" ..Incompetent leaders, a government in paralysis, tens of thousands dead, a total rout, does that sound familiar? No, I'm not talking about the coronavirus pandemic! Come on, try harder: France ridiculed by Germany, a trial exonerating those responsible of any wrongdoing, and finally, the hero who stood up to the invader, condemned to death. Still not ringing any bells ? No, I'm not talking about Dr. Didier Raoult but about General de Gaulle! Eighty years ago, this great man - from every point of view - restored some honour to a country swept away in little more than a month by the armies of the Third Reich. As our sister magazine Batailles Aériennes has devoted more than ten of its issues to compiling a detailed picture of the air battles of May-June 1940, we have chosen to cover the 80th anniversary of this campaign in a different and original way. In the manner of Jean-Jacques Annaud's film "Stalingrad", you will be able to follow the journey of some of the most notable participants from both sides. Whether it is the men (Leblanc and Schmidt), the units (I./JG 20) or aircraft types (the CAO-200), the conclusion is always the same: it is the best prepared camp that will always emerge victorious from the confrontation. On reflection, you may not be wrong, dear reader: there is indeed a relationship between the events of 1940 and those of 2020 ...
I would like to make it clear right away that I am not the author of the introduction to the article devoted to the ace Christian Leblanc! It is the sole responsibility of its author, whom I would like to take this opportunity to thank for the confidence he has shown in the AVIONS team for so many years. If the confinement has postponed the publication of your magazine by two months, it has not stopped or put too much of a brake on our activity .We have just published two books dedicated to types sporting French roundels : "Armée de l'Air Vampire and Mistral" (Vol. 1) and "The SA 330 Puma" (Vol 1), as well as a very interesting 'special issue' dedicated to the French jets in Israeli service; " Ouragan, Mystère et Super-Mystère à l’étoile de David ".
In addition we have just published three new volumes in our series of histories of famous German units;
"Jagdgeschwader 54: Eagles of the Green Hearts" (Vol. 2),
"Stukageschwader 2 'Immelmann'" (Vol. 2) and "Lehrgeschwader 1, the Griffon Wing" ..." ..
Christophe Cony...editor-in-chief Avions at Lela Presse
