Product Description

Befitting its status as Germany's premier fighter unit, von Richthofen's JG I (led by Hermann Goring in the wake of the 'Red Baron's recent death) received the first examples of the D VII to reach the frontline in late April. Built to oppose the new generation of French SPAD XIIIs and British SE 5as and Carnel fighters, the D VII was arguably the best all-round fighting scour of the Great War. This volume completes the Osprey Aircraft of the Aces coverage of arguably the best fighting scout put into the air by either side in World War I.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #400261 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 96 pages

About the Author
Norman Franks is one of the world's leading authorities on World War I fighter aviation, having published some of the seminal works on the subject. He is currently working on a long list of volumes on Great War aces for Osprey's Aircraft of the Aces series. Greg VanWyngarden has had a lifelong interest in World War I aviation, and has been particularly active in deciphering the colours and markings that decorated the various German fighters flown by the leading aces. This is his third book for Osprey, having co-authored Aircraft of the Aces 40: 'Fokker Dr I Aces of World War I' (2001) and Aircraft of the Aces 53: 'Fokker D Aces of World War I: Pt I' (2002) with Norman Franks. Berkshire-based Harry Dempsey is a talented profile artist who specialises in fighter aircraft of World War I. He has illustrated all of Osprey's World War I Aircraft of the Aces titles to date.

Customer Reviews

Great book describing the aces of a great aircraft.
Fokker D VII Aces Part 2 continues where Part 1 left off in that it covers the aces of the German air force in World War 1 who flew the D VII in the last months of the war. While part 1 covered the D VII aces of the four elite army Jagdgeschwadern, this volume covers the many (and perhaps less famous) army Jagdgruppen who operated along the entire Western Front. The strenghs of the book are the depth of knowledge the authors show, not only in the aircraft and its aces but also the individual aircraft of each ace. The colour plates are excellant and the photos are very good and well choosen.

When reading this book it occured clearly that even though the German army was being defeated on the ground, in the air the German pilots continued to fight on against overwelming odds and continue to take heavy casulties on allied aircraft (having a aircraft like the D VII certaintly helped). An extract from a German pilot in November 1918 says how he felt sad at people not showing gratitude and appreciation for the pilots' efforts during the war. Thanks to books like these the achievements of these brave and pioneering airmen lives on.

Usual Osprey standard
In common with most of the books in this series the "Fokker DVII Aces" gives a short history of the aces and a colour guide to many of their aircraft. It is not really a book to read cover to cover. more to dip in and out of for reference. There are plenty of photos of the men and their machines as well as the colour illustrations. Very useful to a modeller doing basic research for the next model, and the outline biographies of the aces are useful (although fairly dry) as background and to add that human touch. The forword gives a little detail on the background history of the aircraft, but there is little technical detail. Cutaways, construction and handling details are not included. However as a basic painting guide, excellent.

Wonderful illustration of the Era of Fying Aces
I won't duplicate Steven's review of this book as the main purpose of buying this book for me was to find information to help me build a flying scale model of the Fokker D V11. The many illustrations and diagrams are very good and this is an essential resource for anyone interested in this aircraft. The plane itself represented an important development in aviation.

I do think one has to take care in admiring the pilots though. Young dare devils are ten a penny in any era and in aeroplanes not many survive. Of those that did many formed the nucleus of the Nazi Luftwaffe and Herman Goering, a successful flyer of these planes, became one of the vilest of Hitler's deputies. In this respect the book is pretty well balanced and factual - it is the reader who must take care not to get carried away.