The kings of the air : French aces and airmen of the Great War

300 Pages·2015·8.68 MB·English

by  Sumner

First published in Great Britain in 2015 by
PEN AND SWoRD AVIATIoN
an imprint of
Pen and Sword Books Ltd
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Barnsley
South Yorkshire S70 2AS
Copyright © Ian Sumner, 2015
ISBN 978 1 78346 338 1
eISBN 9781473857339
The right of Ian Sumner to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance
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Contents
Maps
Introduction and Acknowledgements
Chapter 1 ‘Masters of the World’
Chapter 2 ‘A Full Apprenticeship’ – 1914–15
Chapter 3 ‘Sweep the Skies Clean’ – Verdun and the Somme
Chapter 4 ‘Kill or Be Killed’ – 1917
Chapter 5 ‘Masters of the Air’ – 1918
Appendix 1 Equivalent French and British Ranks
Appendix 2 Leading Fighter Aces and Squadrons
Appendix 3 Squadron Prefixes
Bibliography
Maps
Map 1. Airfields of Verdun, 1916
Map 2. Airfields of the Somme, 1916

Map 1. Airfields of Verdun, 1916

Map 2. Airfields of the Somme, 1916
Introduction and Acknowledgements
When man first took to the air in powered flight in 1903, soldiers and politicians
were quick to recognize the military potential of the new technology. Over the
next decade aircraft developed rapidly in power and speed, while armies faced
the challenge of creating an aviation service, positioning it within the existing
chain of command and evolving a doctrine to govern its use. None of these
issues had been resolved on the outbreak of war, but over the next four years
French aircraft progressed to become a weapon integral to the ultimate allied
victory, laying the groundwork for operational developments such as fighters,
strategic bombing and photo-reconnaissance, which later became standard in the
Second World War.
So novel was the experience of flight that many airmen still regarded their
new surroundings with awe: ‘This sea of white really is a beautiful sight,’ mused
Charles Delacommune (C66). ‘It’s idyllic, seductive, hypnotic. But don’t linger.
Like the treacherous oceans, it too claims its victims, trapping them in an instant
in a cage of frosted glass. The light is worse than night. Hazy, bleached of all
colour … it burns the staring eyes. The engine drones dull and distant. The
mountings wail mournfully. It’s like a descent into the void, destined for
death…. In the world of the clouds you have no desire to violate nature.
Discovering perfection, you are gripped by the same feelings of reverence as the
explorer who penetrates the mysterious virgin forests or the lonely desert sands.’
The war saw an enormous increase in the numbers of men taking to the
skies. By August 1914 only 487 officers and other ranks had gained their
military wings; by November 1918 some 16,546 pilots had qualified – the last of
them, Adrien Valière, on 11 November. In 1914 some 134 trainees passed