Werken van Mark C. Wilkins
German Fighter Aircraft in World War I: Design, Construction and Innovation (Casemate Illustrated Special) (2019) 12 exemplaren, 2 besprekingen
British Fighter Aircraft in WWI: Design, Construction and Innovation (Casemate Illustrated Special) (2021) 5 exemplaren
Aero-Neurosis: Pilots of the First World War and the Psychological Legacies of Combat (2019) 3 exemplaren
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- Werken
- 7
- Leden
- 25
- Populariteit
- #508,561
- Waardering
- 4.3
- Besprekingen
- 2
- ISBNs
- 11
What the reader gets in this book is a glossary of terms used in the book, a brief introduction, ten numbered chapters, a conclusion, 12 appendices, endnotes, a bibliography, and an index. The first chapter is devoted to the first aircraft of German design, the Taube, which was manufactured by various early German airframe manufacturers in pre-WWI Germany.
Eight of the chapters pertain to specific manufacturers: Aviatik, Halberstadt, Fokker, Junkers, Albatros, LFG-Roland, and Pfalz. Two chapters are subject specific: Production Methodology and Armaments and Engines. I would characterize the manufacturer chapters as development and production histories--there are no operational histories of the various aircraft discussed, although significant personalities such as Boelke and von Richtofen are mentioned in terms of their impact on aircraft design. The production methodology and armament/engines chapters are brief and tell their stories mainly in contemporary photographs.
I enjoyed the mix of text, illustrations, and photographs in this book. There are many illustrations from contemporary British, French, and German aviation journals such as the British "Flight" journal, which at times would have been dealt with as an intelligence report in later conflicts. There are numerous contemporary photographs of these aircraft both at their factories during production as well as in the field or in the hands of their enemies. There are also a goodly number of modern color photographs of several replicas of aircraft described in the book, both during their construction and in the possession of their new owners.
The author gives ou a different perspective on the fighters of this era. Normally one reads about the aces or the flying experiences; this volume speaks to the maintenance and logistics of manufacturing, maintaining, and supplying these aircraft to the Jastas at the front. From that perspective, the semi-monocoque fuselage designs by Albatros, Roland, and Pfalz, and Fokker's steel tube construction makes a lot of sense.
All in all this was a pretty good read and a decent value for your reading dollar.… (meer)