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Fixed Course: A Novel of the Air War in World War I
358 pages, Paperback
Published June 26, 2026
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July 21, 2026
The World War I experience has often been overshadowed for decades by the Second World War, which proved to be more cataclysmic and far-reaching in its effects across the globe. Nevertheless, World War I was the first truly modern, mechanized war of the 20th century that impacted profoundly upon the lives of millions in Europe, Africa, Asia, Canada, and the U.S.
Fixed Course is a World War I novel that describes in bold relief, the lives of the airmen and support personnel of a U.S. aero squadron tasked with carrying out reconnaissance flights over German-held territory to aid U.S. and Allied ground forces in ascertaining the whereabouts and strength of various German Army units, all the while facing the hazards of anti-aircraft fire and enemy fighters. Not to mention the occasional shortcomings of the aircraft they flew in combat.
The novel focuses mainly on the experiences of 2 young officers of the U.S. 62nd Aero Squadron. They are: Lieutenant Aaron Small, son of a Quaker minister in Concordia, Connecticut, who felt compelled to join the Air Service shortly after the U.S. entry into World War I; and Lieutenant Thomas Benson of Redbrook, New Jersey. (Both men are also former college students with a deep interest in philosophy, history, and literature, which gives a richer dimensionality to their interior selves).
My understanding is that this is the author's debut novel. Well, for a debut novel, David Vaughan does a fantastic job of fleshing out the growing pangs of a U.S. 2-seater observation squadron on the Western Front between the spring and autumn of 1918. Despite its industrial capacity, the U.S. failed to develop its own combat-worthy aircraft and so, most of its aviation units were reliant upon warplanes from the French.
The 62nd Aero Squadron at first flew cast off Dorand A.R. 2-seater aircraft for observation, artillery spotting, and reconnaissance missions. Lieutenant Small and Lieutenant Benson were brought together as pilot and observer after Small had lost 2 observers assigned to fly with him. The first observer was killed when he and Small were surprised by 3 German fighters over the lines. And the second observer was wounded the first time he went up on a mission with Small. It seemed as if Lieutenant Small was cursed. But Benson, who was one of the few observers in the squadron to have received comprehensive training in the U.S. before being shipped to France, agreed to fly with Small. Thus, a bond was forged between both men. Subsequently, the squadron would be supplied with a better, stronger, faster, more robust aircraft in the Salmson 2 two-seater.
As someone who is an aviation enthusiast, I was much impressed with the way Vaughan described the flying and the hazards Small and Benson often faced. There are also especially moving scenes in the novel of the experiences of both men on leave in Paris (which the squadron commander had insisted they take, for both Small and Benson had been seriously shaken up and wounded on missions over the lines and were sorely in need of a rest.)
There is, however, one setting in the novel toward its end that I question. Without giving anything away, the author has a scene set near Soissons in October 1918 in which the 62nd Aero Squadron is tasked with identifying and dropping supplies to a U.S. Army detachment that had become separated from its main unit, finding itself deep in enemy territory. This incident in the novel I believe is based on the real life effort made during the same period by a U.S. observation squadron to drop supplies to the so-called "Lost Battalion" in the Argonne Forest. (Soissons was the name of a battle won by Franco-American forces during July 1918.)
Notwithstanding that, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel, which is rare in that, unlike most World War I aviation novels which extol the fighter pilots, Fixed Course brings to life the experiences of the observation/reconnaissance crews, whose stories have seldom been told.
Fixed Course is a World War I novel that describes in bold relief, the lives of the airmen and support personnel of a U.S. aero squadron tasked with carrying out reconnaissance flights over German-held territory to aid U.S. and Allied ground forces in ascertaining the whereabouts and strength of various German Army units, all the while facing the hazards of anti-aircraft fire and enemy fighters. Not to mention the occasional shortcomings of the aircraft they flew in combat.
The novel focuses mainly on the experiences of 2 young officers of the U.S. 62nd Aero Squadron. They are: Lieutenant Aaron Small, son of a Quaker minister in Concordia, Connecticut, who felt compelled to join the Air Service shortly after the U.S. entry into World War I; and Lieutenant Thomas Benson of Redbrook, New Jersey. (Both men are also former college students with a deep interest in philosophy, history, and literature, which gives a richer dimensionality to their interior selves).
My understanding is that this is the author's debut novel. Well, for a debut novel, David Vaughan does a fantastic job of fleshing out the growing pangs of a U.S. 2-seater observation squadron on the Western Front between the spring and autumn of 1918. Despite its industrial capacity, the U.S. failed to develop its own combat-worthy aircraft and so, most of its aviation units were reliant upon warplanes from the French.
The 62nd Aero Squadron at first flew cast off Dorand A.R. 2-seater aircraft for observation, artillery spotting, and reconnaissance missions. Lieutenant Small and Lieutenant Benson were brought together as pilot and observer after Small had lost 2 observers assigned to fly with him. The first observer was killed when he and Small were surprised by 3 German fighters over the lines. And the second observer was wounded the first time he went up on a mission with Small. It seemed as if Lieutenant Small was cursed. But Benson, who was one of the few observers in the squadron to have received comprehensive training in the U.S. before being shipped to France, agreed to fly with Small. Thus, a bond was forged between both men. Subsequently, the squadron would be supplied with a better, stronger, faster, more robust aircraft in the Salmson 2 two-seater.
As someone who is an aviation enthusiast, I was much impressed with the way Vaughan described the flying and the hazards Small and Benson often faced. There are also especially moving scenes in the novel of the experiences of both men on leave in Paris (which the squadron commander had insisted they take, for both Small and Benson had been seriously shaken up and wounded on missions over the lines and were sorely in need of a rest.)
There is, however, one setting in the novel toward its end that I question. Without giving anything away, the author has a scene set near Soissons in October 1918 in which the 62nd Aero Squadron is tasked with identifying and dropping supplies to a U.S. Army detachment that had become separated from its main unit, finding itself deep in enemy territory. This incident in the novel I believe is based on the real life effort made during the same period by a U.S. observation squadron to drop supplies to the so-called "Lost Battalion" in the Argonne Forest. (Soissons was the name of a battle won by Franco-American forces during July 1918.)
Notwithstanding that, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel, which is rare in that, unlike most World War I aviation novels which extol the fighter pilots, Fixed Course brings to life the experiences of the observation/reconnaissance crews, whose stories have seldom been told.
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