WWI - The war in the air

[Smithy]

Book Recommendations

I thought it might be worthwhile for members to post books which they have enjoyed and have found useful.

My biggest interest in WWI aviation are RFC/RAF and AFC scout squadrons on the Western Front from 1917 to 1918 so the books I'll cover in this and subsequent posts are all concerned with these subjects. Hopefully some members can add some titles regarding the Luftstreitkräfte, RNAS, USAS, etc.

So first book off the rank and a very, very special one at that...

"High in the Empty Blue" - Alex Revell

Without doubt not only one of my favourite books of WWI but one of my favourite books full stop. This labour of love by Mr Revell is the history of 56 Sqn RFC/RAF (home of aces such as McCudden, Rhys Davids, Bowman, Ball, etc, etc) and which took over 30 years of research. It is a staggering achievement drawing upon interviews, diaries, logbooks, the squadron's War Diary and contains an enormous amount of photographs, appendices, colour aircraft profiles and a text which reads nothing like a dusty history text. In my mind it is not only the best squadron history book of WWI but of any conflict I have seen. It should be a template of how to write one.

I simply cannot recommend this book more highly - it's a masterpiece.

 

[B-24J]

In my copy of the "ABC of the RAF", 1943 edition, I was surprised to learn that at the end of the Great War the RAF strength was 27,333 officers and 263,410 other ranks.

They had 188 operation squadrons with 22,647 airplanes and 103 airships -the largest air force in the world at the time.

When I was younger the books and movies always concentrated on the aces and their machines. The scale of the air war was not really appreciated.

John

 

[Smithy]

In my copy of the "ABC of the RAF", 1943 edition, I was surprised to learn that at the end of the Great War the RAF strength was 27,333 officers and 263,410 other ranks.

They had 188 operation squadrons with 22,647 airplanes and 103 airships -the largest air force in the world at the time.

When I was younger the books and movies always concentrated on the aces and their machines. The scale of the air war was not really appreciated.

John

Whilst most people have a rudimentary knowledge about WWII aviation you tend to find that many don't know much more about the air war in WWI other than the Red Baron, Sopwith Camels and Fokker Triplanes.

The scope of the air war during the Great War was enormous, occurred across several theatres and was particularly savage. It's a fascinating subject the more you read and learn about it.

Next book recommendation is a classic:

"Winged Victory" - V.M.Yeates

Yeates' experiences as a Sopwith Camel pilot over the Western Front in 1918 written in the form of a novel (probably so that he could be entirely truthful and tackle some less than savoury aspects which a member of his generation would've had difficulty articulating in the first person). One of the very best accounts of describing what it was actually like to fly in combat and the mental affect upon pilots of those days. The descriptions of flight and combat are some of the very best you will read anywhere and Yeates was also a writer of prodigious talent. A really spectacular book.

Interestingly enough, this book was highly sort after by RAF pilots at the beginning of WWII (even then it was regarded as the closest one could get to reading about what it was like to fly in combat).

 

[DNO]

When I was a kid...many, many years ago, I'm afraid...my imagination, and a lifetime interest in the First World War, was ignited by this book. It was directed at young readers (like me) and dealt with the exploits of pilots like Bishop, Barker, Collishaw and McKeever. Thrilling stuff for an impressionable lad like myself! Not serious reading material for mature folk, but inspiring, back in the day.



That lead, eventually, to Winged Warfare by William Avery Bishop. He wrote it while on leave in Canada in 1917 so there's nothing about his experiences in 1918 in SE5a's but it's a fascinating read, as any first-hand account usually is.

 

[Smithy]

I was brought up on Biggles DNO and his hair-raising adventures in both wars. "Biggles of the Camel Squadron" was one of the first I read and I still remember reading it as a nipper!

 

[DNO]

I was brought up on Biggles DNO and his hair-raising adventures in both wars. "Biggles of the Camel Squadron" was one of the first I read and I still remember reading it as a nipper!

I found a Biggles book in a thrift store the other day. I picked it up but have yet to peruse it!

 

[Smithy]

I found a Biggles book in a thrift store the other day. I picked it up but have yet to peruse it!

Actually some of the descriptions in Biggles aren't too far off the mark. After all Johns flew in the war and knew what it was all about. The WWI Biggles books are arguably more realistic in terms of their descriptions than the books set in later periods.

I went off and bought a couple for my nephew when he was about 11 or 12 and he loved them.

Good fun.

 

[DNO]

I have found this book to be useful quite often. Like most reference books, it has become prohibitively expensive. Luckily I picked mine up a number of years ago. It was pricey then, but not like it is these days!

 

[Smithy]

That is a good 'un DNO.

I'd add Shores, Guest and Franks' "Above the Trenches" in with that one as well.

I'll agree that the big reference tomes such as these are on the pricey side but the amount of times you pick these up and use them ultimately means you get more than your money's worth!

 

[DNO]

Absolutely right, Smithy. When I was a novice collector an intelligent dealer once told me that I should never pass up a reference book. He was right.

 

[Stearmen]

In a strange way, this had the most to do with my fascination of WWI aviation! [video=youtube;D5k9MdsvZm8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5k9MdsvZm8[/video]

 

[Smithy]

Stearmen, it's funny how many Americans I have known on some of the WWI history boards who got into it through Snoopy and the Red Baron.

