Many books have been written about pilots of the Royal Flying Corps but the men on the ground, who kept the planes in the air and the guns firing, have been sadly neglected - and yet their role was a vital one. This truly remarkable book, the production of which must have seemed an impossible task, has more than remedied the situation. The authors have managed to locate all the non-commissioned airmen who enlisted in the RFC prior to the outbreak of war in August 1914, and for each one they have provided a mini-biography. The length of each entry varies, available records being what they are, but detail is provided for over 1,400 men. For those who became pilots, details of their certificates are given. Statistics include the establishment of the Corps at various times and there is a list of non-commissioned ranks as well as notes on uniforms, badges etc. There is a full record of works consulted at the Public Record Office and an excellent bibliography.

En bog i Battleground serien, som delvis udgør en rejsefører for de, som besøger kampområderne, delvis en bog med informationer, som kan studeres individuelt. Forfatteren beskriver luftmilitære installationer i Frankrig, Normandiet/Kanalkystområdet samt materiel og personel involveret under den 1. verdenskrig 1914-18. En oversigt og beskrivelse af kirkegårde udgør en del af bogen.

Our ancestors were required to perform military service, often as militia. The discovery that an ancestor served during one of the major conflicts in our history is exciting. A Call to the Colours provides the archival, library, and computer resources that can be employed to explore your family's military history.

Airfields and Airmen:Cambrai covers the earliest days of the RFC with the retreat from Mons. We visit the graves of Fokker Eindecker aces and the airfields where the first Jastas were formed. Also covered are airfields from which Allied aces such as Beauchamp and Proctor VC flew, and there is a visit to the American cemetery at Bony that contains a number of aviators.

Some years ago, Aidan Williams published two articles for Cross and Cockade, the Journal of the First World War Aviation Historical Society. The subject of both articles was the relatively little-known Engine Repair Shops of the Royal Flying Corps (later the Royal Air Force) in France during the Great War. Aidan has updated the information, added background stories, and included more photographs and extra details to introduce the history of the Engine Repair Shops to a whole new readership. In 1915, Scarborough-born Second Lieutenant Louis Frederick Rudston Fell joined the Engine Repair Shops as Assistant Equipment Officer; by 1919, he was Lieutenant Colonel L. F. R. Fell DSO OBE, and he continued to play an important role in British aero engine development up to the Second World War. In addition, Air Mechanic Thomas Boland's working day in the rotary engine section is described.

No 3 Squadron was formed at Larkhill in 1912 from the No 2 (Aeroplane} Company under the command of the famous Major Robert Brooke-Popham. More importantly the squadron was the first in the RFC to be equipped with fixed-wing aircraft. Thereafter the squadron distinguished itself in both World Wars, its battle honors including Mons, Neuve Chappelle, Loos, Somme 1916, Cambrai 1917, Somme 1918, The Battle of Britain, Normandy and Arnhem. More recently it has seen service in the Falklands, the Balkans, Iraq, and has just returned from Afghanistan. No 3 Squadron have recently been nominated to operate the Eurofighter Typhoon. This book is a highly-illustrated history of the Squadron's operations throughout its history. The rare photographs have been collected by the author over many years and the text includes firsthand accounts from the Squadron archives. This book is the ultimate record of one of the world's oldest and proudest military flying units.

Whether you are interested in the career of an individual air-man or woman, researching medals awarded to a pilot or crew member or just want to know more about a particular squadron or operation, this book will point you in the right direction. Assuming that the reader has no prior knowledge of the air force, its history or organization, Phil Tomaselli explains which records survive, where they can be found and how they can help you in your research. He also recommends resources available online as well as books and memoirs. Each era in air force history is described, from the pioneering days of early aviation and the formation of the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War to the creation of the Royal Air Force, its operations during the Second World War and its postwar development. The author explains the evolving organization of the air force in each period. He also provides pointers and examples which should help researchers find the records of units and bases that individuals served in.

This title first appeared in 2001 to universal acclaim, quickly went out of print and has remained so since. The author, meantime, has continued his research and the result is this updated edition, over half as long as the first, with stacks of new photographs. Absolutely essential reference for all those interested in military aviation.

A survey of the development of British military aviation from 1903 to 1914, revealing the consequences of its annexation by the state as a branch of armaments as an underlying cause of aircraft inadequacies on the outbreak of war. A mine of information, drawing on an impressive range of archives. It will become an important point of reference. ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW This book aims to demonstrate how the crisis evident in British military aviation in the early years of the First World War was inherent in the entire development of aviation in the years preceding the conflict. After outlining the work of the early pioneers and the growth of an aviation industry as a branch of armaments, Dr Driver considers the objectives of the War Office in increasingly seeking to divert design development to their research establishment at Farnborough. He shows how the resultant virtual state monopoly in designand procurement had disastrous consequences for aircraft innovation and development, suffocating both competition and initiative, and leading to the maintenance of inadequate aircraft by the Royal Flying Corps following the outbreak of war. The continuing dispute and its culmination in the "Fokker Scourge" controversy of 1915-1916 graphically characterise the strained development of military-industrial relations in this area. Dr HUGH DRIVER gained an MA in War Studies from King's College London, and a D.Phil in modern history at Oriel College, Oxford.

The stories of three individual careers combine seamlessly to tell the dramatic story of the RAF from the era of biplanes and into the jet age of the Cold War.