My French was only good enough t o understand 50% although I got the gist of it- thank you for the translation.
Pierre Clostermann - awesome combat pilot and I highly recommend 'The Big Show' - one of the most engaging personal accounts of WW2 in the air I have read in a while.
"... Pierre Clostermann, french fighter ace have fought these german aces. He know the answer (which one thou???)
"You can say yes, but it was on the eastern front, the russian had less advanced aircrafts. No, because they were many german aces on our front. And the reason is that, I know german pilots who survived who began to fight in 1936 in Spain then fought the Polish campagn, the French campaing, the Battle of Britain because the Luftwaffe was very cruel...
... because she made her pilot fly until death. Us, we did 80, 100, 110 missions and were sent to rest. German never stopped. When they survived, they acquired an absolutely fabulous experience. So, you had no choice, when you met such an experienced pilot, you had absolutely no chance to survive. Your only chance was to guess if their was one somewhere near you. You know, you can feel when a tiger is hunting, and you lock yourself in your house. It's the same with these pilots
And when you felt, during a fight, their was one of those pilots, all you could do was avoid him at all cost. And two times I haven't been able to avoid it.
Yes, I've been shot done twice. First time May 12 1943, and the second time Avril 21 1945. This day I wasn't on my best state but I was totally follhardy because when you're tired, their is a kind of doping in a war that makes you unthinking. So I was everything but modest. And in 35 seconds, I've been sent back to absolute modesty ..
, in a state of overwhelming fear, when you think "that's it, I'm dead" by a german pilot. We were 8 aircrafts, he was alone, and in 3 manoeuver we were all downed.
- Who was it?
- I don't know. He could have killed me, because an explosive shell exploded just in side of the aircraft, near the crosses, and destroyed my engine. But this day, I wasn't piloting my aircraft, because curiously each time I was forced, for any technical reason, to fly another aircraft than mine, some shit happened...
and I saw this explosion, I felt the shock when the engine stopped, and I thought "That's it, he will kill me". I was too low to open my parachute, so I turned, he passed by and I saw the pilot very distincly - his aircraft was upside down 10m above me - starring at me. He was desperately trying to slow down, maybe afraid that I may shoot him - as he was faster than me with my dead engine - so he slid around me and got off. I landed the aircraft near the Lac du Maire (Mayor's lake) in a swamp ..
the aircraft was covered with mud - I landed on the belly, naturally - and I got out of this plane like a crazy. I untied my parachute, slid on the wing and fell on the mud and I saw him arrived and thought "he is going to shoot me", without being able to believe he could do this - I would not have done so - And he didn't shoot.
- He had not shot you, but were there other pilots that did so?
- You know, there are always people wo need to make war more horrible than it is. So yes it happened.
"You know.. there are always people eager to make war more atrocious than it is... It happened, in all sides."
Reminds me of my grand father talking of the bombings near Brest and how Americans at the end of the war used to gun strafing people and column of children going to school, while Brits were actually flying low to alarm people instead of shooting them. As much as people were grateful to be liberated there was some really trigger happy sick bastards in the US military.
After many searchs with Molge a german ace , Clostermann knew in 1996 the name of the pilot that refused to kill him without defence.
This ace was Captain Dortenmann.
Clostermann says an obvious fact : some german pilots in 1945 fought since 1936 in Spain, so 10 years without never stop.
Naturally when pilots with few experience french, british,american met these tigers, even if they are numerous in this case 8/1 , the chance to save their life was thin.
The Tempest is at Hendon and was painted as Clostermann's machine until repainted in 1991 - it was in fact a machine built post-war. In this vid Clostermann tells us how good the best Lutwaffe pilots were and relates an account of the combat in which he was shot down on 21 April 1945. Note the insciption 'Le Grand Charles' which was only painted on SN 222
@murphyloi Read it once probably 15 yrs. ago. Always remember him talking about his friend "in his element" when it came to low flying. And, when he came across a Do 335. "One strange customer" or something like that.
