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Book Title: Naval Aces of World War 1 - Part 1
Author: Jon Guttman
ISBN: 978 1 84908 345 4
Category: Reference
Format: Paperback
Summary: I think the best thing about this book are the 29 side profiles and 7 top-down colour plates, including Nieuport 11s, Pups, Triplanes, 1 ˝ Strutters, Camels, DH4s etc. They really bring the book alive, along with the interesting B&W photos of planes and the pilots who are discussed in the written text. All the naval aces covered in this Part 1 of “Naval Aces” flew for the British Royal Naval Air Service and include pilots from Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Australia etc as well as American volunteers.
Many famous flyers are followed but for me the text was not all that interesting, often descending into little more than a list of pilots who downed enemy planes on particular days. I fully realize that the information is drawn on what is available from squadron records and so on, but unfortunately I found that a lot of it wasn't all that stimulating. I admit that I struggled with it and it took me longer to read than it should have. There a few gems there of personal stories if you look, but the prize is definitely in the illustrations.
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