The Big Show by Pierre Clostermann video

[AWC]

This is a short cinematic based on the events of Pierre Clostermann's book 'The Big Show' or 'Le Grand Cirque'. The film covers events from July 1943 to August 1945, I have tried my best to fit in many of the most notable exploits of the book, and to remain as historically accurate as possible. 

 

Any feedback is welcome, enjoy!

 

 

Edited May 5, 2020 by Lemsip

[smink1701]

Great vid. Wish I had your talent!

[MercCrom175]

Great job!

[Rei-sen]

One of the best IL-2 vids!

[69TD_Hajo_Garlic]

Nice work but u forgot the Dortenmann part ? 

[Cybermat47]

Absolutely amazing. This is even better that Crete!

[Blooddawn1942]

Amazing one!

But Rommel wasn't killed by the strafing run. He was severely injured and was later forced to commit suicide because he was blamed to be involved in the conspiracy against Hitler. 

Edited December 3, 2019 by Blooddawn1942

[Cybermat47]

18 minutes ago, Blooddawn1942 said:

Amazing one!

But Rommel wasn't killed by the strafing run. He was severely injured and was later forced to commit suicide because he was blamed to be involved in the conspiracy against Hitler. 

I’d say that the video uses quotes from the book, and that Clostermann was misinformed - the Nazis officially said that Rommel was killed by injuries from the strafing run, because the truth was inconvenient for them.

[AWC]

2 hours ago, Arthur-A said:

One of the best IL-2 vids!

 

Thankyou!

 

57 minutes ago, [Pb]Cybermat47 said:

Absolutely amazing. This is even better that Crete!

 

Thanks mate that means a lot! Airborne invasion of the Netherlands 1940 is in the works atm.

35 minutes ago, Blooddawn1942 said:

Amazing one!

But Rommel wasn't killed by the strafing run. He was severely injured and was later forced to commit suicide because he was blamed to be involved in the conspiracy against Hitler. 

 

You're correct but the book itself leads the reader to believe that he died from the strafing run. Glad you liked it.

[Blooddawn1942]

I hadn't that in mind though I've read the book some 10 Years ago. Thanks for clarification.

[ZachariasX]

Beautiful video!!!

 

12 minutes ago, Lemsip said:

You're correct but the book itself leads the reader to believe that he died from the strafing run. Glad you liked it.

Yes, the Nazis were not really very candid about forcing Rommel to take his own life. In the fog of war, implicating the connection (actually as mentioned above it isn't sure whether his sqad mates shot Rommels staff car but they were close enough), hence we can cut that young man some slack.

 

One thing, during the parade in Bremerhaven, he didn't fly his Grand Charles, but some spare plane from the squadron he just fetched for that. His Grand Charles often had issues with the oil system, and it did have so that day, something Pierre took as bad luck in hindsight.

 

This famous photo of his Grand Charles:

was taken AFTER Bremerhaven. It was taken in summer 1945 right at the moment he was saying goodbye to that plane and had had to board the ferry plane back home, leaving the RAF for good.

 

In many respects, the Grand Charles was his lucky plane. He had his fair share of misfortunes always in other aircraft.

[2nd_TAF/602Sqn_Puff]

Well done with the movie, was great to watch. Really well done with the editing etc..

 

The book is a really good read too..but take whats in it with a large pinch of salt.. the October 43 section quotes for instance

 

The ORB shows that 602 only met 190's on the 18th of Oct 43...and there were only two confirmed kills with the escort/sweep at 1315...but Clostermann wasn't flying that mission, the next sweep { with which he flew } at 1615 only spotted 109's that broke off. Flt Sgt Clostermann only flew on 2nd, 3rd, 8th, 9th, 10th, 16th,18th and 21st with only no contacts with E/A's on any of the missions he flew.

Does its take away from the pilot...not in the slightest, but he does have the habit of 'adding' to the truths lol

 

Edited December 3, 2019 by 602EAF_Puff

[SYN_Ricky]

Great video, thanks!

[AWC]

25 minutes ago, ZachariasX said:

Beautiful video!!!

