RAF_Louvert

. "A Story for the Season" 1916: Christmas Eve at the Front. The War has dragged itself along on its steely, mud-caked claws for over two years, and the end seems no closer now than when it all began. At an RFC aerodrome not ten miles from the first line trenches, a group of airmen sit through the morning’s briefing, and prepare themselves for the day’s work. They are nearly all young men, at least in years. But with war comes age beyond a calendar’s mark, and one would find that each man is far older than first appearance would tell if a moment were taken to look into his eyes. As the meeting breaks the jovial banter can be heard amongst the group: the good-natured ribbing and warnings, the verbal jousting, the camaraderie and the closeness that bonds souls together in such tenuous and temporary times. Across the mud at a German aerodrome, a similar scene is being played out. The Jagdstaffel pilots there are also preparing themselves for the task at hand. To look at them, you might imagine they were schoolmates of their British counterparts, rather than enemies soon to be locked in mortal combat. For they too laugh and joke, and share that same bond. And they too are of the "old young". The hour is at hand. On each side the signal is given and the small, fast scout planes skim along the cold, icy ground, and one by one lift into a winter sky as grey as the earth below. They form up, and after climbing to their prescribed altitudes, they head towards No Man’s Land and on to do their best; for King and Country; für Kaiser und Vaterland. They meet, and there is the initial gun pass as each sizes up the other. A few moments later and the aerial battle begins in earnest. To those in the fight it is a mind-numbing blur of action that runs in both accelerated and slow motion simultaneously. A split second given to pull the trigger as a plane zips across the sights: an eternity spent to try and twist out of the path of the bullets. An entire lifetime won or lost in less than an eye blink. To those on the ground it appears as a graceful ballet of the sky, the canvas-feathered birds turning and rolling and climbing and diving. But it is a dance to the death more often than not, and it will end when one or more has fallen. And one has fallen. The long, slow, spiraling pirouette as the finale comes to the dance. The others have now tired and as if by mutual agreement or unseen signal the partners separate and turn away. The audience below does not understand how it can be over so quickly. They cannot see the fatigue and exhaustion of those in the air; cannot see their battered ships, or their bruised and aching bodies; or their tired, aging eyes. No, they can see none of these things, any more than the men in the air can see the pain or the agony endured by those who must fight on the ground. Each sees the other from afar, as through a glass darkly. It is an irony of war that in each case, either in the Sky or on the Earth, a man better understands and is more akin to the enemy he fights in his realm than to his own countrymen above or below. Christmas Eve at the Front. Night has fallen and the pilots sit about the dinner table at their respective aerodromes, and talk of flying and fighting, and of family and friends. Wishes of the Season are shared, letters from home are read. Songs of hope are sung and toasts are made to fellow flyers, and to mothers and sweethearts. At one of the tables an empty chair stands in remembrance of the comrade lost that day, and to whom the final toast is made. He will be missed, and to a loved one back home he will forever be a young man with bright, happy eyes; forever a photograph, a memory of a life that could have been. It matters not which side he fought for. He was a man, a part of human kind, and with his passing we are all the lesser for it. . May you have safe and blessed holidays wherever you are, and may we each remember the true message of this season: Peace on earth, good will toward men.

. (a quick cut-and-paste from my SimHQ post) Thanks for the concern folks and my apologies for not posting in a while. I've been on a WOFF sabbatical as I've been working on the house here, as well as taking care of my mom, (who turned 95 in April). Also been having fun with the grandkids; and have managed to sneak in a weekend getaway or two, or three. I hope all is well with everyone here and the summer is proving enjoyable, albeit hot. When fall rolls around I am planning to get back to the not-so-friendly skies of virtual 1914-1918. And Hellshade, that is some serious D&D right there! Cheers everyone, watch your six! .

. ATTENTION! His Majesty King George V hereby confers the following honour: A grateful people thank you for your service and loyalty. .

. ATTENTION! Le Ministre de la guerre, République Française, wishes to present an award to the following individual: The people of France thank you sincerely for your courageous actions. .

