IMAGES OF WAR: THE FRENCH AIR FORCE IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR

Ian Summer

ISBN 10: 1526701790 / ISBN 13: 9781526701794

Published by Pen and Sword Military, 2018

About this Item

Softback, 156 pages Published Price £14.99 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.

Seller Inventory # 30023

Bibliographic Details

• Title: IMAGES OF WAR: THE FRENCH AIR FORCE IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR
• Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
• Publication Date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1526701790
• ISBN 13: 9781526701794
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New
• Seller catalogs:
  • History
  • Military History

About this title

Synopsis

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.

About the Author

Ian Sumner is a prolific writer and researcher who specializes in local and military history. He has made a particular study of the French army and air force during the First World War, his many books on the subject including The French Army 1914-18, French Poilu 1914-18, First Battle of the Marne 1914, They Shall Not Pass: The French Army on the Western Front 1914-1918, Kings of the Air: French Aces and Airmen of the Great War and The French Army at Verdun.