The Great Air War: The Men, the Planes, the Saga of Military Aviation: 1914-1918

xi, 558 pp. The Great Air War is the first comprehensive account of the battle fliers, their planes, and their vital role in World War I. Aerial combat in "the war to end war" was an utterly unprecedented new chapter in military annals. When the war began, the military potential of the flying machine was unfathomed. It had been only a decade since Orville Wright made history's first successful airplane flight. High-ranking officers in all countries dismissed the use of the plane for any purpose except possible reconnoitering. But as the war progressed, aviation technology boomed, the plane became a lethal weapon--and a new warrior breed was born. Colorful biographies of the top aces of each nation, and their victory scores, are a feature.