It's the end of the month gentlemen, time to post the statistics for your active pilots so that we at HQ can consider any awards that may be due. Please post your stats in the following format: rank, full name, awards presented by DiD CoC current unit assigned to current location current plane type number of missions flown number of hours number of victories number of claims Thanks and Cheers, and keep fighting the good fight everyone! Lou

No substitute for good advice Rick, and I agree with you. Don't slip kid, in particular if a bobby is about as then it would become a legal matter, and no matter how many friends you have you may not find one to bail you out even at a bargain price. Sunrise in jail is no fun, certainly not a place to relax, it only brings another tricky day and you won't be happy Jack until you're going mobile again, which could take a while. If you're lucky you'll be yelling "I'm Free" by 5:15 the next afternoon. (there's twelve of 'em in there) gawd, it's so sad about us, (now there's thirteen)

Oh I've no doubt that could be another valid explanation Jammer. Those disruptions in the space-time continuum would account for not only the errant German plane slipping in on your six unexpectedly and then just as quickly slipping back out, but also for the sudden appearance of a Romulan D'deridex class warbird. or a Klingon Bird-of-Prey. You start messing around with relativity and quantum mechanics and anything can happen really. 42

It's the only only way, It's the only trick to play; You're a Romulan, he's just a Pup, So it will be easy to blow him up. Now go on and do not quit 'Til you've disrupted every bit. If his canvas kite doesn't turn to flame, Well, that only means that your aim is lame. So keep him tight in your phaser's sight, It's the OOOOOOOOO-nly way!

Such mystery attacks have been going on for years in this sim, as attested to by one of my posts from years ago, the link to which is here: Mysterious Explosions "I tawt I taw a Romulan...I did, I did see a Romulan!" Trooper, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if the Klingons were involved as well. Can't trust either of them.

Bob, you've outdone yourself again, it is B-E-A-U-tiful! As Becker said, an absolute must have mod. Thanks for all the time and effort you've put into this gem Sir, it is very much appreciated.

. "A Story for the Season" 1916: Christmas Eve at the Front. The War has dragged itself along on its steely, mud-caked claws for over two years, and the end seems no closer now than when it all began. At an RFC aerodrome not ten miles from the first line trenches, a group of airmen sit through the morning’s briefing, and prepare themselves for the day’s work. They are nearly all young men, at least in years. But with war comes age beyond a calendar’s mark, and one would find that each man is far older than first appearance would tell if a moment were taken to look into his eyes. As the meeting breaks the jovial banter can be heard amongst the group: the good-natured ribbing and warnings, the verbal jousting, the camaraderie and the closeness that bonds souls together in such tenuous and temporary times. Across the mud at a German aerodrome, a similar scene is being played out. The Jagdstaffel pilots there are also preparing themselves for the task at hand. To look at them, you might imagine they were schoolmates of their British counterparts, rather than enemies soon to be locked in mortal combat. For they too laugh and joke, and share that same bond. And they too are of the "old young". The hour is at hand. On each side the signal is given and the small, fast scout planes skim along the cold, icy ground, and one by one lift into a winter sky as grey as the earth below. They form up, and after climbing to their prescribed altitudes, they head towards No Man’s Land and on to do their best; for King and Country; für Kaiser und Vaterland. They meet, and there is the initial gun pass as each sizes up the other. A few moments later and the aerial battle begins in earnest. To those in the fight it is a mind-numbing blur of action that runs in both accelerated and slow motion simultaneously. A split second given to pull the trigger as a plane zips across the sights: an eternity spent to try and twist out of the path of the bullets. An entire lifetime won or lost in less than an eye blink. To those on the ground it appears as a graceful ballet of the sky, the canvas-feathered birds turning and rolling and climbing and diving. But it is a dance to the death more often than not, and it will end when one or more has fallen. And one has fallen. The long, slow, spiraling pirouette as the finale comes to the dance. The others have now tired and as if by mutual agreement or unseen signal the partners separate and turn away. The audience below does not understand how it can be over so quickly. They cannot see the fatigue and exhaustion of those in the air; cannot see their battered ships, or their bruised and aching bodies; or their tired, aging eyes. No, they can see none of these things, any more than the men in the air can see the pain or the agony endured by those who must fight on the ground. Each sees the other from afar, as through a glass darkly. It is an irony of war that in each case, either in the Sky or on the Earth, a man better understands and is more akin to the enemy he fights in his realm than to his own countrymen above or below. Christmas Eve at the Front. Night has fallen and the pilots sit about the dinner table at their respective aerodromes, and talk of flying and fighting, and of family and friends. Wishes of the Season are shared, letters from home are read. Songs of hope are sung and toasts are made to fellow flyers, and to mothers and sweethearts. At one of the tables an empty chair stands in remembrance of the comrade lost that day, and to whom the final toast is made. He will be missed, and to a loved one back home he will forever be a young man with bright, happy eyes; forever a photograph, a memory of a life that could have been. It matters not which side he fought for. He was a man, a part of human kind, and with his passing we are all the lesser for it. . May you have safe and blessed holidays wherever you are, and may we each remember the true message of this season: Peace on earth, good will toward men.

