Plan B, 1940

Just about to get up on a dark rainy day in London or was it Paris, France.  The day started like this, rain, snow more rain and more snow. That was not going to stop me from going outside into the city. It was 1940. War was going on in a small countryside town in the French Alps in the middle of winter. The Italians were advancing on France, in the Battle of the Alps, during World War II. I was going there to take photos of the war. The battle was a every hard place to get to because the snow was falling fast and heavy.  The roads were blocked and the trains too, so I had to have a plan B.  The mission assigned to me was to take photos of something to do with the war.  So I went to the engineers who were building bombers and fighter planes on the outskirts of Paris. The planes were so magnificent and elegant.  The long wings that stretched into the air with curves like a fish bone, it was the first of it’s kind. It was made out of metal. It was about to go to the runway in the open field next to the shed. The big, beautiful metal thing was called “Bloch BM.200”. Snow was clearing now so the engineers were in luck. The men were cleaning the runway for the plane to do its test flight in the sky. The plane was fast in the wind. The crowd gathered to see it fly in air, like a bird high up in the sky, soaring through the wind. Looping back and forth, twisting left and right, up and down. The crowd cheering the engineer because the plane almost broke the record in speed. I asked if I could go up so I could take photos from inside. The view from the bomber was amazing. It was the first time I was up in a aircraft that beautiful. The people on the ground were so small they looked like ants in a nest.  I went back into the shed to photograph the planes being built. I could see the details of the aircraft, the bolts and screws. The people were so happy that they just built an aircraft so magnificent that it called for a celebration. I was happy for the engineers for their completion. My mission was done for now.