@I85PIES He's mostly explaining why some of the german pilots of WW2 had so much experience, as they had been fighting since the Spanish Civil War. He also says that the Luftwaffe used to make them fly till they got shot down, without any rest. He finally relates what it was to suddenly realise that one of these superior pilots was in front of you : on April, 21st, 1945, one german ace fought alone against Clostermann and his 7 pilots squadron, shot 3 of them down, including Clo' himself...
A distinguished brave Pilot! we knew him on his book a lot of years ago, Thanks Pierre for your legacy! Watch over us from heaven, French-Brazil pride.
A brave pilot and exponent of the Hawker Tempest. Author of one of the finest books about ariel combat ever written "The Big Show" a very fine read indeed. Not much glamour - just the truth.
Le Grand Cirque découvert en 1980 a initié ma passion pour l' aviation. Par la suite j' ai lu beaucoup de ses livres, guerre , peche ou autre. Un personnage de légende comme on n' en fait plus, quelle vie! Lors de son décès, silence radio de la part de la France, pour quelle raison ? On a le sentiment qu' il est plus connu hors de nos frontières que chez nous, faut il s 'en étonner quand on connait le proverbe nul n'est prophète en son pays ?
Non un pilote qui a survecu ... il a beau dire la vie de pilote même avec 110 missions était manifestement dure ... ils ont tous parlés de la disparition de René Mouchottes. Creuvé sans plus de peur pour fuir les fauves.
Pierre Henri Clostermann (né le 28 février 1921 à Curitiba au Brésil, décédé le 22 mars 2006 à Montesquieu-des-Albères, Pyrénées-Orientales), était un aviateur français qui s'est distingué au cours de la Seconde blablabla......
Pierre died at 85 not 100. He was an outstanding brave and modest pilot and admitted his fear in combat many times, as any truthful man would. He was also an accomplished businessman, engineer and big game fisherman, I agree with panzemeyer.
He died only a year or two ago at age 100 or 101...long life by any measure especially considering what he endured as a pilot during WWII. The Big Show remains my favorite pilot memoir of WWII and I wish I could post some of its more moving passages...there are so many of them and so few characters allowed per U tube comment alas.
I don't mind, if you like it that way. Yet you might want to go beyond your subjective point of view, and check facts. Closterman had Brazilian & French nationality. And, in the most intense period of his life, he was a pilot in the French Air Force equipped by the RAF. Cordialement -
He learnt to fly for his pleasure. But he beacame a fighter pilot to help free his country. His books say it all. Read his books and learn some history instead of posting nonsense on youtube.
Thanks, actually I know that from Closterman's biography. The truth would be to say that Pierre Closterman was a French pilot who had also Brazilian nationality, loved Brazil and spent part of his life in your beautiful country. Somehow he was the contrary , or the inverse, of Alberto Santos-Dumont !
Saying that "Closterman is a Brazilian Pilot" would sound as "he was not French". I agree with panzemeyer's comment
Clostermann is dead now, but he would certainly have disapproved of your point of view. He was living an easy life in Brasil (his father being a French diplomat there), but made its way to England only to risk death fighting nazy Germany, His motivation was simple: his country, France, had to get rid of the Germans.
No, Pierre Closterman was a French pilot who spent part of his life in Brazil but certinly the most intense part of his career in the FAF in Great Britain.
The german pilot was alone against eight UK pilots, but he used the three methode (to shoot I guess...One...Two...Three... Boum... Boumm... Boum) Closterman saw the rocket hiting the front of his plane just above the victories cross (the white lines that he is showing)
last time he was shooted, was in 21 April 45. At this time he was so shure of him and then send back to the reality with fear and low profil in front of an ennemy still actif !
During a flight fight if one of you knew that one of this german pilot was among the band, you would have to avoid him like you avoid the plague. Two time Closterman faced those kind of pilots, two time he was shooted down...
He say that german pilots were highly experimented, from spanish war to Russian one. In fact allies pilots (english) had more or less to cover 100 missions before a rest, german not. German pilots were pushed by army to fly and fly without any rest. That why, when a, RAF pilot was in front of this experimented pilot, he had few changes to survive.
