This is the seventh book in the 'Legends of Aviation' series and the first I have seen since #2. It is in the 9x12 softbound format and consists of 72 pages on high quality, glossy paper. This one is English through and through and while there are some rather odd uses of syntax, it is quite minor. One thing that is different from the earlier volume is that there are no decals, but since there are not all that may kits of most Pfalz aircraft, this is not an issue.

Many may not realize that Germany in WWI was still not a totally unified country. Much of the country was Prussian, but there were also Bavarians and both provided their own armies and had their own air corps. Pfalz was the only major aviation company in Bavaria and so its aircraft were frequently sent to Baviarian fighter units. The company started by license building Morane-Saulnier aircraft and that was pretty well what the Pfalz A and E series of planes were based on. In fact, after the war, they were presented with a bill of such scope (something like 18 million in gold, payable immediately) as to effectively bankrupt the company and Pfalz ceased to exist.

The first section of the book covers the various types that were built by Pfalz and that includes the A and E series of monoplanes. Pfalz fighters were generally considered to be good planes, but often treated as second best to other types that were available. Yet that did not stop many pilots from racking up a good score against the best the Entente had to throw at them. The second section of the book concentrates on the aircraft in action in various units. This is where we get most of the pilot stories and other feats. As many units had more than one type of aircraft assigned, it is to the author's credit that he states it was sometimes difficult to know which aircraft was actually used in a combat when there is no clear historical reference. The type was also used by Turkey and Austria-Hungary, though not in the levels as were present on the Western Front. Post war, several were still in use in various countries and several also have survived.

A real treat are a dozen pages of drawings taken directly from the factory as published in Flight Magazine during 1919. These give a look at how the aircraft was put together as well as several of the systems. I found it interesting that the control stick had two handles in an inverted V form and one side was the throttle, which worked exactly like those on today's motorcycles. We also get a goodly number of full color four views of various aircraft. The usual number of appendices is also included that provide performance stats, Pfalz aces and the like.

Overall, I was quite impressed with the depth of the book and the research that went into it. It is a super book that the WWI aviation fan really must add to his reference library.

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