Sture Friedner describes his meeting with decorated American aviator the late Connie Edwards – and reflects on the legendary Texan airman’s remarkable career and aircraft collection
Wilson Connell ‘Connie’ Edwards was one pilot who could almost claim to have seen it all – and his legacy lives on for subsequent generations of airmen and enthusiasts alike. He was a pilot in Guatemala, in the Nicaraguan Civil War and the Cuban Bay of Pigs invasion; he piloted a flying boat across the Atlantic, and perhaps most famously was a key player in the 1969 film Battle of Britain, during which he was ‘shot down’ more than 100 times. Connie accumulated an extraordinary collection of flying aircraft and was the recipient of a Royal Commendation, honorary RAF ‘wings’ and multiple other awards.