At the beginign of the war yes, however in 1945 most of germanys aces were dead or wounded and they were sending un experienced chaps to fight the hole mighty allied air power, remember most of the Luftwaffe got smashed in 1944 during Operation Boddenplatte in Belgium. In 1945 the Luftwaffe didnt had any chances the countdown to the allied victory had almost reached its end.
Chakands is right. He was born in Brazil, Curitiba City, learnt to fly in Aeroclube do Brasil, in Rio de Janeiro, then move to USA, Malibu where he flew some more. He came back to Brazil to get documents, went via ship to South African then Liverpool. Started his carreer in FFAF with 350hrs flight. By the way he used to speak quite good portuguese, almost no accent.
Anyway, he was a pure french in his heart but kept a respect for british, americans and brazilians.
Too True !! Many people on this site are prepared to make comments ,with little factual knowledge . Good on you for getting it right - I have also read the big show ,, Regards Hoges - ps -his encounter with Hans Dortmann is quite interesting -although another web site claims another pilot ( not Soffing either) shot Clostermann down ..
@vne1981 I've translated it a little bit for I85SPIES, who was asking the same thing as you. Check it in the comments, hope you'll find what you were looking for.
C'était un géant parmi les hommes. J'espère qu'il est tout là haut, dans son « Grand Charles » et qu'il a retrouvé Mouchotte, De Scitivaux, de Tedesco, Fayolle, Jonah, Morgan et tant d'autres.
Thank you very much for posting this video,I read "The Big Show" and I had admired Pierre H. Clostermann ever since, Does anyone know how many planes did he shot down in the air? Because there was a trial in 2003 wich he won but still I do not know how many scores he got during the war. He was born in brazil yes, but he always considered himself as a french men, he studied in San Diego and when he returned to Brazil he shiped to England in order to enlist the RAF.
Il est surement un de mes héros dès que j'étais gamin, et je ne suis meme pas Français...mais Pierre Clostermann, c'est un héro universel comme Adolf Galland, ou Bubi Hartmann.
Thank you. Ever since I read Le Grand Cirque I have always wanted to see a real Tempest V. I'm glad a full-scale JFE exists, replica or otherwise, but where can I see it now? I have a 1/72 substitute on top of my bookshelves, but it's not quite the same...
Beau témoignage, humilité respect... N'oubliez pas ce que cet homme et les autres FAFL ont fait pour leur pays avant de tailler le bout de gras sur ses victoires!
Pour ceux qui ne connaissent pas lisez 'le grand cirque' vous comprendrez un peu mieux...
Dans le livre écrit par Danielle Costelle, "Une sacrée guerre" et entièrement consacré à Pierre Clostermann, il est cité le nom de Rudi Wüff comme étant le pilote qui l'a abattu le 21 avril 1945. Il faisait parti du JG301, et était crédité de 48 victoires. Il n'a pas survécu à la guerre.
He first says : "The reason those German pilots were so superior was that they kept on fighting through Poland, France, Battle of Britain... Luftwaffe was really cruel, they flew them to their death. When you met one of these very experienced pilots you didn't have a chance. I was shot down twice."
un vrai héros et un grand homme.Merci Pierre,moi je ne t'oublierai jamais
tempest62000 1 week ago
My French was only good enough t o understand 50% although I got the gist of it- thank you for the translation.
Pierre Clostermann - awesome combat pilot and I highly recommend 'The Big Show' - one of the most engaging personal accounts of WW2 in the air I have read in a while.
RIP
AndyBsUTube 3 weeks ago
Small Translation :
"... Pierre Clostermann, french fighter ace have fought these german aces. He know the answer (which one thou???)