 

Yes, the Nazis were not really very candid about forcing Rommel to take his own life. In the fog of war, implicating the connection (actually as mentioned above it isn't sure whether his sqad mates shot Rommels staff car but they were close enough), hence we can cut that young man some slack.

 

One thing, during the parade in Bremerhaven, he didn't fly his Grand Charles, but some spare plane from the squadron he just fetched for that. His Grand Charles often had issues with the oil system, and it did have so that day, something Pierre took as bad luck in hindsight.

 

This famous photo of his Grand Charles:

was taken AFTER Bremerhaven. It was taken in summer 1945 right at the moment he was saying goodbye to that plane and had had to board the ferry plane back home, leaving the RAF for good.

 

In many respects, the Grand Charles was his lucky plane. He had his fair share of misfortunes always in other aircraft.

 

Yes, that's right. I think you can see for simplification I just used Le Gran Charles to identify Clostermann. Thanks for the info!

22 minutes ago, 602EAF_Puff said:

Well done with the movie, was great to watch. Really well done with the editing etc..

 

The book is a really good read too..but take whats in it with a large pinch of salt.. the October 43 section quotes for instance

 

The ORB shows that 602 only met 190's on the 18th of Oct 43...and there were only two confirmed kills with the escort/sweep at 1315...but Clostermann wasn't flying that mission, the next sweep { with which he flew } at 1615 only spotted 109's that broke off. Flt Sgt Clostermann only flew on 2nd, 3rd, 8th, 9th, 10th, 16th,18th and 21st with only no contacts with E/A's on any of the missions he flew.

Does its take away from the pilot...not in the slightest, but he does have the habit of 'adding' to the truths lol

 

 

Yes his claims have always been disputed, but his experiences were still extrordinary. This is what I have tried to create.

[2nd_TAF/602Sqn_Puff]

And you have successfully done that...if some of those shots were in monochrome, they could easily be mistaken for gun footage.

Edited December 3, 2019 by 602EAF_Puff

[Letka_13/Arrow_]

1 hour ago, 602EAF_Puff said:

Well done with the movie, was great to watch. Really well done with the editing etc..

 

The book is a really good read too..but take whats in it with a large pinch of salt.. the October 43 section quotes for instance

 

The ORB shows that 602 only met 190's on the 18th of Oct 43...and there were only two confirmed kills with the escort/sweep at 1315...but Clostermann wasn't flying that mission, the next sweep { with which he flew } at 1615 only spotted 109's that broke off. Flt Sgt Clostermann only flew on 2nd, 3rd, 8th, 9th, 10th, 16th,18th and 21st with only no contacts with E/A's on any of the missions he flew.

Does its take away from the pilot...not in the slightest, but he does have the habit of 'adding' to the truths lol

 

 

I would say that people tend to forget when disputing Clostermann's accounts using the wealth of information sources we have now at disposal with the informational space he lived in. It is easy to dispute his claims 75 years later with petabytes of information, accounts, photos, books and analyses in comfort of your home. P. Clostermann lived in a fog of war under high stress and went through everyday situations where his life was on the line, while flying extremely high powered aircraft in adverse conditions. People living through a very stressful situation like car crash often remember nothing of it. So it is only natural that his memories might be somewhat inaccurate by today's standards.

 

On the other hand I would emphasize that even ORB does not necessarily have to be accurate and data from it cannot be taken as holy grail of info about operations, mistakes happen in all documentation, flight logs do not get transcripted well and so on. Therefore I do not think that Pierre has intentionally changed something to create a good book, he just wrote things as he experienced and lived through them and his work has become one of the finest testaments of WW2 inspiring so many people (including me) and I am grateful for that.

[AWC]

1 hour ago, Rudolph said:

 

I would say that people tend to forget when disputing Clostermann's accounts using the wealth of information sources we have now at disposal with the informational space he lived in. It is easy to dispute his claims 75 years later with petabytes of information, accounts, photos, books and analyses in comfort of your home. P. Clostermann lived in a fog of war under high stress and went through everyday situations where his life was on the line, while flying extremely high powered aircraft in adverse conditions. People living through a very stressful situation like car crash often remember nothing of it. So it is only natural that his memories might be somewhat inaccurate by today's standards.

