Recommended Reference

bastable9 · 3 April 2008, 11:50 PM

I enjoy reading biographies and memoirs, but I would like to have a good reference work about WWI aircraft as a companion book. What would best suit my purpose (and it doesn't matter if it is out-of-print...I will track it down) ? Thanks !

tcrean7828 · 4 April 2008, 05:31 AM

Mate,
Welcome to the flagship of the Aerodrome - where the greatest minds on the planet get together and talk about their favorite subject - WW1.

ttfn

tcrean7828

tom

P.S.

Werner Voss fan here.

Taz · 4 April 2008, 08:16 AM

9- Somewhat out of date, but probably Thetford and Gray's German Aircraft of the First World War. Woefully in need of a replacement, which a few of us are trying to remedy with a three volume set.

Welcome to the Forum.

Taz
Terry Phillips

TomVrille · 4 April 2008, 08:07 PM

If you are looking for a first reference, Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War 1 contains overviews of a number of aircraft of different nations. The discussions are somewhat superficial, but the book has the merit of being readily available and inexpensive. If you want a bit more detailed information, you might consider one of the out-of-print Harleyford publications such as Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War.

Patrick · 4 April 2008, 08:58 PM

There is no single volume that is all-encompassing. A good starter set would be:

German Aircraft of the First World War by Gray & Thetford

British Aeroplanes 1914-18 by JM Bruce

French Aircraft Of The First World War by Davilla and Soltan

These are about as good as it currently gets for all-in-one histories. If you want to branch out a little further, get:

Imperial Russian Air Service: Famous Pilots and Aircraft of World War I by Durkota, Darcey and Kulikov

Austro-Hungarian Army Aircraft of World War I by Grosz, Haddow and Schiemer

And for a deep-dive into some specialized models:

The German Giants by Haddow and Grosz

Schlachtflieger! by Duiven and Abbott

And on and on and on . . . how much do you want to know about what? It's a very big topic

'14-'18aviationcollector · 4 April 2008, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taz

9- Somewhat out of date, but probably Thetford and Gray's German Aircraft of the First World War. Woefully in need of a replacement, which a few of us are trying to remedy with a three volume set.

Welcome to the Forum.

Taz
Terry Phillips

G'day Taz,

I have quite a few photos of First World War German aeroplanes, probably 400 or so I would guess. Would you like copies of some of them for your upcoming three volume set?

Cheers,

David.

Varese2002 · 6 April 2008, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taz

9- Somewhat out of date, but probably Thetford and Gray's German Aircraft of the First World War. Woefully in need of a replacement, which a few of us are trying to remedy with a three volume set.

-----

Taz
Terry Phillips

Hi Taz

I heard already in another thread that you and a few others have started with the olympian target of describing the german aircraft of the first world war, maybe in a multi volume set. Are you making progress ?

Cheers

Kees

Taz · 6 April 2008, 03:28 PM

David- We would love to have access to what sounds like an awesome collection. I would be more than willing to exchange photos from my modest collection for you to enjoy, as well. Whenever I use another person's images, they always are fully credited.

Kees- We now have Lilian Grosz' permission to use Peter's text from his books for a large portion of the volumes, and the "Rare Birds" articles in OTF are filling in some of the blanks. Peter intended to do such a book before he became ill, and had just started digitizing his collection. We could really use some help on obscure German aircraft from WW-I, and experts like you and others in Breguet's threads would be huge help. This will definitely be a group effort, since nobody except Peter could possibly have pulled it off alone.

There is a relatively large number of books coming out of Germany lately, including monographs on Junkers, Friedrichshafen, Rumpler, and Fokker aircraft types which are a great help. There are errors in those books, however, and the information needs to be cross-checked carefully. Often it is all we have, however.

Taz
Terry Phillips

bastable9 · 14 May 2008, 12:38 AM

Thanks to all for the replies...they were very helpful !

Kirk R. Lowry · 14 May 2008, 05:49 AM

Re-bonjour Bastable9!

I still refer to Aircraft of World War I written by Kenneth Munson and published by IAN ALLEN originally in 1967 and in a second edition in 1977 (and perhaps subsequently as well). In a small format with 175 pages the book is not large, but easy to keep at hand and is, essentially, accurate. The book features a useful Introduction and is divided into the following sections; Major Types, Minor Types, Other Types.

The development and service history of the Major Types are each allocated a page which includes a photograph and specifications. The aircraft of all of the powers are included ... a most compact but comprehensive tome! Providing a reasonable price is paid the book would be worthwhile of investment.

Certainly a book of a greater scope incorporating plan views and recently determined facts is needed, but, we continue to wait for that volume to be published ...

Salut!
Kirk