The First Eagles: The Fearless American Aces Who Flew with the RAF in World War I

by Gavin Mortimer

An incredible history of the American WWI pilots who refused to be grounded. There was a time when the United States didn't believe in aerial warfare. Wars, after all, were for men€”not flying machines. When Europe went to war in the summer of 1914, the U.S. military boasted a measly collection of five aircraft, with no training programs or recruitment procedures in place. But that didn't mean the country lacked skilled pilots. In fact, it was just the opposite. In The First Eagles , award-winning historian Gavin Mortimer engagingly profiles the restless, determined American aviators who grew tired of waiting for the their country to establish an aerial military force during World War I. It was these men who enlisted in Britain's desperate and battered Royal Flying Corps when, in 1917, it opened a recruitment office in New York. After an intensive and deadly year of training that gave recruits a frighteningly realistic taste of the combat they would face, 247 fresh American RFC pilots were shipped over to Europe, with hundreds more following in the next two months. Twenty-eight of them claimed five or more kills to become feted as "aces," their involvement lauded as pivotal to the Allied victory. In this book, Mortimer compiles their history through letters, diaries, memoirs, and archives from top museums in the United States and Britain€”from John Donaldson, who left for France at age twenty and shot down seven Germans before being downed himself, to the Iaccaci brothers, who accounted for twenty-nine German aircraft between them. Complete with 150 period photographs, The First Eagles captures the bravery of these intrepid American pilots, who chose courage over idleness and saved the European skies.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, World War I

240 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2014

About the author

For a detailed biography, to learn more about all the books I have written and to discover my forthcoming projects, please visit my website at the above link.

Reviews

[Zeb Kantrowitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most World War One history buffs know of Eddie Rickenbacker and the Lafayette Escadrille, but little has been written about the Americans (over 240) who joined the RCF/RAF. When the “Great War” began in 1914, there were many Americans who wanted to get into the fight. By 1917 the British were desperate for men who could fly to counter the German Air Force. So they began recruiting in the US.

It was only fourteen years since the Wright Brothers had first flown at Kitty Hawk in North Carolina, but the flying bug had caught many young men. This was especially true of the young men of the Ivy League colleges. Princeton already had its’ own flying club. It was definitely going to be a rich man’s hobby.

Over in Europe the ground war had stagnated, but the war in the air was getting more and more competitive. The Red Baron (Manfred von Richtofen) and his Flying Circus ruled the skies. The Baron had over fifty kills to his credit while the rest of the Circus their Empire for volunteers. Americans could go to Canada and enlist in the Royal Flying Corp (under their Army) or the Royal Naval Air Service (part of their Navy). (The two services would be merged in 1917, and renamed the RAF, Royal Air Force.)

Volunteers went up to Canada for their initial training and then on to England. In England they were taught the fundamentals of dogfighting by experienced combat pilots and then to shooting school where they learned to work the machine guns. Reloading a machine gun while in flight and dodging bullets was not an easy thing to master. By 1918 there were enough veteran American flyers to form two squadrons. By the end of the war, the Americans had become respected members of the RAF.

The British considered the RAF to be like any other branch of their Armed Forces. They considered the success of a unit to be a group effort and didn’t publicize individual accomplishments. (Though they did tout their top Ace who had seventy-two kills.) For this reason, the American volunteers in the RAF never go the accolades that the men in the Lafayette Escadrille did.

Zeb Kantrowitz zworstblog.blogspot.com

[archive ☄ · Rating 3 out of 5]

such a fun book !!!! i loved learning about these crazy aviator boys. they were noble and loyal and daring and smart and also complete and utter dumbasses with hearts of gold..... i adore them. miss 'em already :0)

[Kivrin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received this book in a GoodReads giveaway. The subject was fascinating--American pilots who joined the British RAF during World War I, but the book was not an easy read. I wish the author had found a better way to organize/present the information. I got bogged down in all the names (pilots, planes, units) and found myself flipping back and forth to figure out who was who. Chapters overlapped timewise (jumping back and forth) which I found really confusing. I wish he had just done each pilot's story in one chapter.

The book was at its best when the author quoted actual letters and diary entries of the pilots. I also loved the descriptions of the pilots life style while living/flying in England, and how they adopted English customs such as afternoon tea. I also loved that he added a chapter describing the surviving pilots' lives after the war.

[David Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book and for a student of early aviation or aviation in WWI, I believe it would be a great book. I have spent more time studying 1930 to 1970 so I admit that I am not well read when it comes to WWI. That said, I found First Eagles to be engaging, readable and well-researched. In particular, Mortimer very well conveys the romance of the air during WWI and gives his reader a very detailed familiarity with his subjects. For me, there were at times too much of the "same" as I got deeper into the book, but that may be my own ignorance of the subject more than anything to do with the book. On the whole, this is a very good introduction to the air war during the Great War and a great introduction to the Great War itself.

[Dave Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a solid book. Well-researched and fairly well written. It is not easy to keep so many names and dates and places straight, but Mortimer does a good job keeping it clear.

This is a portion of history that I am not too familiar with, since it seems that, in America at least, the history of WWI is largely overshadowed by WWII. This was a good intro into the world of aviation during WWI, and tells a story that has too often been neglected.

[William Labrecque · Rating 5 out of 5]

WWI has always taken a backseat in histories war recollections in my opinion.

This was a good representation of the air war. Now I would like to read what it was like in the trenches with the enemy using mustard gas and all. Good book!