Baldrick62
01-19-2012, 14:43
Submit a Book ReviewBook Title:
Fire in the Sky: The Australian Flying Corps in the First World War Author:
Michael Molkentin ISBN:
9781742370729 Category:
History Format:
Paperback Summary:
A comprehensive study of Australia's military efforts in the Air during WWI, from the Formation of the Central Flying School at Point Cook, through the Half-Flight in the ill-starred Mesopotamia campaign to the 'COMAO' tactics of 2 and 4 sqns AFC on the Western Front at the end of the war. Almost half the book is taken up with the exploits of 67RFC/1AFC in Palestine, with lots of first-hand quotations of what conditions were like. What would have made it the complete 'one stop shop' for the AFC would have been soem detail on 5-8(Training)Sqns AFC in England, so you need to go to 'ANZACS over England' for their story. The book is very much about AFC rather than Australian flying, so while 'Harry' Cobby and Frank McNamara VC are well 'name checked', Aussies flying for the RNAS/RFC like Robert Little and 'Jerry' Pentland barely rate a mention. It's an easy 404 pg read, and should appeal to those interested in the AFC, general WWI military aviation, and the more obscure theatres of the Middle East.
36937
Fire in the Sky: The Australian Flying Corps in the First World War Author:
Michael Molkentin ISBN:
9781742370729 Category:
History Format:
Paperback Summary:
A comprehensive study of Australia's military efforts in the Air during WWI, from the Formation of the Central Flying School at Point Cook, through the Half-Flight in the ill-starred Mesopotamia campaign to the 'COMAO' tactics of 2 and 4 sqns AFC on the Western Front at the end of the war. Almost half the book is taken up with the exploits of 67RFC/1AFC in Palestine, with lots of first-hand quotations of what conditions were like. What would have made it the complete 'one stop shop' for the AFC would have been soem detail on 5-8(Training)Sqns AFC in England, so you need to go to 'ANZACS over England' for their story. The book is very much about AFC rather than Australian flying, so while 'Harry' Cobby and Frank McNamara VC are well 'name checked', Aussies flying for the RNAS/RFC like Robert Little and 'Jerry' Pentland barely rate a mention. It's an easy 404 pg read, and should appeal to those interested in the AFC, general WWI military aviation, and the more obscure theatres of the Middle East.
36937