The French Air Force in the First World War : rare photographs from wartime archives / Ian Sumner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sumner, Ian, author.

Series:

Images of war.

Images of War

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Airplanes, Military--History.

World War, 1914-1918--Aerial operations.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (157 pages) : illustrations, photographs.

Place of Publication:

Barnsley, [England] : Pen & Sword Aviation, 2018.

Summary:

The French air force of the First World War developed as fast as the British and German air forces, yet its history, and the enormous contribution it made to the eventual French victory, is often forgotten. So Ian Sumner's photographic history, which features almost 200 images, most of which have not been published before, is a fascinating and timely introduction to the subject. The fighter pilots, who usually dominate perceptions of the war in the air, play a leading role in the story, in particular the French aces, the small group of outstanding airmen whose exploits captured the publics imagination. Their fame, though, tends to distract attention from the ordinary unremembered airmen who formed the body of the air force throughout the war years. Ian Sumner tells their story too, as well as describing in a sequence of memorable photographs the less well-known branches of the service the bomber and reconnaissance pilots and the variety of primitive warplanes they flew.

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (EBC, viewed February 9, 2018).

ISBN:

9781526701824

1526701820

9781526701817

1526701812

9781526701800

1526701804