Today he is widely considered to be the greatest author-pilot.The Little Prince, a children's fantasy in the form of a novella, is one of the top 50 best-selling books of all time, and has been translated into 100 languages.



Mr Rippert confessed to the killing his idol after being tracked down by a French diver, Luc Vanrell, and the founder of an organisation researching aircraft shot down during the war, Lino van Gartzen.



Their findings are to be revealed in a book, Saint-Exupery, the last secret, co-written with French journalist Jacques Pradel, to be published in French on March 20.