war for flying without permission and general bad attitude, he preferred fighting all day and fucking all night. He seems to have broken almost every bone in his body. I mean, this motherfucker was a warrior. Here is his personal emblem painted on the sides of his various machines:
Toujours l'Audace.
I am no coward, but I would not even have sat in a plane so decorated, let alone fly it in a situation as nasty as WWI.
Nungesser and Francois Coli. Coli was a top notch navigator who knew his way around flying and airplanes, to say the least.
This is their aircraft, L'oiseau Blanc, the White Bird. It is a flying boat that will drop it's wheels after take off. It was built by Pierre Levasseur, the builder of the first flying boat. Like Lindbergh, it was decided that a single engine would save weight and allow more gasoline to be carried.
May 8th, 1927, Coli and Nungesser take off, and are last seen over Ireland.
They may have made it to Maine or thereabouts, crashing in a lake. If so, they won the race two weeks before Lindbergh.
(While this article is worth reading, I only put this in as an example of the many theories and searches for the two French pilots. The person that wrote that headline knows nothing of aviation history, 80 something people had flown the Atlantic before Lindbergh. Also, the evidence is pointing to the White Bird coming down in a lake on the continent. But until that engine is found, no one knows or will ever know. If it did crash in a fresh water lake, there might be quite a bit left of it. How wonderful to be able to return these heroes to France)!
I think they made it. The White Bird was thoroughly capable of such a flight, as were the two pilots. How I admire these two men! But I will let Dr. Seuss have the last word on a man I do not admire, to say the least-
Sometimes death is the reward for great daring, no matter how well prepared for or thought out.
Le monde est un meilleur endroit parce que vous avez tous deux habité. Je vous salue!
Au revoir.
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