I shot my hero

Henry Samuel writes in The Telegraph that Antoine de Saint-Exupery, author of The Little Prince, one of the top 50 best-selling books of all time that has been translated into 100 languages was shot down by a German World War 11 fighter pilot. But Horst Rippert, 88, said he would not have fired at the author on July 31, 1944, had he known his victim was one of his
literary heros.

He is quoted: If I had known it was Saint-Exupéry I would never have shot him down ... He knew admirably how to describe the sky, the thoughts and feelings of pilots ... His work inspired many of us to take up our vocation.

A former German World War II fighter pilot has claimed he shot down French literary hero Antoine de Saint-Exupery, author of The Little Prince, 63 years after the event.

All this is to be revealed in a new book, Saint-Exupery, the last secret. Rippart was tracked down by Luc Vanrell and Lino van Gartzen, and the book is co-written by French journalist Jacques Pradel.

Before this, Saint-Exupery was thought to have committed suicide.

The Telegraph