French TextOn June 20, 1945, the Normandie-Niemen triumphantly landed at le Bourget before hundreds of thousands of people. Everyone wanted to see the French pilots who came to fight for three years on the Russian front alongside Soviet air forces. All fought well : 273 confirmed victories and 36 probables in 5240 missions. But at what price! Of the 96 pilots involved between the spring of 1943 and the spring of 1945, 42 had not returned.Created in the fall of 1942 by General de Gaulle to represent the free French on the Eastern front, the Normandie-Niemen fighter group was the most titled all-time French air unit who had paid the highest price during the Second World War.An outstanding track record, exceptional reward: unique in history, the Normandie-Niemen was allowed to return to France with its aircraft Yak-3 Soviet-made wonders which had dealt with German fighters assigned to particularly tough and experienced pilots . For the 70th anniversary of the triumphant arrival of the Normandie-Niemen, Editions Heimdal published, in partnership with the Normandie-Niemen Memorial installed at the Museum of Air and Space in Le Bourget, a book about this epic with a rich illustration of about two hundred vintage photos and pictures of objects and clothing that belonged to the pilot, as well as maps, plans and aircraft profiles.