"You can say yes, but it was on the eastern front, the russian had less advanced aircrafts. No, because they were many german aces on our front. And the reason is that, I know german pilots who survived who began to fight in 1936 in Spain then fought the Polish campagn, the French campaing, the Battle of Britain because the Luftwaffe was very cruel...
chenoir 1 month ago
... because she made her pilot fly until death. Us, we did 80, 100, 110 missions and were sent to rest. German never stopped. When they survived, they acquired an absolutely fabulous experience. So, you had no choice, when you met such an experienced pilot, you had absolutely no chance to survive. Your only chance was to guess if their was one somewhere near you. You know, you can feel when a tiger is hunting, and you lock yourself in your house. It's the same with these pilots
chenoir 1 month ago
And when you felt, during a fight, their was one of those pilots, all you could do was avoid him at all cost. And two times I haven't been able to avoid it.
Yes, I've been shot done twice. First time May 12 1943, and the second time Avril 21 1945. This day I wasn't on my best state but I was totally follhardy because when you're tired, their is a kind of doping in a war that makes you unthinking. So I was everything but modest. And in 35 seconds, I've been sent back to absolute modesty ..
chenoir 1 month ago
, in a state of overwhelming fear, when you think "that's it, I'm dead" by a german pilot. We were 8 aircrafts, he was alone, and in 3 manoeuver we were all downed.
- Who was it?
- I don't know. He could have killed me, because an explosive shell exploded just in side of the aircraft, near the crosses, and destroyed my engine. But this day, I wasn't piloting my aircraft, because curiously each time I was forced, for any technical reason, to fly another aircraft than mine, some shit happened...
chenoir 1 month ago
and I saw this explosion, I felt the shock when the engine stopped, and I thought "That's it, he will kill me". I was too low to open my parachute, so I turned, he passed by and I saw the pilot very distincly - his aircraft was upside down 10m above me - starring at me. He was desperately trying to slow down, maybe afraid that I may shoot him - as he was faster than me with my dead engine - so he slid around me and got off. I landed the aircraft near the Lac du Maire (Mayor's lake) in a swamp ..
chenoir 1 month ago
the aircraft was covered with mud - I landed on the belly, naturally - and I got out of this plane like a crazy. I untied my parachute, slid on the wing and fell on the mud and I saw him arrived and thought "he is going to shoot me", without being able to believe he could do this - I would not have done so - And he didn't shoot.
- He had not shot you, but were there other pilots that did so?
- You know, there are always people wo need to make war more horrible than it is. So yes it happened.
chenoir 1 month ago
4:00
"You know.. there are always people eager to make war more atrocious than it is... It happened, in all sides."
Reminds me of my grand father talking of the bombings near Brest and how Americans at the end of the war used to gun strafing people and column of children going to school, while Brits were actually flying low to alarm people instead of shooting them. As much as people were grateful to be liberated there was some really trigger happy sick bastards in the US military.
dunedain101 1 month ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
fuck you England!! go your home!! Malvinas Argentinas! viva Clisterman y los pilotos de la Fuerza Aerea Argentina.
martinguess 5 months ago
@martinguess Pierre Clostermann was a Frenchman born in Brazil who fought with the RAF against the Nazis.
You know The Nazis, don't you? Your country let lots of the worst ones live there.
PlainNumber6 4 months ago
This interview took place in 1980.
After many searchs with Molge a german ace , Clostermann knew in 1996 the name of the pilot that refused to kill him without defence.
This ace was Captain Dortenmann.
Clostermann says an obvious fact : some german pilots in 1945 fought since 1936 in Spain, so 10 years without never stop.
Naturally when pilots with few experience french, british,american met these tigers, even if they are numerous in this case 8/1 , the chance to save their life was thin.
passionsalsa34 5 months ago
Interview fascinante.
aviationdocs 6 months ago
mierda loco subtitulenlo que si no, no entiendo!!!
argentinoemanuel1 6 months ago
sac le blu
toonsis 8 months ago
Ingleses, Malvinas es de Argentina.
feedekkk 10 months ago
The Tempest is at Hendon and was painted as Clostermann's machine until repainted in 1991 - it was in fact a machine built post-war. In this vid Clostermann tells us how good the best Lutwaffe pilots were and relates an account of the combat in which he was shot down on 21 April 1945. Note the insciption 'Le Grand Charles' which was only painted on SN 222
FalkeEins 1 year ago
@FalkeEins I was at Hendon in 1984 and this Tempest was already under different markings, no more JF-E nor JJ-B for sure.
