Air of Battle

by William Fry

William Fry was a fighter pilot on the Western Front from 1915 to 1918. Fry's vivid memoirs cover the Battle of the Somme and Passchendaele, painting a portrait of air warfare in primitive conditions, airmen flying machines of rudimentary simplicity and of men exposed and vulnerable to the elements as well as to enemy bullets. He presents the happy-go-lucky attitude of the airmen and the conscientiousness of ground crews never shirking their duty. He takes us into officers’ messes and into the ‘on duty’ and ‘off duty’ routines of the flyers who came from widely different regiments of the army to launch the Royal Flying Corps. Ignoring the renown he won for himself in air battle, he gives vignettes of famous aces whom he knew — Albert Ball, McCudden and many others. Air of Battle is one man's story of the First World War as told from the skies. William Fry (Nov 1896 – 1992) has eleven aerial victories credited to his name. He flew in at least four different aircraft during his service. Fry married Katherine Mary Carrington in 1924. Having served in Egypt, Fry returned to the RAF to serve during World War II.

195 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 25, 2020

Reviews

[MR CHRISTOPHER · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good informative read

What an excellent and enjoyable read this book is. For anyone interested in the vreat war and flying it is a great book to get the feel of that time through the eyes of a pilot who lived through it.

[MR ANDREW TUCKER · Rating 4 out of 5]

How did they survive

To be given a few hours training in flying before being sent to the front has always amazed me. Then to fly any aircraft with no training on the type and sent into battle must have been really scary and the author sums it up nicely.

[Alan Leach · Rating 4 out of 5]

good read