Well done Baldric, congratulations on winning this killer event! PM me with the plane type you wish to have done up along with your ideas of what you would like to see on it. Thanks Rick for another super challenge, even if it was nearly impossible to survive it. And kudos to Harry as well for being the only other one to live to tell the tale.

I had time the last two days to actually do some flying and was getting in an assortment of fine sorties with my pilot here when it all came to a grinding halt this morning. So ends the life and times of the once devastatingly handsome and totally corrupt "Chuffs" Wellingham, his final curtain lowered in a snowy farmyard in France after a go-round with a gaggle of Pfalz scouts. He had a good, albeit short run as an RFC pilot. BHaH II is awesome - deadly - but awesome.

There is a third who could really put the hex on you, catch. Apologies again all for my absence in this wonderful comp. RL continues to deprive me the time for all things WOFF. Still, I live in hope of actually getting in a few sorties here.

Unfortunately RL has kept me away from the opening of the challenge and will continue to do so until this coming weekend from the looks of it. I will try to get caught up then on everyone's adventures as well as my own. Watch your six, folks!

See, cows ARE a threat.

Rather like that Norwegian Blue then, eh? We'll pass on, our pilots will be no more, they'll cease to be, they'll expire and go to meet their maker, they ... well, you get the picture. Also, Rick, I've updated your first post to include all the relevant naughty bits. And now I'm off to the Castle Anthrax to inquire about a grail and ... no, wait, different sketch. Sorry, as you were.

In addition to the above mentioned Cecil Lewis work, a few of my other personal favorites, in no particular order, are: "Five Years in the Royal Flying Corps", James McCudden "Horses Don’t Fly: A Memoir of World War I", Frederick Libby "No Parachute", Arthur Gould Lee "Days on the Wing", Willy Coppens "Heaven High, Hell Deep", Norman Archibald "Wind in the Wires", Duncan Grinnell-Milne "Winged Victory", V.M. Yeates "The Way of the Eagle", Charles Biddle "Double-Decker C.666", Haupt Heydemarck "Combat Report", Bill Lambert "The Diary & Letters of a World War I Fighter Pilot", Christopher M. Burgess

