'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...

The story of extraordinary Australian, Ross Smith, who rode to war at Gallipoli on horseback and by the end of the war, was one of the most highly awarded fighter pilots.'He was courageous. He was ambitious. He was skilled. He was visionary. He could be ruthless. He was someone born of a new nation. But he was of a time now long past. And yet in the language of a later generation it could be said he had the "right stuff" . . . Michael Molkentin captures [Ross Smith...

Flying Fury: Five Years in the Royal Flying Corps by James McCudden is one of the most respected and insightful firsthand accounts of World War I aviation. Written by a top British fighter ace with 57 confirmed victories, the memoir traces McCudden’s remarkable journey from aircraft mechanic to decorated squadron leader in the Royal Flying Corps. Published shortly before his untimely death in 1918, the book offers a rare insider’s perspective on the evolution of air combat. McCudden combin...

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...

This biography of a tenacious fighter pilot is "a powerful story about a fascinating man who seemed to know no fear" ( Aerodrome).As one of the most successful German fighter pilots of World War I, Rudolf Berthold was victorious in forty-four aerial combats. He was also shot down or forced to land after six fights and survived crash landings in every case. Early in WWI, when only fighter pilots were awarded the Kingdom of Prussia's (and de facto, Imperial ...

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...

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...

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...

'We make and we break.'They were the forward scouts, the mine clearers, the bridge builders and the tunnel rats. They were frequently not just on the front line, but right at the sharp end of the action. They were the legendary Aussie sappers, the army engineers, who were literally everywhere in the fighting against the Vietcong.This special breed of soldier lived hard and played hard. They were there at the beginning of the war. They were also among the last to le...

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...

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...

World War One pilots were the knights of the sky, and the press and public idolised them as gallant young heroes.At just twenty-three, Major Stanley Woolley is the old man and commanding officer of Goshawk Squadron. He abhors any notion of chivalry in the clouds and is determined to obliterate the decent, gentlemanly outlook of his young, public school-educated pilots - for their own good.But as the war goes on he is forced to throw greener and greener pilots into the meat ...