This book follows the format of the other titles in the “Aces” series:  It is well written, has a lot of photos, and nice color profiles.

 I was impressed with the book’s completeness.  I ordered the book, in part, because I was thinking I could do a series of SPAD 13 aircraft as a “collection” for an upcoming contest.  I figured the book with have all the famous (and not-so-famous) aces from the American volunteer squadrons, as well as those from the American squadrons after the US entered the war.  The book had these, and a lot more, as I discovered.

 The book has seven chapters:    

1.   War and Adventure

2.    The Race for Air Superiority

3.    Americans Flying With the French

4.    Americans Flying With the British

5.    The Sopwith Camel Aces

6.    American Aces in the US Air Service

7.    Other American Aces

 The first chapter is just a couple of pages, describing the air war in WW1.   The second chapter gives an overview of the aircraft types flown by the pilots in the following chapters, including Nieuports, SPADs, Sopwiths, Bristols, and the S.E.5 series.   

 I never knew that so many Americans flew Sopwith Camels.  The book details pilots that served with British squadrons in France and Italy, as well as pilots in American Squadrons attached to the RAF. 

 The book is about the pilots first, and the planes second.  The last four chapters are the largest, and are about Americans that flew the aircraft, and their war experiences.  The book is illustrated with a lot of pictures of the men and their aircraft, obviously all in black and white. 

There are 12 pages of color profiles in the center of the book.  There are three aircraft shown per page.  Aircraft shown are:  Nieuport 11, Nieuport 17, SPAD 7, SPAD 13, SE5 and SE5a, Sopwith Dolphin, Sopwith Camel, and the Nieuport 28.

This book is highly recommended.   This is an excellent reference, especially if you’re looking to model aircraft of lesser-known pilots.  There are a number of good World War One kits of the applicable aircraft available, and a number of aftermarket decal sheets as well.  It lives up to the standards set in the earlier volumes in the series!

Review courtesy of me and my wallet.

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