Product Description: The daring air aces of World War I faced more than the enemy when they took to the sky—they faced the odds. Their chances of being hit were high; the odds of their hitting the enemy were low. One pilot, French Captain Albert Moris, reported 400 hits to his aircraft in his 253 hours of flying, more than a hit per hour.
Even the most maneuverable of the British fighters, the Sopwith Camel, lost as many machines as its pilots shot down. Pilots flying Camels rang up 1,294 victories, but 1,500 machines were lost to accidents and enemy fire, and many Camel pilots died within weeks of entering combat.
Was it luck or skill that sustained the Red Baron, the German ace who flew, fought, and thrived until he was finally shot down in April 1918? Gunning for the Red Baron gives the lowdown on why it was so hard to score a hit, what qualities helped the aces succeed, and the weapons and planes that were celebrated in the "air war to end wars." Most basically, this richly illustrated book explains why aim was so notoriously bad.
Technical Review of WW1 Air Combat I like Bennett's overview discussing the intricacies of WW1 air combat. This book and his other, Three Wings For the Red Baron, focus on the technical issues and challenges of early air combat.
This is the kind of information you won't find most anywhere else. What were the specific flight characteristics a machine had that gave its pilot the critical edge during a one on one dogfight? How important was it to have a plane that could turn a tighter circle than his opponent? Why did dogfights tend to loose altitude as the opponents struggled to attain the desired position of above and behind your opponent?
But the detail goes even deeper than that. Bennett will discuss the actual guns that were used and the mechanical workings of the gun's machinery. What actually caused guns to jam? Was the Lewis or the Vickers more prone to jamming and did they tend to jam at altitude or closer to sea level? The belt that fed the Vickers ammo was made of a natural non metallic material, leather? cotton? you will know if you read Bennett's book!
Lots of talk about air speed, drag, climb, maneuverability, visibility and how combat airplane designers struggled to squeeze out those desirable attributes while minimizing the undesirable. No fighter scout could do it all and it was a question of trade offs and compromise to design the ideal killing machine, the end result often being debatable among the pilots themselves as to which plane had the best combination of attributes vs handicaps.
In the early days of air combat there was no such thing as a dependable motor. After reading Bennett's story of the rotary engine you will understand why they were so temperamental and prone to mid flight failure. You will enter the world of valves, compression, castor oil and scorched cylinder walls.
The book's title is Gunning for the Red Baron and there is quite a bit of coverage about the problems of gunnery while firing at a moving target while both opponents were bouncing around the atmosphere. The problem of accurate shooting at a distance of more than 50 or so yards is big topic, as well as a huge problem for the combatants themselves. Gunsights, tracers, and deflection shooting of both the rear gunners and single pilot scouts aiming through the prop is given a lot of attention.
So, this is a taste of what Bennett's book is. I would recommend it for those of us with a deep interest in WW1 combat. Reading Bennett's book is like being entertained by a fellow enthusiast who really knows his stuff. If you are looking for a light read recounting the adventures of the individual pilots of early air combat and their extraordinary exploits, then this is not the book for you. If the deep subtleness of the war these pilots fought and the day to day issues they struggled with as they climbed into those primitive killing machines would intrigue you, then Gunning for the Red Baron will be a rich fountain of information that would be hard to find elsewhere.
A Very Technical Analysis of WWI Air Combat! Anyone interested in a detailed, technical analysis of the mechanics of World War I air warfare will want to peruse this book from Texas A&M University Press. Loaded with endless charts and graphs along with period and contemporary photos, the book examines aircrew, weapons, gunsights, aircraft, engines and tactics related to the science of shooting down airplanes in WWI. It will probably delight the nuts-and-bolts crowd; others will find it a tough slog.
To give him his due, Bennett did a wonderful job of research, uncovering rare and informative documents. He also created many, useful illustrations for the book.
As interested as I am in air warfare however, I still found the presentation of all that technical information too much of a good thing. I got through the book but have to admit I skimmed through some sections.
Too much theory, not enough action for my taste.
Another Unique study of WWI air Warfare by Bennett Those of you that have read Leon Bennett's "Three Wings for the Red Baron" already are aware of his excellent abilities to analyze early air combat in new and informative ways. A master of the technological implications of design, which is no surprise since he is an aeronautical engineer, Bennett offers fresh ideas and some really amazing insights into a field that is dominated primarily by uninterpreted data and anecdotal explanations.
If you are a WWI air combat buff-this and the "THree Wings..." titles are a very necessary addition to your library.
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