The classic bestselling autobiography of the most successful fighter pilot of the First World War.This is the memoir of the undisputed top gun of World War I's aerial war, Captain Manfred von Richthofen, who shot down 80 Allied aircraft. Originally published in German in late 1917 as Der Rote Kampfflieger ( The Red Air Fighter), it was a runaway bestseller. The English language edition followed in 1918 without any official deal with the German publ...

Over the last 70 years, in countless books and essays, Hermann Göring has been defined by his crimes and excess during the Third Reich and the Second World War. But his activities as a young career military officer in World War I have invariably been glossed over until now. 'Hermann Göring Fighter Ace' is the first in-depth look at Görings role as a military flyer and air combat leader from 1914 through the end of The Great War, and how those experiences shaped the personality that came to...

A "superb" look at one of the Great War's most storied combat pilots and his legendary solo missions, with never-before-published photos (Barrett Tillman).William Avery Bishop is recognized as the British Empire's highest-scoring WWI ace, credited with seventy-two combat victories. Overall, he ranked behind only Manfred von Richthofen and René Fonck.This remarkable man's story—his personal courage, daring, and superior marksmanship—has been detailed in book...

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 ...

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.

This history of the Royal Flying Corps during the Battle of Somme offers a comprehensive firsthand look at WWI military aviation.During the summer and fall of 1916, high above the blood-soaked trenches of the Somme, the Royal Flying Corps was engaging in one of the first great aerial battles of history. Even in those pioneering days of aerial warfare, primitive aircraft and the brave men who flew them were proving vital. Before the battle, photographic reconnaissanc...

From yesteryear's flying aces to today's top guns...Veteran anthologist Jon E. Lewis has assembled firsthand accounts from all the great military campaigns of aerial warfare, including World Wars I and II, the Spanish Civil War, Korea, Vietnam, the Falklands, the Gulf, and Bosnia. Page after exciting page of this singular collection brings into vivid play the exploits of such legendary pilots as Manfred von Richtofen, Eddie Rickenbacker, Douglas Bader, and...

One of the best first-hand accounts of air combat in World War I, by an American “ace of aces.” Eddie Rickenbacker had an extraordinary career: inventor, race car driver, fighter ace, Medal of Honor winner, and finally president of Eastern Air Lines. In this book he recounts how he achieved 26 confirmed kills in less than a year of combat on the Western Front, rising from the ranks to lead the famed “Hat-in-the-Ring” squadron. Early pilots had to contend with primitive engines, unreliable ...

A Nazi Germany fighter pilot gives readers a bird's-eye view from the cockpit of aerial combat against the Allied forces in World War II.Within weeks of war being declared, Wolfgang Fischer had volunteered to join the Luftwaffe and spent nearly five of the succeeding six years of hostilities in uniform. During this time he was given a succession of postings varying from a long-range recce unit; as a decoder in a met office in occupied France; to a bomber squadron; a...

At the age of 95, Bill Malins still remembers growing up on an Oxfordshire farm in the 1920s, where he would help with the haymaking, steer a horse-drawn harrow, milk a cow and ride sheep for entertainment. Amid the happiness there were moments of tragedy. There was the loss of his baby sister to peritonitis when Bill was seven years old. A couple of years later he had to stand by as the farm was burned to the ground, taking it with his favourite horse and dog.Bill would cycle each...

The heroic life of the pilot who became an ace with one of the most successful fighter squadrons in the RAF and a captive in a notorious Nazi POW camp.Following training, Lee received his commission and was posted to 501 Squadron which was sent to support the Expeditionary Force in France, arriving on 10 May, only hours after the Blitzkrieg had been launched. Lee quickly opened his score, claiming several bombers during the first week of operations. Having been woun...