5alex7 8 months ago
one other thing, where is that Tempest, he is with in this vid?
igoldstraw1 1 year ago
Just re-read "The Big Show" again, brilliant book, even with a few inaccuracies. And yes a translation is needed here ! merci
igoldstraw1 1 year ago
Full translation please!! Cmon, someone has to be able to do this!
bblando65 1 year ago
Pierre Clostermann, le plus grand d'entre nous
tesolato 1 year ago
Pierre Clostermann, le plus grand d'entre nous
tesolato 1 year ago
Comment removed
Crahonne 1 year ago
A great pilot,a real Patriot,and above all a great man.RIP with your fellows of Free French Forces.
53handyman 1 year ago
Pierre etait aussi un grand pecheur membre de l'IGFA il a ecrit 2superbe ouvrage ou il raconte simplement ses histoires de peche
"Memoires au bout d'un fil"
"Des poissons si grands"
pifiorun 1 year ago
Great man..and rip mr Closterman
parisboy92 1 year ago
i've read "le grand cirque" 30 times already and i never get tired of reading it..great book,amazing pilot...R.I.P pierre
murphyloi 1 year ago
@murphyloi Read it once probably 15 yrs. ago. Always remember him talking about his friend "in his element" when it came to low flying. And, when he came across a Do 335. "One strange customer" or something like that.
kolbpilot 1 year ago
Comment removed
Crahonne 1 year ago
@kolbpilot "un oiseau rare", in French in the text, ^^.
Crahonne 1 year ago
I wish I could thank him in person for The Big Show . RIP Pierre .
Is there a translation.....my french is not good enough....
tasman763 1 year ago
Its great to see film of Pierre Clostermann. I just wish I could understand what he's saying.
I85PIES 1 year ago
@I85PIES He's mostly explaining why some of the german pilots of WW2 had so much experience, as they had been fighting since the Spanish Civil War. He also says that the Luftwaffe used to make them fly till they got shot down, without any rest. He finally relates what it was to suddenly realise that one of these superior pilots was in front of you : on April, 21st, 1945, one german ace fought alone against Clostermann and his 7 pilots squadron, shot 3 of them down, including Clo' himself...
Crahonne 1 year ago
@Crahonne
Thank you for taking the trouble to explain that, very much appreciated.
I85PIES 1 year ago
@I85PIES no problem, comrade, always a pleasure to "share" the hero of my childhood, lol !
Crahonne 1 year ago
Is it the tempest in the video, the "Grand Charles"? (His tempest in the war time)
Baldovino63 2 years ago
I'm not sure but I don't think that was its "real" plane but a plane painted with the same markings in a museum
Iclo22 1 year ago
@Iclo22 Thanks.
Baldovino63 1 year ago
Great man. Brilliant pilot
nicolesse 2 years ago
A distinguished brave Pilot! we knew him on his book a lot of years ago, Thanks Pierre for your legacy! Watch over us from heaven, French-Brazil pride.
F.Viaud / El Salvador/ C.A.
stkjnkrs87 2 years ago
A brave French patriot. His book 'The Big Show" is superb. RIP
oldeafcoot 2 years ago 17
@oldeafcoot He was born in 02/28/1921 in Curitiba Brazil, his father was a diplomat at the French Consulate in Brazil.
ginhobergler 4 months ago
Un Grande!!!!!
Staruan 2 years ago
Orgulho e Honra por ser brasileiro !
Obrigado Pierre Henri Clostermann !
Sua historia sera sempre lembrada por todos !
