Osprey Aviation Pioneers 5 : Allied Aviation of World War I : A Pictorial History of Allied Aviators and Aircraft of the Great War

Hugh Cowin unearths some real gems from his photographic collection, while at the same time including every aircraft type to see action in WWI. This unique photohistory illustrates and analyses every single aircraft type including reconnaissance, trainer, bomber, and fighter aircraft of World War I. British fighter ace Captain Albert Ball and the US's pilot/designer Chance M. Vought stand alongside the lesser-known but equally fascinating characters such as the Russian Navy aviator Major Alexander de Seversky. Why were the French so eager to fit guns to their aircraft from the beginning of the conflict? How did a flimsy Royal Naval Air Service single seater bring low the mighty Zeppelin fleet within a few short weeks? Why did the first large bombers come from Italy and Russia? Why did the Americans rely upon British, French and Italian designs, rather than develop their own? All of these questions and more are answered in the author's usual, jargon-free language.

Contents

• Introduction
• The French in the Vanguard
• From Reconaissance to Fighter Plane
• The British Catch Up
• Countering the Fokker Scourge
• Bombers from an Unlikely Source
• The American Contribution
• Promises in Prospect