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Book Title: Aircraft of World War 1 1914-1918
Author: Jack Herris & Bob Pearson ISBN: 978-1-906626-66-2
Category: Reference
Format: Hardback
Summary: This book is 192 pages including the index. The book starts with "The opening moves" and each chapter then gives an overview of the war from 1914 to the end of hostilites, each chapter takes a section of the war in the air and gives us a strategic view.
The chapters are 1 Opening moves, 2 Air War turns Deadly, 3 Strategic bombing, Maritime Aviation, 5 The Eastern Front, 6 The Italian Front, 7 The Middle East 8 Air combat comes of Age.
Each chapter as well as the course of the war does give a bit more information about various raids and actions, all at a strategic view.
The book has a lot of tables and charts giving the orgainisation of the various combatants again all upper level. If you are looking for Sqn or Jasta Markings or organisations, then this is not the book.
If you want to know how many bombs were dropped in a month, or that the Italian Airforce in 1914 was organised as x and that Gruppo 2 consisted of Sqn 6, 7 & 8 in Neiuports this book is ok. There are charts of Highest Aces, Number of unarmed Aircraft, The full organisation of various nations airforces, how many aircraft were in the French Airfoce in 1917 but all at the high level . There are a couple of Squadron diagrams, A Schlasta of CL2 & 104 Sqn Independant Force, which ilustrates some lower formations , but these are not many.
The chapters are well wrtten and the sections on Anti submarine, Strategic Bombing are informative.
Where this book is really impressive is that nearly every page has a full coloured side view drawing of a WW1 aircraft.
The pictures are superb , although the Fokker & Albatros's do look a bit squashed to me. There are Monoplanes, Balloons, Bi-planes, Triplanes , my favourite Armstrong Whitworth FK10 four wings, Seaplanes, Heavy bombers, Light bombers, Pushers, Recce planes, nearly every aircraft imaginable in various colour schemes, not one is repeated. Each aricraft has at least one picture, with some having a number all different The only down side on the drawings is that all are side views so no top wing coloured drawings.
The drawings will keep most of the forum readers with new projects for quite a while, I myself want the above mentioned FK10, even though it did not see action.
So all in all well worth a look at if you are a WW1 buff..
To recap, if you want Sqn marking & organisations, then no dont look here.
If you want to see coloured drawings of almost every aircraft in the Great War, including Seaplanes, Fighters, Bombers, Zepps & balloons then take a look.
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