Bradock1973 2 years ago
A great pilot and a great writer. "The Big Show" is the best war book I ever read
jorgepaulosantos1 2 years ago
Clostermann great pilot but........he idolised De Gaulle...who was a complete tool
Aussiephil99 2 years ago
A brave pilot and exponent of the Hawker Tempest. Author of one of the finest books about ariel combat ever written "The Big Show" a very fine read indeed. Not much glamour - just the truth.
globaleye8 2 years ago
FrancisPassion 2 years ago 3
" Chevalier du Ciel "
un héros
xyz7199 2 years ago 4
Pure true!!!
Salute!
JambockSydy 2 years ago 3
JF-E: "Grand Charles"
Clostermann--> You have to read his book "le grand Cirque"
artyparis 2 years ago 2
Outstanding pilot ace of WWII.
borncoza 2 years ago 2
c'etait un pilote formidable
jpm4244 2 years ago
Pilote , écrivain , politique, homme d'affaires , tout lui a réussi , sans se fourvoyer . Un homme honnète.
Il a eu beaucoup de chance , aussi. Les fées se sont penchées sur son berceau ?
Je vais relire " Le Grand Cirque" , pour me plonger dans le vrombissement des hélices , les vapeurs d'essence et les montées d'adrénaline.
xyz7199 2 years ago 3
Comment removed
MrAlessandro389 2 years ago
I'm not sure that having balls as a french or as a brazilian does make any significant difference... Even if they became german for a while.
sequane1 2 years ago
Pierre Closterman=Brazilian Pilot!
rafaeljose3 2 years ago
Non un pilote qui a survecu ... il a beau dire la vie de pilote même avec 110 missions était manifestement dure ... ils ont tous parlés de la disparition de René Mouchottes. Creuvé sans plus de peur pour fuir les fauves.
bouilll 2 years ago
Pierre Henri Clostermann (né le 28 février 1921 à Curitiba au Brésil, décédé le 22 mars 2006 à Montesquieu-des-Albères, Pyrénées-Orientales), était un aviateur français qui s'est distingué au cours de la Seconde blablabla......
Wikipedia
xyz7199 2 years ago
Pierre died at 85 not 100. He was an outstanding brave and modest pilot and admitted his fear in combat many times, as any truthful man would. He was also an accomplished businessman, engineer and big game fisherman, I agree with panzemeyer.
Galsmut 2 years ago 2
He died only a year or two ago at age 100 or 101...long life by any measure especially considering what he endured as a pilot during WWII. The Big Show remains my favorite pilot memoir of WWII and I wish I could post some of its more moving passages...there are so many of them and so few characters allowed per U tube comment alas.
luscombe1516b 2 years ago
I don't mind, if you like it that way. Yet you might want to go beyond your subjective point of view, and check facts. Closterman had Brazilian & French nationality. And, in the most intense period of his life, he was a pilot in the French Air Force equipped by the RAF. Cordialement -
Fridomfry 2 years ago
He learnt to fly for his pleasure. But he beacame a fighter pilot to help free his country. His books say it all. Read his books and learn some history instead of posting nonsense on youtube.
panzemeyer 2 years ago
Thanks, actually I know that from Closterman's biography. The truth would be to say that Pierre Closterman was a French pilot who had also Brazilian nationality, loved Brazil and spent part of his life in your beautiful country. Somehow he was the contrary , or the inverse, of Alberto Santos-Dumont !
Saying that "Closterman is a Brazilian Pilot" would sound as "he was not French". I agree with panzemeyer's comment
Fridomfry 2 years ago
Clostermann is dead now, but he would certainly have disapproved of your point of view. He was living an easy life in Brasil (his father being a French diplomat there), but made its way to England only to risk death fighting nazy Germany, His motivation was simple: his country, France, had to get rid of the Germans.
panzemeyer 2 years ago
Pierre Closterman is a Brazilian Pilot!
rafaeljose3 2 years ago
No, Pierre Closterman was a French pilot who spent part of his life in Brazil but certinly the most intense part of his career in the FAF in Great Britain.
