My War in the Air 1916 (Paperback)
Memoirs of a Great War Pilot
Imprint: Pen & Sword Military
Series: Eyewitnesses from The Great War
Pages: 152
ISBN: 9781399023818
Published: 3rd October 2023
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Originally published under the title An Airman's Outing, this magnificent title chronicles the daily life of the Flying Officer during the Great War. Touchingly dedicated to 'The Fallen of Umpty Squadron R.F.C.', Bott chronicles the lives and losses of his squadron as they carried out their duties over France in 1916. A modest and unflinching account of Great War aviation, Bott neither aggrandises nor dismisses any achievement of his crack squadron. A squadron that suffered so heavily, holding the record for casualties sustained by any flying squadron during three months, from the beginning of the war to the end of 1916 - a testament to the bravery and determination of the men who continued to serve within it.
Tinged by this sadness, My War in the Air 1916 still conveys the aspirations of the British Royal Flying Corps in their early days, and the hope its many flying aces placed in the establishment, as a powerful tool to defend and protect. As W. S. Brancker states inside, 'War has been the making of aviation; let us hope that aviation will be the destruction of war.
The reader gets a piece of history unavailable anywhere else with an intimate, personal look inside the life of an unknown two-seater pilot from a century-old war. And that makes it priceless.
Indy Squadron Dispatch
Read the full review here
Bott, a World War I pilot who served with the British Royal Garrison Artillery
Protoview
and Royal Flying Corps (RFC), describes the daily experiences of his RFC
squadron in France in 1916, from flying to France to their tasks doing long
reconnaissance, as offensive patrols around German air country, as escorts for
bombing craft, and in photography.
Alan Bott's first volume of wartime memories is a good and interesting read.
Over the Front
About Capt Alan Bott MC
Captain Alan John Bott was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories as a pilot and a further three victories during his time as an observer in 1916. Bott first served with the Royal Garrison Artillery before transferring to the Royal Flying Corps. He flew as an observer/gunner in the rear seat of a Sopwith from early 1916. On one flight, he slapped out an in-flight
fire with his gloves and was awarded his Military Cross partly for this action.
After the war he also helped to found the famous Pan Books Imprint in 1944, eight years before his death in 1952, where ended the life of a truly extraordinary man and a heroic pilot.