French Warbirds

[Jack Russell]

Hello people,

Is the book 'French Warbirds' by Claude W. Sykes serious aviation history and worth purchasing ? Thanks

Regards,
Jack

[TomVrille]

Hello Jack..
Let me begin by saying I do not have the book French Warbirds by Claud W. Sykes, but I do have what I believe to be the companion volume German Warbirds by Sykes, writing under the pen-name 'Vigilant'. This is a good read, and appears to be well-researched, considering that it was first released in 1931. My copy of German Warbirds includes an introduction by Norman Franks in which he notes that Sykes "..was among the better aviation writers of the period." Putting these points together, I would think that French Warbirds is probably a serious effort, and an entertaining read.

[Jack Russell]

Thanks for your help !

Regards,
Jack

[Gregvan]

Hi,

Yes, "French Warbirds" was also written by Claude W. Sykes (aka 'Vigilant'). Sykes wasn't only a writer, he translated several wonderful German books into English form, including Rudolf Stark's "Wings of War" and "Flying Section 17" and "Double-decker C.66" by Haupt Heydemarck. He was better than most "historians" writing in the 1930's.

"German Warbirds" still has its flaws and myths, but it is, as TomVrille says, a good read.

The same can be said for "French Warbirds". I have lent my copy out so I cannot refer to it, but it basically consists of anecdotal chapters about most of the better-known French fliers - Guynemer, Fonck, Garros, Navarre, one chapter on the Storks. He must have had access to some original French material somewhere, for he gives some information I haven't seen anywhere else. He does makes some mistakes, such as putting Nungesser in the "Storks" (he has a rather condescending attitude toward Nungesser, too), and the book - as we would expect - lacks much of the hard dates and detailed info we modern historians would like. But it is a good read for a lazy afternoon, and it was certainly well-intentioned.

Greg