Fridomfry 2 years ago
The german pilot was alone against eight UK pilots, but he used the three methode (to shoot I guess...One...Two...Three... Boum... Boumm... Boum) Closterman saw the rocket hiting the front of his plane just above the victories cross (the white lines that he is showing)
geoterre 2 years ago
last time he was shooted, was in 21 April 45. At this time he was so shure of him and then send back to the reality with fear and low profil in front of an ennemy still actif !
geoterre 2 years ago
During a flight fight if one of you knew that one of this german pilot was among the band, you would have to avoid him like you avoid the plague. Two time Closterman faced those kind of pilots, two time he was shooted down...
geoterre 2 years ago
He say that german pilots were highly experimented, from spanish war to Russian one. In fact allies pilots (english) had more or less to cover 100 missions before a rest, german not. German pilots were pushed by army to fly and fly without any rest. That why, when a, RAF pilot was in front of this experimented pilot, he had few changes to survive.
geoterre 2 years ago
At the beginign of the war yes, however in 1945 most of germanys aces were dead or wounded and they were sending un experienced chaps to fight the hole mighty allied air power, remember most of the Luftwaffe got smashed in 1944 during Operation Boddenplatte in Belgium. In 1945 the Luftwaffe didnt had any chances the countdown to the allied victory had almost reached its end.
loht773 2 years ago
Can someone plz translate this clip and post it again with subtitles..
bananacooler 3 years ago
Thanks for posting,I havent had the great oportunity to know Pierre Closterman, just in pictures...We love his great book "Le Grand Cirque".
stkjnkrs87 3 years ago 3
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Pierre Clostermann was born in France you stupid moron
gunzoline93 3 years ago
Hi Gunzoline,
Chakands is right. He was born in Brazil, Curitiba City, learnt to fly in Aeroclube do Brasil, in Rio de Janeiro, then move to USA, Malibu where he flew some more. He came back to Brazil to get documents, went via ship to South African then Liverpool. Started his carreer in FFAF with 350hrs flight. By the way he used to speak quite good portuguese, almost no accent.
Anyway, he was a pure french in his heart but kept a respect for british, americans and brazilians.
All the best.
JambockSydy 3 years ago 2
Too True !! Many people on this site are prepared to make comments ,with little factual knowledge . Good on you for getting it right - I have also read the big show ,, Regards Hoges - ps -his encounter with Hans Dortmann is quite interesting -although another web site claims another pilot ( not Soffing either) shot Clostermann down ..
hogiesanKenobi 3 years ago
he was brazilian you son of a bitch ...
gantzmetallica 3 years ago
Comment removed
panzemeyer 2 years ago
He was born in my city Curitiba, Brasil. That's why he was so good!
:)
chakands 3 years ago
Passionnant!
artyparis 3 years ago
I wish there was an english translation of this interview
vne1981 3 years ago 14
Hey! who gave me a thumbs down? I don't speak french, thats why I wish there was a translation. I am interested to hear what he has to say.
vne1981 3 years ago 2
I've made a translation of it, but can't post it due to youtube limiting commentaries" length. If you're interested in reading it, please PM me.
panzemeyer 2 years ago
I will ty to do that
YackJack00 1 year ago
@vne1981 I've translated it a little bit for I85SPIES, who was asking the same thing as you. Check it in the comments, hope you'll find what you were looking for.
Crahonne 1 year ago
Great man who wrote a very good book on his experiences .
iroscoe 3 years ago
He was an extraordinary man. His very frank account of combat and his natural human reactions to it reached out to me during my service in the Army.
vne1981 3 years ago
I have had a 1:72 JF-E Tempest on my shelf since 1972! :-)
tunkki321 3 years ago
Pierre Clostermann!
The big showman and The Tempest Driver!
tunkki321 3 years ago
Viva a Pierre Closterman!
