EARLY GERMAN ACES OF WORLD WAR 1 (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No 73)

Greg VanWyngarden

The Fokker Eindecker (monoplane) started the true age of fighter aviation. With the development of its revolutionary synchronized machine gun system, the Eindecker caused consternation in the ranks of Allied airmen as its pilots began to reap a grim harvest of victims in 1915. The exploits of aces like Max Immelmann and Oswald Boelke became legendary on both sides of the front, and they received the adulation of the German public, along with such honors as the first awards to airmen of the Orden Pour le Merite (the "Blue Max"). These men created the first tactics and principles of German fighter aviation. By the final months of 1916, the monoplanes had been replaced by the next generation of biplane fighters from Fokker and Halberstadt, flying together in new fighter formation--the Jagdstaffeln. This book charts the successses of the 'lone hunters' of 1915 until their eventual replacement. 96 pages.

*Comprehensive histories of the elite fighter pilots, and the aircraft they flew

*A unique source of information researched by recognized experts, and brought to life by first-hand accounts from the combat veterans themselves

*Concise, authoritative text is supported by at least 30 specially commissioned original color profiles, scale drawings, and the best archival photography from around the world.