An excellent read Robert, and thanks to you one that is now in my own library. What's that you ask? What all is in my own library? Well allow me to elaborate. Personal Narratives, Biographies, and Novels: "Above the French Lines: Letters of Stuart Walcott, American Aviator", Stuart Walcott, (1918 1st Edition) "Ace of the Iron Cross", Ernst Udet, (1970 English translation, 1st Edition) "Ace With One Eye: The Story of ‘Mick’ Mannock VC", Frederick Oughton, (1963 1st Edition) "Adventure's A Wench: The Autobiography of Charles Veil as told to Howard Marsh", (1934 1st Edition) "A Flying Fighter", E.M. Roberts, (1918 1st Edition) "Airmen O' War", Boyd Cable, (1918 1st Edition) "All Quiet on the Western Front", Erich Remarque, (1929 English Edition) "An Airman Marches", Harold Balfour, (Vintage Aviation Library Edition) "An Airman Remembers ", Hans Schröeder, English translation, (1936 1st Edition) "An Airman's Outings", Alan 'Contact' Bott, (1917 1st Edition) "An Aviator's Field-Book", Oswald Boelcke, English translation, (1917 1st Edition) "An Escaper’s Log", Duncan Grinnell-Milne, (1926 Edition, author’s personal copy with revision notes) "An Explorer in the Air Service", Hiram Bingham, (1920 1st Edition) "A Poet of the Air", Jack Morris Wright, (1918 1st Edition) "A Rattle of Pebbles: The First World War Diaries of Two Canadian Airmen", Brereton Greenhous, (1987 1st Edition) "Belgium: A Personal Narrative", Brand Whitlock, (1919 1st Edition) 2-volume set "Beyond the Tumult", Barry Winchester, (1971 1st Edition) "Black Fokker Leader", Peter Kilduff, (2007 1st Edition) "Bomber Pilot 1916-1918", C.P.O. Bartlett, (1974 1st Edition) "Captain Arthur Ray Brooks: America's Quiet Ace of W.W.1", Walter A. Musciano, (1963 1st Edition) "Cavalry of the Clouds", Alan 'Contact' Bott, (1918 1st Edition) "Cloud Country", Jimmie Mattern, (1936 Pure Oil 1st Edition) 3-volume set "Combat Report", Bill Lambert, (1973 1st Edition) "Days on the Wing", Willy Coppens, English translation, (1931 1st Edition) "Death in the Air", William Heinemann, (1933 Edition) (famous faked aerial photos) "Double-Decker C.666", Haupt Heydemarck, English translation, (1931 1st Edition) "Eastern Nights and Flights: A Record of Oriental Adventure", Alan 'Contact' Bott, (1920 1st Edition) "En L'air!", Bert Hall, (1918 1st Edition) "Extracts From the Letters of George Clark Moseley", (1923 1st Edition) "Fighter Pilot on the Western Front", Wing Commander E.D. Crundall D.F.C., A.F.C., (1975 1st Edition) "Fighting the Flying Circus", Edward Rickenbacker, (1919 1st Edition) "Five Years in the Royal Flying Corps", James McCudden, (1918 1st Edition) "Flying Corps Headquarters 1914-1918", Maurice Baring, (1968 1st Edition with supplementary notes) "Flying for France", James McConnell, (1917 1st Edition) "Flying Minnows", Roger Vee, (1935 1st Edition) "Flying Section 17", Haupt Heydemarck, English translation, (1934 1st Edition) "Flying With Chaucer", James Norman Hall, (1930 1st Edition) “From German Cavalry Officer to Reconnaissance Pilot”, Paul L. Rempe, (2016 1st Edition) "From Many Angles", Frederick Hugh Sykes, (1942 1st Edition) "Gatchina Days: Reminiscences of a Russian Pilot", Alexander Riaboff, (1986 1st Edition) "Go Get 'Em!", William Wellman, (1918 1st Edition) "Granville: Tales and Tail Spins from a Flyer’s Diary", Granville ‘Granny’ Gutterson, (1919 1st Edition) "Green Balls: The Adventures of a Night-Bomber", Paul Bewsher, (1919 1st Edition) "Guynemer, Knight of the Air", Henry Bordeaux, English translation, (1918 1st Edition) "Head Wind: The Story of Robert Loraine", Winifred Loraine, (1938 1st US Edition) "Heaven High, Hell Deep", Norman Archibald, (1935 Signed 1st Edition) "High Adventure", A.H. Cobby, (1981 Edition) "High Adventure", James Norman Hall, (1918 1st Edition) "Horses Don’t Fly: A Memoir of World War I", Frederick Libby, (2000 1st US Edition) "I Flew for the Lafayette Escadrille", Edwin C. Parsons, (1962 1st Edition) "Immelmann: The Eagle of Lille", Franz Immelmann, English translation, (1930 1st Edition) "In the Clouds Above Bagdad", J.E. Tennant, (1920 1st Edition) "Into The Blue", Norman MacMillan, (1929 1st Edition) "Jagdstaffel 356", M.E. Kahnert, (1939 1st English Edition) "Kitchener's Mob", James Norman Hall, (1916 1st Edition) "Letters From a Flying Officer", Rothsay Stuart Wortley, (1928 1st Edition) "Letters From a World War I Aviator", Josiah P. Rowe Jr., (1987 Edition) "Letters of Cyrus Foss Chamberlain: A Member of the Lafayette Flying Corps", C. F. Chamberlain, (1918 1st Edition) "Malaula! The Battle Cry of Jasta 17", Julius Buckler, (2007 1st Edition) "Memories of World War 1", William Mitchell, (1960 Edition) "Memoirs of Brigadier-General Gordon Shephard", Gordon Shephard, (1924 1st Edition) "My Escape From Donington Hall", Gunther Plüschow, (1922 1st Edition) "My Experiences in the World War", John J. Pershing, (1931 1st Edition) 2-volume set "My Helpful Angel Flew With Me", William H. Cupples, (1975 1st Edition) "My Island Home", James Norman Hall, (1952 1st Edition) "Night Bombing with the Bedouins", Robert Reece, (Battery Press Edition) "Night Raiders of the Air", A.R. Kingsford, (1939 Edition) "Nocturne Militaire", Elliot White Springs, (1934 Edition) "No Parachute", Arthur Gould Lee, (1970 1st US printing) "Norman Prince, A Volunteer Who Died for the Cause He Loved", George Babbitt, (1917 1st Edition) "Observer: Memoirs of the R.F.C., 1915-1918", A.J. Insall, (1970 1st Edition) "One Airman's War: Aircraft Mechanic Joe Bull's Personal Diaries 1916-1919", Mark Lax, (1997 1st Edition) "Open Cockpit: A Pilot of the Royal Flying Corps", Arthur Gould Lee, (1969 1st Edition) "Over the Front in an Aeroplane", Ralph Pulitzer, (1915 1st Edition) "Riders of the Sky", Leighton Brewer, (1934 1st Edition) "Rovers of the Night Sky", W.J. 