Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Saint-Exupery, whose fable The Little Prince is considered a classic of flight, love and loneliness, disappeared July 31, 1944, during a reconnaissance mission.

"The wreck of the plane that was raised last autumn near Riou Island has been identified as the (Lockheed Lightning) P-38 in which Saint-Exupery made his last flight," Jean-Claude Gaudin, the mayor of Marseille, said April 7.

He said the wreck would be exhibited in a Marseille museum to pay tribute to the writer and aviator who died a year after the book was published.

A French diver discovered the remains of the airplane off the coast of Marseille four years ago, after a fisherman hauled up a bracelet belonging to the author and aviator in 1998.

It was raised from 80 meters last October and, though analysis showed the plane was Saint-Exupery's, it remains unclear why it crashed. The author's body has never been recovered.

The Japan Times Weekly: April 17, 2004
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