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The Airman's War, 1914-1918 (Hardback)

Aviation > Aircraft Aviation > Pilots Aviation > WWI WWI > By Year > 1914 WWI > By Year > 1915 WWI > By Year > 1916 WWI > By Year > 1917 WWI > By Year > 1918

By Matthew Richardson
Imprint: Pen & Sword Aviation
Pages: 216
Illustrations: 50 mono illustrations
ISBN: 9781036107499
Published: 6th March 2025

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The First World War was the first conflict in history to be fought in the air, as well as on land and at sea. Britain’s fledgling air arms, the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service, developed a methodology for aerial combat from scratch, devising tactics and improving weaponry as they went. From them, in 1918, the RAF was born. The first combat pilots were considered then, as now, to be heroes, untainted by the squalor of the war in the trenches. Yet no pilot could even take off, let alone score combat victories, without the support of mechanics, riggers, and armourers to name but a few of those on the ground. The Airman’s War examines the experiences of all British flying service personnel, from Air Mechanic to Squadron Commander, in rigid wing aircraft, balloons and airships, from air fields and from aircraft carriers. Using long forgotten personal accounts, it contrasts these experiences with those of the opposing air services, on the Western Front, in the defence of Britain, and in the Aegean and Mediterranean theatres. With evocative images, some never before published, it presents a commanding overview of a subject which continues to inspire fascination among each subsequent generation.

To cover the first air war from 1914-1918 in a single volume is a daunting proposition but in this highly readable account the author has succeeded. Whilst the theme throughout is the development of Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service that eventually blossomed into the Royal Air Force, the author has in large part done this through the prism of the individual. And what is most welcome, he captures the experiences of those on the ground too – ‘from Air Mechanic to Squadron Commander’ – as it says in the flyleaf. The eclectic selection of individuals, with experiences, and covering all fronts from France to Mesopotamia are often in their own words. It is delivered in a light style that is easily followed, and the text is accompanied by an excellent selection of photographs – mainly of the dramatis personae... a worthy effort that can be easily recommended.

Andrew Thomas - Author and Historian

Book review: The Airman's War 1914-1918

HistoryBookChat
 Matthew Richardson

About Matthew Richardson

Matthew Richardson is Curator of Social History at Manx National Heritage. He has a long-term interest in military history and has published several outstanding books on the subject including 1914: Voices from the Battlefields, The Hunger War: Food, Rations and Rationing 1914-1918 and Eyewitness on the Somme 1916. He also has a keen interest in the history of the Isle of Man TT and, in addition to producing several acclaimed exhibitions on this subject, worked with Dave Molyneux on The Racer’s Edge: Memoirs of an Isle of Man TT Legend.

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