 

On the other hand I would emphasize that even ORB does not necessarily have to be accurate and data from it cannot be taken as holy grail of info about operations, mistakes happen in all documentation, flight logs do not get transcripted well and so on. Therefore I do not think that Pierre has intentionally changed something to create a good book, he just wrote things as he experienced and lived through them and his work has become one of the finest testaments of WW2 inspiring so many people (including me) and I am grateful for that.

 

Well said.

[EAF19_Marsh]

Beautifully done, many congratulations!

[dburne]

 

Awesome video, thank you so much!

[sammydee]

Excellent well done! I must have read this book a dozen times through my life.

[Megalax]

8 hours ago, ZachariasX said:

 

 

This famous photo of his Grand Charles:

was taken AFTER Bremerhaven. It was taken in summer 1945 right at the moment he was saying goodbye to that plane and had had to board the ferry plane back home, leaving the RAF for good.

 

You are correct, but this aircraft is not "Le Grand Charles". This is NV724. "Le Grand Charles" was NV994, which didnt have the Croix de Lorraine on the radiator, and a red spinner.

 

 

In the close up here you can see that there is no "Le Grand Charles" written below the cockpit.

[MarcoPegase44]

6 hours ago, Rudolph said:

 

I would say that people tend to forget when disputing Clostermann's accounts using the wealth of information sources we have now at disposal with the informational space he lived in. It is easy to dispute his claims 75 years later with petabytes of information, accounts, photos, books and analyses in comfort of your home. P. Clostermann lived in a fog of war under high stress and went through everyday situations where his life was on the line, while flying extremely high powered aircraft in adverse conditions. People living through a very stressful situation like car crash often remember nothing of it. So it is only natural that his memories might be somewhat inaccurate by today's standards.

 

On the other hand I would emphasize that even ORB does not necessarily have to be accurate and data from it cannot be taken as holy grail of info about operations, mistakes happen in all documentation, flight logs do not get transcripted well and so on. Therefore I do not think that Pierre has intentionally changed something to create a good book, he just wrote things as he experienced and lived through them and his work has become one of the finest testaments of WW2 inspiring so many people (including me) and I am grateful for that.

 

The "Grand cirque" was written from Pierre's daily diaries of war with his vision of the moment of events and the knowledge he had at his level ... like other stories of pilots immediately after the war.

At the time we did not even know the existence of Enigma for example.
  Similarly for the identification of the adversary's aircraft.

This is what makes this tale alive with the emotions of the moment but is at the origin of the inaccuracies or errors that are easy to meet today with our current knowledge.

[ZachariasX]

1 hour ago, Megalax said:

You are correct, but this aircraft is not "Le Grand Charles". This is NV724. "Le Grand Charles" was NV994, which didnt have the Croix de Lorraine on the radiator, and a red spinner.

Yes, this was his second JF-E. It had a black spinner and also probably what was later a Sabre VA or VII engine with a Rotol prop. In his own words, Pierre however considered this also a "Grand Charles". I quote:

 

27 août 1945.

J'ai fait ma demande de démobilisation qui a été acceptée. J'ai été ce matin prendre congé de Broadhurst et de la RAF. Mackie le Néo-Zélandais est confirmé dans le commandement du wing 122.

Pour aller au Quartier Général de Schleswig, j'ai voulu prendre le « Grand Charles » et, au retour, je suis monté avec lui très haut dans le ciel d'été sans nuages, car ce n'était que là que je pouvais lui dire adieu.

Ensemble, nous avons fusé une dernière fois, droit vers le soleil. Nous avons fait un looping – deux, peut-être – quelques tonneaux bien lents, fignolés, amoureux, pour que je puisse emporter dans les doigts la vibration de ses ailes obéissantes et souples. Et j'ai pleuré, dans son cockpit étroit – comme jamais plus de ma vie je ne pleurerai, je le sais – quand j'ai senti le ciment de la piste effleurer ses roues, et que d'un grand geste du poignet, je l'ai assis au sol comme une fleur que l'on coupe…

Clostermann, Pierre. Le Grand Cirque: Mémoires d'un pilote de chasse FFL dans la RAF (Documents (Rso)) (French Edition) . Flammarion. Kindle-Version.

