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When Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin's rigid airship LZ 1 flew over
Lake Constance in 1900, it was the most advanced and impressive
flying machine in the world: a colossal, lighter-than-air craft
capable of controlled flight. In World War I, Zeppelins were first
used in a reconnaissance role, but on 19 January 1915 Kaiser
Wilhelm II authorised their use in bombing strategic targets in
England. From then on, `Zeppelin' became synonymous with terror to
the British, and indeed the airship's effectiveness was more
psychological than material. Still, their raids compelled the Royal
Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service to embark on a program of
modernising their aerial defences, accelerating a process that
would ultimately make the aeroplane, rather than the airship, the
paramount flying machine of the war. Using specially commissioned
artwork, contemporary photographs and first-hand accounts, this
book tells the fascinating story of Britain's first Blitz from the
airships who terrorised the public to the men who sought to defend
the skies.
This book profiles a wide variety of British, French, German,
Austro-Hungarian and American aircraft, ranging from frontline
stalwarts like the RE 8 and AR 1 to the swift Salmson 2A2 and the
compact, fighter-like Halberstadt CL II.
Oft-overshadowed by the fighters that either protected or
threatened them, two-seater reconnaissance aircraft performed the
oldest and most strategically vital aerial task of World War 1 - a
task that required them to return with the intelligence they
gathered at all costs. Bomber sorties were equally important and
dangerous, and the very nature of both types of mission required
going in harm's way. A surprising number of British, French and
German two-seater teams managed to attain or exceed the five
victories needed to achieve the acedom popularly associated with
their single-seat nemeses, and in this book they receive their
long-overdue recognition. Many high-scoring single-seat fighter
aces also began their careers in two-seaters, particularly in the
early stages of the conflict, and their exploits as either pilots
or observers are detailed here too.
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