Nothing like a war to spur on equipment innovations and one of the outcomes of WWI was the rapid development of the airplane as a useful weapon of war. Osprey's Duel #20 covers two of the world's more famous WWI protagonists, the British SE.5a and the Albatros D.V.

The book clearly states that of the two, the SE.5a was a superior aircraft in almost all regards as it had ruggedness to be able to dive and it had good speed and handling. While the Albatros D. III/V was no slouch in speed or maneuverability, it had a single spar lower wing that was prone to breaking if over stressed; such as in combat or high speed dives.

Yet the strategic situation in WWI was such that even with those attributes, the Germans were at an advantage. German pilots rarely strayed over the front lines, preferring the Entente power to come to them to fight, which they did. The Germans also had the wind on their side as it most often blew out of the west, meaning the British and others had to fly into a head wind to get back home, making them somewhat easier prey if damaged or out of ammunition. One also has to add into this mix that for the most part, the Germans had better flying tactics than others. Most of the tactical innovations in air to air fighting are a result of what the Germans discovered. 

In addition to having a generally superior aircraft, the British also had the advantage of only having to learn about the flying characteristics of a few planes. During the time of this book, the majority of fighters flown by the Germans were Albatros of some sort. Mostly D.III, D.IIIa and D.V aircraft with a few Pfalz D.IIIs and Fokker Dr.Is in the mix. The Germans, on the other hand, could meet up with SE.5s, Sopwith Pups, Spad VII's, Nieuports of various types, Fe.2bs and at least a dozen other Entente fighters. So learning all their different plusses and minuses was quite a challenge.

Needless to say, the Germans did well for themselves during this time period often having a 3 to 1 or better success ratio.

In this book, as in all the Duel series, we get a look at the development of both aircraft, their specifications and how their pilots were trained. We also learn of some of the more famous pilots and their experiences flying the various types. 'I was there' stories and snippets from official squadron diaries give us some insight as to how well these folks did and the situations in which they often found themselves. Of course, we are also treated to a statistics section that shows how well each type did and how the success or not of these aircraft led to other types.

 As with others in this series, it has a nice selection of period illustrations in addition to excellent artwork and diagrams done specifically for this book. It is a first rate read and one that I most highly recommend.

December 2009

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