Joseph A. Phelan

Profusely illustrated with colour and b&w drawings. "(A) vivid pictorial presentation of (aerial) warfare from the first use of aircraft in war - Italian reconnaissance against the Ottoman Empire in 1912 - to the Armistice in 1918. In striking color the great individual battles of the aces come alive: Immelman, von Richthofen, Voss and Boelcke; Bishop, Collishaw, McCudden, Ball and Beauchamp-Proctor; Rickenbacker; Guynemer, Nungesser and Garros. And the dogfights and sorties; Bloody April and the Fokker Scourge; the Lafayette Escadrille, the Storks, the Flying Circuses; the bombing raids; the balloon busters. The trials of combat and endurance and the men and aero-planes that made it all possible, changing the world's thinking about the methods of war. J.A. Phelan has created more than 400 superb paintings and drawings - executed with the drama and the meticu-lous detail of the artist who takes delight in his subject - for this richly illustrated book. The various aircraft of the Allies and Central Powers are shown in detail (top and side views, camouflage, national markings and pilots' decorations, engines, armament and structure) and in combat as they were flown by the aces. This volume presents an unduplicated view of the 1914-1918 war in the air, when man first captured control of the sky in order to control the ground."… (more)