'Night-Hawk' Harvey, (1919 1st Edition) "Sagittarius Rising", Cecil Lewis, (1936 1st US Edition) "Sopwith Scout 7309", Sir Patrick Gordon Taylor, (1968 1st Edition) "Stepchild Pilot", Joseph Doerflinger, (1959 1st Edition) "That’s My Bloody Plane: The World War I experiences of Major Cecil Montgomery-Moore, as told to Peter Kilduff", (1975 1st Edition) "The Balloon Buster: Frank Luke of Arizona", Norman S. Hall, (1928 1st Edition) "The Diary & Letters of a World War I Fighter Pilot", Christopher M. Burgess, (1981 1st Edition) "The Diary of a P.B.O.* * poor bloody observer", Frank J. Shrive, (1981 1st Edition) "The Escaping Club", A.J. Evans, (1936 Edition) "The Flying Poilu", Marcel Nadaud, English translation (1918 1st Edition) "The Red Battle Flyer", Manfred von Richthofen, English translation, (1918 1st Edition) "The Red Knight of Germany", Floyd Gibbons, (1927 1st Edition) "The Spider Web", T.D. Hallam (P.I.X.), (1979 Edition) "The Way of the Eagle", Charles Biddle, (1919 1st Edition) "Trenchard: Man of Vision", Andrew Boyle, (1962 1st Edition) "Up And At 'Em", Harold Hartney, (1940 1st Edition) "Victor Chapman’s Letters From France", John Jay Chapman, (1917 1st Edition, signed by his father) "War Birds; Diary of an Unknown Aviator", Elliot White Springs, (1926 1st Edition) "War Flying in Macedonia", Haupt Heydemarck, English translation, (1936 1st Edition) "War Letters of Edmond Genet", Edmond Genet, (1918 1st Edition) "Whom The Gods Love", Lewis C. Merrill, (1953 1st Edition) "William Barker VC", Wayne Ralph, (2007 1st Edition) "Wind in the Wires", Duncan Grinnell-Milne, (1918 1st Edition) "Winged Peace", William Bishop, (1940 1st Edition) "Winged Victory", V.M. Yeates, (1934 1st US Edition) "Winged Warfare", William Bishop, (1918 1st Edition) "Wings over the Somme 1916-1918", Wing Commander Gwilym H. Lewis D.F.C., (1976 1st Edition) "With the Earth Beneath", A.R. Kingsford, (1936 1st Edition) "With the Flying Squadron", Harold Rosher, (1916 1st Edition) History, Reference, and General Interest Books: "A History of the 17th Aero Squadron", Frederick M. Clapp, (1920 1st Edition) "A World Undone: The Story of the Great War 1914 to 1918", G.J. Meyer, (2006 Edition) "Air Aces of the 1914-1918 War", Bruce Robertson, (1964 Edition) "Aircraft of World War I, 1914-1918", Jack Herris & Bob Pearson, (2010 1st Edition) "Aircraft of Today", Charles Turner, (1917 1st Edition) "Aviation in Canada 1917-18", Alan Sullivan, (1919 1st Edition) "Bristol F2B Fighter: King of Two-Seaters", Chaz Bowyer, (1985 1st Edition) "Capronis, Farmans, and Sias: U.S. Army Aviation Training and Combat in Italy with Fiorello LaGuardia 1917-1918 ", Jack B. Hilliard, (2006 1st Edition) "Colliers New Photographic History of the World War", (1917 Edition) "Color Profiles of World War 1 Combat Planes", Giorgio Apostolo, (1974 1st Edition) "Decisive Air Battles of the First World War", Arch Whitehouse, (1963 1st Edition) "Dragon Master: The Kaiser's One-Man Air Force in Tsingtau, China, 1914", Robert E. Whittaker, (1994 1st Edition) "Early Aircraft Armament: The Aeroplane and the Gun Up to 1918", Harry Woodman, (1989 1st Edition) "Fighter Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War", W.M. Lamberton, (1964 Edition) "Flying The Old Planes", Frank Tallman, (1973 Edition) "Fragments From France", Bruce Bairnsfather, (1917 1st Edition) (Great War cartoons by the master of the genre) "French Aviation During The First World War", Vital Ferry, (2014 1st Edition, English Translation) "French Military Aeronautical Branch Badges Up to 1918", Phillippe Bartlett, (2003 1st Edition) "German Aircraft of the First World War", Peter Gray and Owen Thetford, (1962 1st Edition) "German Air Power in World War 1", John H. Morrow, Jr., (1982 1st Edition) "Handbook of German Military and Naval Aviation 1918", (1995 Imperial War Museum Reprint) "Heroes of Aviation", Laurence La Tourette Driggs, (1919 1st Edition) "High Flew the Falcons", Herbert Molloy Mason Jr., (1965 1st Edition) "High in the Empty Blue", Alex Revell, (1995 1st Edition with author's signature card) "Historic Airships", Rupert Holland, (1928 1st Edition) "History and Rhymes of the Lost Battalion", L.C. McCollum, (1929 Edition) "History of the World War", Francis March, (1918 1st Edition) "History of the Great World War", Rolt-Wheeler and Drinker, (1919 1st Edition) "Italian Aces of World War I and their Aircraft", Roberto Gentilli, Antonio Iozzi, Paolo Varriale, (2003 1st Edition) "Land and Water" Magazine, (entire April through September 1917 series, hard bound, ex-library copy) "Ludendorff's Own Story", Erich Ludendorff, (1919 1st Edition) 2-volume set "Mapping the First World War: Battlefields of the Great Conflict From