It had been a fine morning when the French Air Force’s twin-engine Potez 63 fighter-bomber had taken to the dawn skies. It is foolhardy-Īnd if we return with no photos, we will be a laughingstock, Pierre Duval, the aircraft’s French pilot, cut in. The fog is down so thick, Pierre! he yelled across at his fellow airman. It was fear of the guns that lurked below that held him in its viselike grip. In the thick fog that had blown across the landscape, they were all but invisible to any marauding German fighters.
But for once it wasn’t fear of being pounced on by one of the enemy’s deadly Messerschmitt 109s that so unsettled him. Robert Bozdech had a horrible, sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as the twin-engine warplane began its shallow dive toward earth. Read moreĪ Potez 63 French warplane, of the type that Robert Bozdech was shot down in-leading to him finding a tiny German shepherd puppy in no-man’s-land.Īeronautics Aircraft Spotters’ Handbook, Ensign L. With beautiful vintage black-and-white photos of Robert and Ant, The Dog Who Could Fly is a deeply moving story of loyalty in the face of adversity and the unshakable bond between a man and his best friend. By the end of the war, Robert and Ant had become true war heroes, and Ant was justly awarded the Dickin Medal, the “Animal VC.” Finally grounded after being injured on a flight mission, Ant refused to abandon his duty, and refusing food and sleep until they were reunited. In the months that followed, the pair would save each other’s lives countless times as they flew together with RAF Bomber Command. Unable to desert the puppy, Robert hid Ant inside his jacket as he escaped. The other was a different kind of lost soul-a Czech airman bound for the Royal Air Force and the country that he would come to call home.Īirman Robert Bozdech stumbled across the tiny German shepherd-whom he named Ant-after being shot down on a daring mission over enemy lines. One was an orphaned puppy, abandoned by his owners as they fled Nazi forces.
In the winter of 1939, in the cold snow of no-man’s-land, two loners met and began an extraordinary journey that would turn them into lifelong friends. “A thoroughly enjoyable story of heroism and true friendship” ( Publishers Weekly, starred review), this is the true account of a German shepherd who was adopted by the Royal Air Force during World War II, flying countless combat missions and ultimately saving the life of his owner and dearest friend.
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