Much of what has been written about the air war during WWI concentrates on the last year or two of the war. Not surprising as that is very much a time when air to air combat came to prominence. There were more planes in the air during those years and these were the planes that draw the most interest. Albatros D.III, Sopwith Camel, Spad XIII, Fokker D.VII and others of that time are what will most come to mind.

But all these planes had to have a starting place. and so it was during late 1915. Prior to this time, the main purpose of aircraft was reconnaissance and scouting. Most planes were two seat aircraft with a pilot and an observer. They were to fly over the trenches to see where things were and to take photos. Sometimes they were also use to spot for artillery. Meetings between opposing sides were accidental at best and little effort was used to disrupt the other's mission. Of course, not all felt that way and slowly each side sent aircraft in the air with the purpose of shooting down the other's recce birds and preventing them from gaining the sort of intelligence they sought.

From all of this evolved the single engine pursuit plane, whose lone purpose was to shoot down other planes. The first really successful aircraft of this type was the Fokker Eindekker. This was a monoplane that used wing warping to help turn the plane. What it had that others did not was a successful interrupter gear that allowed a centrally mounted machine gun to fire straight ahead without shooting off the prop. Before this, the French had installed steel wedges on the prop to deflect the bullet, though this wasn't the best way to do things.

Thanks to this piece of technology, all the pilot had to do was to point the plane and shoot. Thus began what was known as the 'Fokker Scourge'. It made household names of people like Immelmann and Boelke. However, such was the pace of aviation technology that what was the best became the second-best in but a few months. This was due to the development of the Nieuport 11 'Bebe' followed by the more powerful Nieuport 16. Here was a small sequiplane that was light and maneuverable. Though without the interrupter gear and having to mount their Lewis gun atop the wing to prevent shooting off the prop, the Nieuport allowed French and British pilots to outmaneuver and out-run the Fokker Eindekkers. Soon the tables had turned and the Scourge was quickly no more. Of course, this only lasted until the Albatros scouts showed up a few months later, but that is outside the scope of this book.

Typical of the series, we get a full background of the tactical and strategic situation of the time period. We also look at the development of the two aircraft and how these planes changed the way tactics were developed for what was basically a new type of aircraft. It also covers the operational use of these planes as well as some of the luminaries associated with each type. We get to see which pilots on each side were most successful against the other's aircraft. Thanks to the superiority of the Nieuport, more Bebe pilots scored against Eindekkers than the other way around. Interestingly, the battles against each other are quite minimal as most pilots of the time scored against the slower two seat planes. All of this is enhanced by some great period photos as well as some superbly done artwork.

An excellent book that tells a story not often heard. It makes for a great read and reference. Highly recommended for the WWI buff and aviation enthusiast.

June 2014

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