 

Edit: I just saw, only three paragraphs later her writes:

Un peu à l'écart, mon « Grand Charles », mon vieux JFE, avec sa casserole rouge, les croix noires de nos victoires sous le cockpit, trapu, volontaire, puissant avec sa grande hélice quadri-pale immobile que je ne démarrerai plus. C'est la page qui tourne, douloureuse.

Clostermann, Pierre. Le Grand Cirque: Mémoires d'un pilote de chasse FFL dans la RAF (Documents (Rso)) (French Edition) . Flammarion. Kindle-Version.

 

... That aircraft had a black spinner. But you can see how much he lived in memories at that very time.

 

 

Edited December 3, 2019 by ZachariasX

[Lusekofte]

Very nice video ? 

[Missionbug]

Great film, thank you very much, really appreciated.

 

 

Wishing you all the very best, Pete.

[ZachariasX]

Not sure how many would get the French "complete" edition of "Le Grand Cirque 2000". In this edition (sadly the Kindle edition is lacking images, how stupid), there are some pictures of Clostermanns notebook pages.

 

Here, an example of where he describes his "meet & greet" with a Do-335, one of the first reports ever:

Spoiler

 

You can see how he writes, he made plenty of drawings as well. The notebooks are in possession of the French Air Force. Every couple of days, when he had time he would sit down and write as it came off his sleeve. In many respects, the poor sod trying to redeem himself toward a (in his perception) larger than life father figure and trying to made up for his country, in many respects made what Melville made of the sinking of the whaler Essex. Instead of being exact (and counting rivets), he wrote something like "The Young Man and the Sky". Everything he wrote in his notebook he did days after the action when the adrenaline was gone. It is of note that while his stated kills (and dates) sometimes don't even hold up to scrutiny, he never makes any pretense about having shot down that many. His current tally ceases to be an issue after the first three times he scored. So I don't think the Clostermann we read about in the book is very much like the obstinate know-it-all he well could be on the ground there at that time.

 

A truly unique book from a very unusual writer.

[AWC]

6 hours ago, EAF19_Marsh said:

Beautifully done, many congratulations!

 

2 hours ago, Missionbug said:

Great film, thank you very much, really appreciated.

 

 

Wishing you all the very best, Pete.

 

Took a lot of effort to bring everything together, so thanks guys!

[Trooper117]

Good effort!... enjoyed it!

[spitfirejoe]

Very nice Video.....the Devs will like it for sure very much.

 

Nice Advertising for the IL-2 Great Battle Series

[BornToBattle]

17 hours ago, ZachariasX said:

This famous photo of his Grand Charles:

was taken AFTER Bremerhaven. It was taken in summer 1945 right at the moment he was saying goodbye to that plane and had had to board the ferry plane back home, leaving the RAF for good.

This photo and knowing it was his literally last moment with his trusty stead must have really, really, well...sucked, to say the least. The same with many others pilots I imagine too. Even his pose on the plane is kinda solemn. Such is life.

Edited December 4, 2019 by BornToBattle

[AWC]

4 hours ago, BornToBattle said:

This photo and knowing it was his literally last moment with his trusty stead must have really, really, well...sucked, to say the least. The same with many others pilots I imagine too. Even his pose on the plane is kinda solemn. Such is life.

 

Yes in the final chapter it's clear he was sad to leave his trusted aircraft.

[ZachariasX]

19 hours ago, Rudolph said:

Therefore I do not think that Pierre has intentionally changed something to create a good book, he just wrote things as he experienced and lived through them

Looking at his notes again, could it be that his dates often reflect the day he wrote down the respective passages?

It is rather clear that at the time of writing, exact dates and time were of secondary concern to him and the only times he got specific is when being exact was required for the narrative. It would explain for a lot of small factual discrepancies. Also remembering exact mission rosters when you fly up to three missions per day and are a heavy user of (what are now) party drugs is probably asking a lot. I‘m sure most other pilots that wrote a book did so sitting down sober and having their flight log as well as other material at hand.

[AWC]

15 hours ago, spitfirejoe said:

Very nice Video.....the Devs will like it for sure very much.

 

Nice Advertising for the IL-2 Great Battle Series

 

That would be a dream if it were used as advertisment for IL-2!