Above", Simon Forty, (2013 Edition) "Marine Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War", Heinz J. Nowarra, (1960 Edition) "Military Aeroplanes", Grover C. Loening, (1918 Edition) "Naval Aviation in World War I", Naval Aviation News, (1969 1st Edition) "National Geographic" Magazine, (entire 1918 series, hard bound, ex-library copy) "New England Aviators 1914-1918: Their Portraits and Their Records", (1919-20 1st Edition) 2-volume set "Oswald Boelcke - The Red Baron’s Hero", Lance J. Bronnenkant, (2018 1st Edition) "Paris in Ten Days - A Little Guide for Tommy and The Yank", Sommerville Story, (1918 1st Edition) "Pilots’ Luck", Drawings by Clayton Knight, (1929 1st Edition) "Reconnaissance & Bomber Aircraft of the 1914-1918 War", W.M. Lamberton, (1962 Edition) "Rhymes of a Red Cross Man", Robert W. Service, (1916 1st Edition) "Schlachtflieger! Germany and the Origins of Air/Ground Support 1916-1918", Rick Duiven and Dan-San Abbott, (2006 1st Edition) "Shooting the Front: Allied Aerial Reconnaissance and Photographic Interpretation on the Western Front", Terrence J. Finnegan, (2006 1st Edition) "Source Records of the Great War", (1923 1st Edition) 7-volume set "Sous Les Cocardes", Marcel Jeanjean, (1919 1st Edition) "The Air Defence of Britain 1914-1918", Christopher Cole and E.F. Cheeseman, (1984 1st Edition) "The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres of War 1914-1918", F.M. Cutlack, (1923 1st Edition) "The Aviation Pocket-Book 1917", R. Borlase Matthews, (1917 Edition) "The Belgian Air Service in the First World War", Walter M. Pieters, (2010 1st Edition) "The Fighting Triplanes", Evan Hadingham, (1969 1st Edition) "The First War Planes", William Barrett, (1960 Edition) (the one that started it all for me) "The Great Air War", Aaron Norman, (1968 Edition) "The Great War", George H. Allen, (1919 1st Edition) 5-volume set "The Great War in the Air", Edgar Middleton, (1920 1st Edition) 4-volume set "The Imperial Russian Air Service, Famous Pilots and Aircraft of World War One", Alan Durkota, (1996 1st Edition) "The Lafayette Flying Corps", James Hall and Charles Nordhoff, (1964 Kennikat Press limited edition two-volume set) "The Literary Digest History of the World War", Francis Whiting Halsey, (1919 1st Edition) 10-volume set "The People's War Book and Atlas", (1920 1st Edition, signed by Lt. Col. William A. Bishop) "The Secrets of the German War Office", Dr. Armgaard Karl Graves, (1914 1st Edition) "The Sky On Fire: The First Battle of Britain", Raymond H. Fredette, (1966 1st Edition) "The Story of a North Sea Air Station", C.F. Snowden Gamble, (1967 Edition with supplementary notes) "The United States in the Great War", Willis Abbot, (1919 1st Edition) "The U.S. Air Service in World War I", Maurer Maurer, (1978 1st Edition) 4-volume set "The War in the Air", Raleigh and Jones, (1st Edition) 9-volume set including map cases, (originally in the military library at Whitehall; my personal Jewel of the Crown) "The War That Ended Peace", Margaret MacMillan, (2014 Edition) "The Western Front from the Air", Nicholas C. Watkis, (1999 1st Edition) "Time-Life Epic of Flight", 23-volume set, (not old and not strictly WWI but still a lot of good info and photos) "True Stories of the Great War", (1918 1st Edition) 6-volume set "Tumult In The Clouds: The British Experience of the War in the Air 1914-1918", Nigel Steel and Peter Hart, (1997 1st Edition) "U.S. Official Pictures of the World War", Moore and Russell, (1924 1st Edition) 4-volume set "Winged Mars, Volume I: The German Air Weapon 1870-1914", John R. Cuneo, (1942 1st Edition) "Winged Mars, Volume II: The German Air Weapon 1914-1916", John R. Cuneo, (1947 1st Edition) "1920 World Book Encyclopedia", (entire set with addendums, great for cross-referencing in a contemporary context) Instructional Books: "Aeroplane Construction and Operation", John Rathbun, (1918 1st Edition) "English-French War Guide for Americans in France", Eugene Maloubier, (1918 Edition) "Learning to Fly in the U.S. Army", E.N. Fales, (1917 1st Edition) "Lewis Machine Gun 'Airplane Type' Service and Operation Manual", (1918 Edition) "Manual of Rigging Notes Technical Data", (1918, possible reprint) "Manual for Aero Companies", John M. Satterfield, (1916 1st Edition) "Notes and Rules for Pilots of the Signal Corps Aviation Sections", (1918 1st Edition) "Practical Flying", W.G. McMinnies, (1918 1st Edition) "Technical Notes on the Breguet Aeroplane - 14 B2 Type", (1917 1st Edition) "Technical Notes: Royal Flying Corps", (1916 1st Edition) "The A-B-C of Aviation", Victor W. Pagé, (1918 1st Edition) "The Art of Reconnaissance", David Henderson, (1916 1st Edition) "The Eyes of the Army and Navy", Albert Munday, (1917 1st Edition) "The Soldiers' English-German Conversation Book: For the Man at the Front", Henry Buller, (1918 1st Edition) "Training Manual, Royal Flying Corps, Part I", (1914 1st Edition with 1915 Addendum) "Training Manual, Royal Flying Corps, Part II", (1914 1st Edition) "Science of Pre-Flight Aeronautics", (1942 Edition) "Self-Help for the Citizen Soldier", Moss and Stewart, (1915 1st Edition) Keep in mind these are only the actual hard copy books, I have a lot more in digital format as well. So many books, so little time. .

