Revealed: Daring RAF pilot who risked his life to fly down Champs-Elysees at tree-top height to drape the Arc de Triomphe with a giant tricolour at the height of Nazi occupation to keep French hope alive
The incredible story of how a RAF pilot flew down the Champs-Elysees to drop a French flag over Nazi-occupied Paris has emerged after his medals were put up for sale.
Wing Commander Ken Gatward managed the 'impossible feat' of flying his Bristol Beaufighter down the Champs-Elysees at 30ft before dropping the French Tricolour over the Arc de Triomphe.
The daring act was a symbol of hope to the occupied French as the Arc honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars.
The British pilot then headed towards the Gestapo headquarters which he littered with 20mm shells - helping to boost morale in Paris when it was most needed.
The attack sent the German SS troops running for their lives, to the delight of the Parisians who had seen them as an invincible enemy up until that point.
The brave pilot volunteered for the dare-devil mission to boost the morale of the French and put the wind up the Germans.
Wg Cdr Gatward’s inspirational antics were celebrated in British newspaper cartoons and raised the hope and morale among the British and French.
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Thanks dp!
And let's get one thing straight. There's a big difference between a pilot and an aviator. One is a technician; the other is an artist in love with flight. — E. B. Jeppesen
