Under the Guns series

[leo]

When I was ih theKrankenhaus, friends brought me two interestin books. "Under the Guns of The Red Baron" and " Under the Guns of the Kaiser's Aces'. Are there any such books or any of the Allied Aces? I may have posted this under the wrong heading. If so, I aplogize.

[Germanophile-1]

To the best of my knowledge, those two books are the only ones in the series.

Peter

[Gregvan]

Hi,

Actually, there's one more in this series. The three are:

"Under the Guns of the Red Baron", by Giblin, McCrery and Franks - 1995.

"Under the Guns of the German Aces," by Giblin and Franks, 1997 (covering Immelmann, Voss, Goering and Lothar von R)

"Under the Guns of the Kaiser's Aces," by Giblin and Franks, 2003 (covering Erwin Boehme, Max von Müller, Kurt Wolff and von Tutschek).

There are no comparable books done on Allied Aces, though in the aces series from Grub Street (starting with "Above the Trenches," etc.) the authors do often attempt to identify, or at least narrow down, the victims of many of the aces they describe - though the books just identify the plane's serial number and sometimes the crew relating to a specific victory, with no details about them.

Norman Franks wrote a very good book called "Who Downed the Aces in WWI?" (Grub Street, 1996), in which he identified the circumstances in the shooting down of aces on both sides, with opponents identified when possible.

It's a sad fact that "the Red Baron" and German aces such as Goering and Voss are more attractive, and well-known, to the people who make up the enthusiast market. Of course, I'm one who benefits from that interest; the writers started off with a good-selling book on "The Red Baron's" victories, then decided to follow it up with some more. Plus, it's often easier to identify the British 'victims' of German fighter pilots than vice-versa, for a whole variety of reasons. I would love to see a book called "Under the Guns of Billy Bishop," though.

[Germanophile-1]

Originally Posted by Gregvan

Actually, there's one more in this series. The three are:

"Under the Guns of the Red Baron", by Giblin, McCrery and Franks - 1995.

"Under the Guns of the German Aces," by Giblin and Franks, 1997 (covering Immelmann, Voss, Goering and Lothar von R)

"Under the Guns of the Kaiser's Aces," by Giblin and Franks, 2003 (covering Erwin Boehme, Max von Müller, Kurt Wolff and von Tutschek).

Thanks, Greg. I stand corrected. And, as you note, they are very fine works.

Peter

[Tim West]

I didnt know there were more. I have the MvR book and it's a wonderful chronicle of his tallies and the men behind them. Lots of info in a compact format. And I got it used for 6 bucks

[Alien]

Originally Posted by Tim West

I didnt know there were more. I have the MvR book and it's a wonderful chronicle of his tallies and the men behind them. Lots of info in a compact format. And I got it used for 6 bucks

Although all three books are good the MvR book is, in my opinion, the best because we have all his combat reports. The lesser lights (compared to MvR, who isn't?) didn't have as complete documentation saved so there isn't as much detail available.

[Tim West]

Originally Posted by Alien

Although all three books are good the MvR book is, in my opinion, the best because we have all his combat reports. The lesser lights (compared to MvR, who isn't?) didn't have as complete documentation saved so there isn't as much detail available.

Good point about the volume of information on MvR available compared to other pilots. The other books still sound good. One never knows what will show up at my local used book store.

[Barrett]

Originally Posted by Gregvan

Hi,

I would love to see a book called "Under the Guns of Billy Bishop," though.

A short book no doubt!
And whatever became of Al Lowe?

[R Gannon]

Leo

Of course the perennial problem with any attempt at an 'Under the Guns' of an Allied ace is the, by comparison, the poor visibilty we have in regards German combat downings, as compared to Allied combat downings (in particular British & US downings). It is a far more simpler matter of matching Allied losses to German claims, than German downings to Allied claims. And that said, one also has to be wary that there is not a little 'robbing Peter to pay Paul' in the many printed efforts of matching Allied losses to German claims.

Cheers Russ

PS - I think an objective 'Under the Guns of Schliech' would also be small volume, whilst an 'Under the guns of Jacobs' but half a volume.

[SkippedOnce]

Originally Posted by R Gannon

PS - I think an objective 'Under the Guns of Schliech' would also be small volume, whilst an 'Under the guns of Jacobs' but half a volume.

True, by neither of those two are vying for the title of 'Ace of Aces' for Germany, unlike Bishop for the British, Dominion and Empire.