Albert Ball VC: The Story of the 1st World War Ace

by Chaz Bowyer

In the 1st World War the daring exploits of pilot Albert Ball caught the imagination of the British public like no other. Ball acquired his wings in the RFC in January 1916 and was first posted to France in February of that year. Then he joined No 13 Squadron and for a six-week period in March 1916 saw almost constant action flying the Squadron's Bristol Scout. Moving to No 11 Squadron in May 1916, Ball's score quickly accumulated. He had acquired a reputation as a tenacious scout pilot, often flying alone in his Nieuport and invariably returning to base with a near empty fuel tank. In August he returned to No 11 Squadron and soon after became the highest scoring scout pilot of the time. Waging his solitary aerial war, Ball became a true inspiration to the RFC when its squadrons were being mauled. But his life was to prove tragically short and he was killed in action just before his 21st birthday leading a patrol of SE5's. He had accounted for forty-four German aircraft.

Genres: Aviation, World War I, Nonfiction

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Chaz Bowyer (1927-2008) was an aviation historian and author. He joined the RAF, aged 16, in 1942 and left it in 1969. Then he turned his hand to his life-long passion for aviation and started writing.

Reviews

['Aussie Rick' · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read Chaz Bowyer’s book on Albert Ball, 1996 and it’s a great story of a young English pilot who rose to fame over the Western Front in only 15 months of aerial combat.

This is a well told and well researched account of a young British ace who died aged 20 but managed to account for 44 combat victories and was awarded the Military Cross, three Distinguished Service Orders, the Russian Order of St George and posthumously the French Legion d’Honneur and Britain’s highest decoration for gallantry, the Victoria Cross.

This book is well worth the time to read and should be in the library of any serious aviation buff.