From the author of The First Air War, a realistic portrait of a solider during World War II.Lee Kennett provides a vivid portrait of the American soldier, or G.I., in World War II, from his registration in the draft, training in boot camp, combat in Europe and the Pacific, and to his final role as conqueror and occupier. It is all here: the "greetings" from Uncle Sam; endless lines in induction centers across the country; the unfamiliar and demanding world...

Historian Lee Kennett takes on the vital task of detailing the World War I aviator in this complete overview of the first air war, that Richard P. Hallion calls, "A welcome and long overdue addition to the literature of military aviation.""The whole subject of the first air war is like some imperfectly explored country: there are areas that have been crisscrossed by several generations of historians; there are regions where only writers of dissertations and abstrus...

The story of the World War I fighter pilot the Red Baron himself sought to emulate . . .German air ace Oswald Boelcke was a national hero during World War I. He was the youngest captain in the German air force, decorated with the Pour le Mérite while still only a lieutenant, and credited with forty aerial victories at the time of his death.Becoming a pilot shortly before the outbreak of the war, Boelcke established his reputation on the Western front first in...

The day-to-day insights of a brilliantly daring World War I ace that only ends with his death at the age of 23 . . .James McCudden was an outstanding British fighter ace of World War I, whose daring exploits earned him a tremendous reputation and, ultimately, an untimely end. Here, in this unique and gripping firsthand account, he brings to life some of aviation history's most dramatic episodes in a memoir completed at the age of twenty-three, just days before his tragic death.

A biography of one of Germany's pioneers in aerial combat: "a great read" ( Internet Modeler).Max Immelmann was born in Dresden, the son of a container factory owner. When World War I started, Immelmann was recalled to active service, transferred to the Luftstreitkäfte, and sent for pilot training in November 1914. He was on his way to becoming a legendary flying ace.Initially stationed in northern France as a reconnaissance aviator, he was shot do...

'I half rolled, and there before my eyes was as perfect a target as I had ever seen in my life. A pressure of a thumb, a short burst, a puff of smoke, a flash of flame, a hole on the clouds-and it was over.'Lieutenant Robert McKenzie, No. 2 Squadron Australian Flying Corps.When the First World War began in August 1914, aeroplanes were a novelty, barely a decade old. Despite this, Australia was one of just a few nations outside Europe to establish a military flying school an...

Experience the chilling combat of World War I from inside an early biplane in this classic novel, by a pilot who lived through the war himself.France, 1914. The war on the land is taking to the skies . . .Pilot Tom Cundall is ready to take on the enemy in his trusty Camel fighter plane. But as he sees more and more planes shot down in flames, he begins to question the war, and what, or who, he is fighting for.There is no bitter snarl nor self-pity in t...

A penetrating study of Britain's top World War I fighter ace, written by fellow pilot Ira Jones, the author of An Air Fighter's Scrapbook.Ira Jones' biography of Britain's top-scoring ace of the First World War has become the subject of some controversy over the last few years; most notably, it claims seventy-three "kills" for Mannock, making him the number-one-scoring Allied ace of the war. Later research has thrown serious doubt on this assertion, and in...

This biography of the WWI fighter pilot offers "an intimate portrait of the last recipient of the 'Blue Max'" (Barrett Tillman).One of the most noteworthy German fighter pilots of World War I was Leutnant der Reserve Carl Degelow, whose squadron of mostly black Fokker D.VII fighters posed a formidable threat to some of Britain's most celebrated air units on the Western Front.Black Fokker Leader, filled with new information and original photos, is b...

Includes Aerial Warfare During World War I Illustrations Pack with 115 maps, plans, and photos.Captain Rickenbacker, originally from Ohio, was best known as one of the Commanders of the 94th "Hat-in-the-Ring" Squadron, a crack unit of pilots which included many former members of the famed Lafayette Escadrille. The 94th ended the war in France with the highest number of air victories of any American squadron. Captain Rickenbacker himself was credited with 26 aerial victories all with...

A military history analyzing the evolution of sniper warfare during WWI by the firearms expert and author of Eastern Front Sniper.From the sharpshooters of the American Civil War to Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, military snipers are legendary for their marksmanship and effectiveness in battle. The specialized role of the sniper developed among the ranks of the British Army over the course of World War I. As Martin Pegler shows in this wide-ranging study, the techn...

The story of the German submarine U-505 and its dramatic capture by the US Navy during WWII—told by one of its crewmen.Hans Goebeler is known as the man who "pulled the plug" on U-505 in 1944 to keep his beloved U-boat out of Allied hands. Steel Boat, Iron Hearts is his no-holds-barred account of service aboard a combat U-boat. It is the only full-length memoir of its kind, and Goebeler was aboard for every one of U-505's war patrols.Using his own ex...