Major Georg Paul Neumann was a former German Air Force officer who had served in the Great War. He produced his outstanding survey of the German Air Force in 1920 while the events were still recent history. He was able to draw on his own experience and his contacts to compile a large number of personal accounts from officers and men who had so recently fought in the cause. The result is an accurate, faithful and comprehensive review of the aircraft, personnel and organisation of the force which began life in 1910 as the Imperial German Army Air Service and ended the war as the Luftstreitkrfte.This comprehensive and compelling review includes a series of primary sources dealing with some of the unusual and lesser known aspects of the Luftstreitkrfte including a gripping account of defending a Zeppelin against attack by British fighters.Major Neumann's indispensable work has never been surpassed and this English language translation is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the realities of the war in the air in the Great War.

Germany's battle for the skies The Great War was, of course, the first conflict in which mankind took to the air to any significant degree. Powered flight added a new dimension to reconnaissance and the delivery of ordinance. The need to prevent both brought about the evolution of the fighter plane as all the protagonists of the First World War embraced aerial warfare. This book is an overview of the German Air Force; it discusses all types of aircraft from observation balloons and airships to aeroplanes employed by land based and naval forces. The activities of the German Air Force at war is considered in all the theatres in which it saw service and the text concludes with consideration of anti-aircraft and ground defensive measures. A good overview and recommended. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.

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Excerpt from The German Air Force in the Great War For this purpose much new material will be em ployed, and I shall reveal to the world many things which hitherto have been guarded as official secrets. With the aid and criticism of others it will be possible not only to outline essentials, but also to place events in their order of merit or importance. Furthermore, we may bring about an appreciation of those methods which solved for our Air Force the many problems of organisation and design, and piloted it through so many grave crises. To the rising generation, upon whom lies the burden of carrying out the plans for that future aerial development which is to be the harbinger of peace and unity among the nations, perhaps this book may prove a source of enthusiasm and inspiration. In time to come, those who turn these pages may re member with a thrill of gratitude that during the bitter, bloody struggle for the mastery of the air was laid the foundation of peaceful aerial navigation. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

A study of the resurrection of Germany's air force during the period, providing an account of the evolution of German military aviation theory, doctrine, war games, and operations between the two world wars. Draws on archival material to reveal debates with the General Staff about the future role of airpower and the problems of aligning aviation technology with air doctrine. Also examines the early WWII period and the Luftwaffe's effectiveness in Poland and France. Includes bandw photos. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The French air force of the First World War developed as fast as the British and German air forces, yet its history, and the enormous contribution it made to the eventual French victory, is often forgotten. So Ian Sumner's photographic history, which features almost 200 images, most of which have not been published before, is a fascinating and timely introduction to the subject. The fighter pilots, who usually dominate perceptions of the war in the air, play a leading role in the story, in particular the French aces, the small group of outstanding airmen whose exploits captured the publics imagination. Their fame, though, tends to distract attention from the ordinary unremembered airmen who formed the body of the air force throughout the war years. Ian Sumner tells their story too, as well as describing in a sequence of memorable photographs the less well-known branches of the service the bomber and reconnaissance pilots and the variety of primitive warplanes they flew.