I believe there has been some discussion on this somewhere. If I recall correctly the thought was to start here with the next DID campaign and have this be the new home for all such future postings. Raine would likely be the man to ask as he is running the current show.

By the way, I just checked the downloads section here and the dozens of WWI aviation digital books I brought together over a decade ago for folks are still available via the following link: WWI Aviation Books downloads Enjoy!

I heard my name mentioned - twice! A lot of excellent recommendations here already, folks. Allow me to add a few more. About WWI in general: "A World Undone: The Story of the Great War 1914 to 1918", G.J. Meyer "The War That Ended Peace", Margaret MacMillan For some of the oft overlooked air services: "The Belgian Air Service in the First World War", Walter M. Pieters "Capronis, Farmans, and Sias: U.S. Army Aviation Training and Combat in Italy with Fiorello LaGuardia 1917-1918 ", Jack B. Hilliard "Italian Aces of World War I and their Aircraft", Roberto Gentilli, Antonio Iozzi, Paolo Varriale "The Imperial Russian Air Service, Famous Pilots and Aircraft of World War One", Alan Durkota Concerning the German side of things: "Handbook of German Military and Naval Aviation 1918" "Schlachtflieger! Germany and the Origins of Air/Ground Support 1916-1918", Rick Duiven and Dan-San Abbott "German Air Power in World War 1", John H. Morrow, Jr. "Winged Mars, Volume II: The German Air Weapon 1914-1916", John R. Cuneo On the defense of Britain against the German Zeppelin and heavy bomber raids: "The Air Defence of Britain 1914-1918", Christopher Cole and E.F. Cheeseman "The Sky On Fire: The First Battle of Britain", Raymond H. Fredette For some British insight on seaplane operations: "The Spider Web", T.D. Hallam "The Story of a North Sea Air Station", C.F. Snowden Gamble Concerning the Aussies: "The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres of War 1914-1918", F.M. Cutlack From the British perspective: "Tumult In The Clouds: The British Experience of the War in the Air 1914-1918", Nigel Steel and Peter Hart "The War in the Air", Raleigh and Jones, (a massive nine-volume read) On the French/U.S. air services: "The Lafayette Flying Corps", James Hall and Charles Nordhoff "The U.S. Air Service in World War I", Maurer Maurer There are of course many, many, many other great reads on the subject. Also, I too prefer the first hand accounts of the pilots, be it their recollections, diaries, and/or letters home. Those put you right there in it.

