''Flight to Arras'' () is a

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

by French author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Written in 1942, it recounts his role in the

Armée de l'Air The French Air and Space Force (AAE) (french: Armée de l'air et de l'espace, ) is the air and space force of the French Armed Forces. It was the first military aviation force in history, formed in 1909 as the , a service arm of the French Arm ...

(French Air Force) as pilot of a reconnaissance plane during the Battle of France in 1940. The book condenses months of flights into a single, terrifying mission over the town of Arras. Saint-Exupéry was assigned to Reconnaissance Group II/33 flying the twin-engine

Bloch MB.170 The Bloch MB.170 and its derivatives were France, French Aerial reconnaissance, reconnaissance bombers designed and built shortly before the Second World War. They were the best aircraft of this type available to the at the outbreak of the war, ...

. At the start of the war there were only fifty reconnaissance crews, of which twenty-three were in his unit. Within the first few days of the German invasion of France in May 1940, seventeen of the II/33 crews were sacrificed recklessly, he writes, "like glasses of water thrown onto a forest fire". Saint-Exupéry survived the French defeat but refused to join the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

over political differences with Charles de Gaulle, and in late 1940, went to New York where he accepted the

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

for ''

Wind, Sand and Stars ''Wind, Sand and Stars'' (French title: ''Terre des hommes'', literally "Land of Men") is a memoir by the French aristocrat aviator-writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, and a winner of several literary awards. It was first published in France in ...

''. He remained in North America for two years, and then in the spring of 1943 rejoined his old unit in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. In July 1944, "risking flesh to prove good faith", he failed to return from a reconnaissance mission over France. This work was adapted as a radio drama for American audiences by the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

Red Network and broadcast on 7 October 1942 at the

Author's Playhouse ''Author's Playhouse'' is an anthology radio drama series created by Wynn Wright, that aired on Mutual in 1940–1941,Terrace, Vincent (1999). ''Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . p. 31. ...

. "Definitive Author's Playhouse Radio Log"
"The Digital Deli Too", 2009, retrieved July 19, 2012 The work was later adapted, by Rod Wooden, in 1998 as a radio drama by

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

, with David Threlfall playing the role of the pilot.

References

1942 non-fiction books Works by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry French autobiographies World War II memoirs Literary memoirs Aviation books 20th-century French literature Fiction set in 1940 {{WWII-memoir-stub