I reckon it's almost a rite of passage for you guys

 

[Smithy]

Here's one for those who might be wanting to learn more about WWI in the air but perhaps are a little unsure of where to start...

"Aces High: The War in the Air over the Western Front 1914-18"

This has been around for a long time now and written by the late UK politician Alan Clark. Although it has a few errors it is still an excellent first port of call for a reader to learn about the technological advances in aircraft and air tactics, as well as the air war's place in the complete picture of WWI. It also covers the air campaigns, significant aces and actions. It doesn't cover the Italian, Mesopotamian or Russian Fronts but it's a great first book for those wanting to learn more especially about the war over the trenches.

One thing, just make sure you get the 1999 reprint (the cover of which is above) as this contains a huge amount of contemporary photographs as well as Michael Turner's wonderful aviation paintings.

 

[PT Monteith]

If you haven't seen the movie The Great Waldo Pepper, it's a decent WWI flying period piece from the 70's. The story revolves around the post war propagation of barstorming, wingwalking, and flying circuses. There's good footage of spads, sopsaps, and the fokker tri....not to mention a very young Susan Sarandon.

[video=youtube;H5Y9UCGYpl0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5Y9UCGYpl0[/video]

 

[Atticus Finch]

When I was a kid, I was pretty interested in WWI aviation for a while. I'm still interested in WWI history. I read this book when I was about eleven or twelve. As I recall, only part of it is about Rickenbacker's experiences in WWI. Still, its a good read.

AF

 

[Smithy]

If you haven't seen the movie The Great Waldo Pepper, it's a decent WWI flying period piece from the 70's. The story revolves around the post war propagation of barstorming, wingwalking, and flying circuses. There's good footage of spads, sopsaps, and the fokker tri....not to mention a very young Susan Sarandon.

[video=youtube;H5Y9UCGYpl0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5Y9UCGYpl0[/video]

I actually saw that for the first time last year when they showed it on telly here and enjoyed it.

When I was a kid, I was pretty interested in WWI aviation for a while. I'm still interested in WWI history. I read this book when I was about eleven or twelve. As I recall, only part of it is about Rickenbacker's experiences in WWI. Still, its a good read.

AF

Never read it AF but I have had a poke through Lewis' bio of him. He was an interesting character and was a legend among the emerging US air arms.

 

[Captain Nemo]

Sometime ago, I was in Little Rock on a lengthy business trip and had some time to tour museums there. One of these was the Jacksonville Museum of Military History (highly recommended if you are in the area), located about 20 miles north of downtown, near the Little Rock Air Base. They had a neat little WWI history section on a local pilot training airfield in the nearby town of Lonoke called Eberts Field. It was one of several bases opened during the war. One thing I found interesting is that none of the student pilots graduated by 11-11-18. I don't honestly know if the majority of students were relieved or frustrated by the fact that they missed out in the fighting in Europe.

References:
http://www.jaxmilitarymuseum.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eberts_Field

 

[Smithy]

One thing I found interesting is that none of the student pilots graduated by 11-11-18. I don't honestly know if the majority of students were relieved or frustrated by the fact that they missed out in the fighting in Europe.

Thanks for those links Captain, looks to be a very interesting place.

One thing that is fairly common reading diaries or letters of those who flew in the Great War was that they were often keen to have a crack at the enemy, however once there at the front, they quickly learned that it was a very vicious and dangerous place to be, even in 1918 when some of the most savage air fighting occurred. Most airmen had very little training, and no operational training - this is one of the reasons why the RAF set up OTU (Operational Training Units) in WWII to provide an intermediary step between pure flight training and combat flying.

Those men you mention were probably very lucky. The British Air Forces alone had a casualty rate of 1 in 6 men being killed (that figure doesn't include wounded but killed in active operational service) so it gives you some kind of idea of just how dangerous being sent to fly and fight in WWI was.

 

[Stearmen]

Here is an interesting bit of trivia. The Fokker Dr1 Triplane, was not fazed out because it was out classed by the allied planes. As the war came to it's final year, the Germans were in trouble with supplies, the Generals rationed fuel, each Jagdgeschwader was allocated 14,000 liters of petrol and 4,000 liters of oil. Since the rotary engines used in the Dr1 used considerably more fuel and oil then the inline engines used by the Albatros and Fokker DVII, it was a no brainer.

 

[Smithy]

Here is an interesting bit of trivia. The Fokker Dr1 Triplane, was not fazed out because it was out classed by the allied planes. As the war came to it's final year, the Germans were in trouble with supplies, the Generals rationed fuel, each Jagdgeschwader was allocated 14,000 liters of petrol and 4,000 liters of oil. Since the rotary engines used in the Dr1 used considerably more fuel and oil then the inline engines used by the Albatros and Fokker DVII, it was a no brainer.

Didn't know that Stearmen, I had always thought it was a combination of the structural troubles which plagued it, its slow speed and rate of dive - especially compared with Allied scouts in 1918.

You have to wonder if the fuel issue was a big problem why orders were placed for the rotary Siemens-Schuckert D.IV. Not disputing you (German aircraft aren't my strong point) but just interested to know why.

Cheers,

Tim