Um Heroi pra nós Brasileiro e Franceses.
kiamfluido 3 years ago
où peut on trouver l'interview complète? Merci en tout cas pour cet extrait et respect à Mr Pierre Clostermann
adi2511 3 years ago
C'était un géant parmi les hommes. J'espère qu'il est tout là haut, dans son « Grand Charles » et qu'il a retrouvé Mouchotte, De Scitivaux, de Tedesco, Fayolle, Jonah, Morgan et tant d'autres.
tembo01 3 years ago
Thank you very much for posting this video,I read "The Big Show" and I had admired Pierre H. Clostermann ever since, Does anyone know how many planes did he shot down in the air? Because there was a trial in 2003 wich he won but still I do not know how many scores he got during the war. He was born in brazil yes, but he always considered himself as a french men, he studied in San Diego and when he returned to Brazil he shiped to England in order to enlist the RAF.
Cheers!
loht773 3 years ago
hi, Pierre CLOSTERMANN had 23 victories .
pierrevqx 3 years ago
Tout simplement magnifique quel pilote quel brave ! est ce que quelqu un saurait si c'etait possible d avoir le reste de cette interview ??
acroparapente 3 years ago 2
Je crois avoir lu le grand cirque et feu du ciel au moins 100 fois depuis que j'ai eu 10 ans..(j'en ai 42...)Super bonhomme. RIP Pierre.
parisboy92 3 years ago
Le livre "LE Grand Cirque" est un classique. Très bon. Je veux encore obtenir une autre copie.
clickminas 3 years ago 2
Quel homme extraordinaire!
Il est surement un de mes héros dès que j'étais gamin, et je ne suis meme pas Français...mais Pierre Clostermann, c'est un héro universel comme Adolf Galland, ou Bubi Hartmann.
Merci pour cette vidéo!
zebbocaster 3 years ago 2
Thank you for everything, Pierre !
Wildcat222 3 years ago
did he get married with a brazilian to move there?
sequane1 4 years ago
In fact... Why did he move to Brazil?
sequane1 4 years ago
Que vous restai toujour au côté de Dieu,grand héros et combattant Français-Brésilien.REPOSE DANS PAIX!!!
hanelly 4 years ago
This was obviously filmé au Bourget. JFE became a standard for all kids. I'm not sure this is THE TRUE ONE... but who cares?
sequane1 4 years ago
Thank you. Ever since I read Le Grand Cirque I have always wanted to see a real Tempest V. I'm glad a full-scale JFE exists, replica or otherwise, but where can I see it now? I have a 1/72 substitute on top of my bookshelves, but it's not quite the same...
xen300 4 years ago 2
Where was this filmed? I had no idea there remained one of Clostermann's Tempests (or a replica).
xen300 4 years ago
Merci pour cette vidéo!
Beau témoignage, humilité respect... N'oubliez pas ce que cet homme et les autres FAFL ont fait pour leur pays avant de tailler le bout de gras sur ses victoires!
Pour ceux qui ne connaissent pas lisez 'le grand cirque' vous comprendrez un peu mieux...
adi2511 4 years ago
vous savez... il y a toujours des gens... qui s'oublient...
sequane1 4 years ago
il était simple et la foi du monde l'avait rendu prolixe... et juste beau
sequane1 4 years ago
he was just an other stone to human pride
sequane1 4 years ago
Dans le livre écrit par Danielle Costelle, "Une sacrée guerre" et entièrement consacré à Pierre Clostermann, il est cité le nom de Rudi Wüff comme étant le pilote qui l'a abattu le 21 avril 1945. Il faisait parti du JG301, et était crédité de 48 victoires. Il n'a pas survécu à la guerre.
Christian19700119 4 years ago 2
He first says : "The reason those German pilots were so superior was that they kept on fighting through Poland, France, Battle of Britain... Luftwaffe was really cruel, they flew them to their death. When you met one of these very experienced pilots you didn't have a chance. I was shot down twice."
RemzofFrance 4 years ago 3
merci pour cette video c trop rare...
Screetch45 4 years ago
Excuse my bad english, but :
- He was officially credited 22 victories by RAF,
- French governement credited him 33, including "pobably destroyed" ...
It was political decision, not his wishes ...
When he speaks, and in the last version of his book, he stands for 22.
aldjiaz 4 years ago 2
please can you subtitle it?
Bred89 4 years ago
what do you need to know further?
sequane1 4 years ago