Editorial:
Short aerial strolls in the skies of France and beyond...
In this issue, Guy Julien begins the tortuous history of the Short Stirling, the first four-engine bomber to enter service with the RAF during the Second World War. Who in France remembers that it was originally a "colonial aircraft"?
A new author in AVIONS, Bertrand Le Bras, will surprise you with his study of the last battles fought by the French Air Force in May 1945... Contrary to what one might think (Germany? Pockets of the Atlantic?), these battles took place in the Levant, against local insurgents who were simply demanding de facto recognition of the independence granted to them at the end of 1941! It just goes to show that eighty years ago, Syria and Lebanon were already seething. When Marc Chassard "raises a hare," it's inevitably among the greyhounds of Spa 81... Or how a simple dedication on a photo reveals the technical astuteness of a great ace of 1914-18.
Before Air France, Easy Jet, etc., there were the beginnings of commercial air transport in France from 1919 to 1921. Stéphane Nicolaou and your servant conclude their study with the Farman 50 and the famous Goliath airbus, not to mention the ultra-fast Blériot-Spad 27.
Based on photographs provided to him by his late comrade Jacques Moulin, as well as little-known USAAF archives, the editor-in-chief offers you an unusual article, which could be described as "regional" (yes, I'm lucky enough to live on the Côte d'Azur!): the American presence in Cannes and Nice, from the Liberation to the summer of 1945. It's a chance to admire some rarities, such as the one and only USAAF P-51D Mustang night fighter.
Finally, note that AVIONS 265 (July-August 2025) will be a "Spanish Civil War" anniversary issue: I-16 "Rata", Stuka, great Republican and Nationalist aces will be on the program of your favorite magazine!
Christophe Cony
Summary:
4 News: The Payerne Museum
By Philippe Guillermin
14 Short Stirling
The RAF's Black Star
Part One, by Guy Julien with the participation of Christophe Cony
34 1945: The USAAF on the Côte d'Azur
Full story, by Christophe Cony
54 Levant May 1945:
The Air Force's last battles during the Second World War
Full story, by Bertrand Le Bras
72 When the Greyhounds "Pump" on the English
Full story, by Marc Chassard
80 The Beginnings of Air Transport in France
Second and Final Part, by Stéphane Nicolaou and Christophe Cony
Cover:
In April 1942, RAF armorers were preparing to load around twenty 250-pound (113 kg) bombs into the holds of Short Stirling Mk.I N6101 of No 1651 HCU.
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