It would appear that Chuffs and Spiv are cut from the same low grade linen they hawked to the War Department. If they don't wind up running a fine little syndicate together whilst in 40 Squadron I'll be more than surprised. Supplying cases of plonk to the brass hats and passing it off as first rate wine, with first rate prices to match, seems something that would land directly in their collective wheelhouse, (I would have said "squarely" rather than "directly", but nothing about these two seems even remotely square).

huh - he DOES look like George Raft. Go figure.

Allow me to introduce my pilot for this adventure: James Chester "Chuffs" Wellingham. Devastatingly handsome, totally corrupt. As a key figure of organized crime in and around the greater London area, Chuffs uses his intelligence, charm, and good looks to get what he wants, be it women, money, power, or prestige. When these attributes aren't enough to get the job done he resorts to bribery, coercion, and blackmail. And should these not suffice, brute force and violence certainly will. He has come to be serving a stint in the RFC as a result of his dealings with the War Department in which he supplied them with several shiploads of what he claimed was high-grade Irish Linen, and which he sold at a premium price. It was in fact a very low quality imported cloth from the Far East and proved to be woefully inadequate as covering for aeroplanes, which is what the War Department had procured it for. As restitution, at least in part, the magistrate ordered Mr. Wellingham to serve in the Royal Flying Corps as a pilot until war's end, or until he was killed or captured, whichever came first. "A fitting sentence", His Worship stated in court, "to be forced to serve in the very aeroplanes his shoddy materials were destined for." Despite the best, (and highly questionable), efforts on the part of Mr. Wellingham's barrister, there was no overturning the court's decision. And so it was that Chuffs was sent off to become a pilot, which he did handily, not only because he was a natural at it but also because had he not earned his certificate he would have ended up a guest in one of His Majesty's prisons for a minimum of five years. Strong motivation to succeed. Upon arriving at his outfit, No. 40 Squadron, Chuffs immediately set up shop, turning some of the more easily persuaded men in camp to serve him as he saw fit. When he received his plane assignment he immediately had it painted to suit his own skewed sense of humour, adorning it with a prison suit pattern. When the CO voiced disapproval of the livery, Chuffs offered to make it "worth his while" if the commander would simply look the other way. In the end the Old Man acquiesced, having been presented with the choice of either accepting a gift of 100 quid, or having a certain young woman with a very sad tale to tell, (and currently with child), pay a call on the CO's wife back home.