From gazeta.ru

translated by tristein

German pilot states that he shot down the plane of Antoine de Saint Exupéry

Former Luftwaffe pilot Horst Rippert states that he, possibly, shot down the plane of Antoine de Saint Exupéry in 1944.

The 88-year old German writes about this in his forthcoming book. The author of "The Little Prince" died in uncertain circumstances while on a reconnaissance mission near Marseille. His body was never found.

Rippert states how he did not see the face of the pilot of the downed plane, but, most likely, it was Saint Exupéry. The German pilot regrets the act and hopes that he indeed was not the cause of the French writer's death, reports the journal Le Figaro.

http://www.gazeta.ru/news/culture/2008/03/17/n_1193474.shtml