Mark C. Wilkins

This was a very nice and quick read. My previous experience with this topic was limited to general aircraft or German aircraft encyclopedias whose individual entries could not provide a good context for the aircraft discussed. This book provided more detail, although with only 192 pages there are obvious limits to the amount of detail provided. This is my first experience with the Casemate Illustrated series, other volumes of which I have seen in book stores and online and seem to cover mainly World War II topics.

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.… (mer)

A somewhat different take on aviation books. While most are concerned with performance and service history, this one goes into design and construction techniques. Organized by manufacturer, with supplemental chapters on weaponry and power plants. Numerous illustrations, many of replica aircraft being built. I learned a lot of things; for example:

1. German aircraft stayed with wing warping as a control method for a long time after ailerons were introduced.
2. The Taube (built by several manufacturers), despite the name, was not modeled on a dove but on the “winged” plant seed of Zanonia macrocarpa.I also hadn’t understood the Taube’s bracing system; there was a girder under the wing, with kingposts passing through the wing for bracing wires above and below.
3. Anthony Fokker stayed with rotary engines for many of his aircraft because he owned stock in the primary German rotary engine manufacturer; he finally switched to an inline engine in the D.VII, usually considered the best fighter of the war on either side.
4. The Fokker monoplanes were widely believed by the Allies to be superior aircraft because of their performance early in the war (“the Fokker scourge”). In fact they were difficult to fly; the actual reason was superior German pilots.
5. However, rotary engines also fell out of favor because of the shortage of castor oil, necessary for their proper operation.
6. Germany went through a phase of “triplane fever”, with Fokker (Dr.1) and Pfalz (Dr.1) building versions to compete with the Sopwith Triplane. While the triplanes were highly maneuverable, it was eventually realized that a fast aircraft that was a good gun platform worked better.
7. Herman Junkers was opposed to the war and didn’t fully cooperate with the German aircraft industry, preferring to do aeronautical research rather than develop combat aircraft.
8. Just an impression, but the Germans didn’t seem to use as many women in their aviation industry as the British. The only female German workers shown are making cloth wing coverings, while contemporary British photographs show women working in all phases of manufacture. It could be, though, that there just weren’t as many photographs on the German side

The replica aircraft construction photographs are interesting; in many cases the actual construction methods weren’t documented and the replica builders had to use what they felt were plausible methods.

As mentioned, very extensive illustrations. I found the index sparse and couldn’t find some things I wanted to look up. Endnotes and bibliography; appendices include patent applications for various aviation inventions; just the thing if you want to mount MG08s on your replica D.VII and need to make sure the interrupter gear works.… (mer)