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A review by komet2020
DE HAVILLAND DH2 AND THE MEN WHO FLEW THEM by Trevor Henshaw, Barry Gray, Mike Kelsey, Mick Davis
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
As the First World War proceeded apace on the Western Front in 1915, air power began to gradually assume more importance in the outcome of military operations. With the adoption by the Germans in July of that year of the Fokker Eindekker single-seat monoplane fighter, which boasted one forward-firing machine gun synchronized to fire through the propeller arc, this aircraft played a significant part through the remainder of the year and into early 1916 in preventing Britain's Royal Flying Corps (RFC) in carrying out effectively its allotted roles of gathering intelligence, scouting over the front lines and beyond, bombing, and artillery spotting.
In response to the challenges now facing the RFC, the DeHavilland DH2 biplane fighter was introduced to help wrest aerial supremacy (what was then a new concept) from the Germans over the Western Front. (A prototype of the DH2 had already been tested and deployed in action in August 1915. But unfortunately its pilot was killed and the plane ended up in German territory.) The DH2 was a unique aircraft for its time in that its engine was situated behind the cockpit, and a forward-firing Lewis gun was set directly in front of the pilot, affording him a clear field of fire.
Throughout the spring and summer of 1916, the RFC deployed 3 squadrons on the Western Front with the DH2 (Nos. 24, 29, and 32 Squadrons), which proved themselves to be more than a match for the Eindekker in aerial combat. Indeed, the DH2 performed so well in combat that the Germans were compelled to withdraw the Eindekker from frontline service by mid-1916 and work on developing and deploying at the Front fighter planes that could effectively challenge the DH2.
So it was that the DH2s - which was among the RFC's first true fighter planes - gave the British aerial supremacy over the Somme Front until the introduction by the German Luftstreitkräfte in the late summer and fall of 1916 of the Halberstadt DV (armament: 1 forward-firing machine gun) and Albatros series of fighters (the DI, DII, and DIII) which boasted 2 forward-firing Spandau machine guns, synchronized to fire through the propeller. These planes, in terms of performance, were superior to the DH2 in terms of speed, firepower, and rate of climb. But until the RFC could introduce to the Front advanced fighters, it had to soldier on with the DH2, which it did well into the spring of 1917.
This book offers a full and definitive story --- rich with photos --- of the DH2s' service on the Western Front, in addition to its later service in Salonika (Macedonia), Egypt and the Middle East. There is also extensive information about the aircraft's characteristics, full color illustrations of the DH2, the tactics it deployed in combat, and the squadrons they flew the DH2 overseas and with Home Defence in the UK.
I highly recommend DeHAVILLAND DH2 AND THE MEN WHO FLEW THEM for any World War I aviation enthusiast. It's an absolute keeper.
In response to the challenges now facing the RFC, the DeHavilland DH2 biplane fighter was introduced to help wrest aerial supremacy (what was then a new concept) from the Germans over the Western Front. (A prototype of the DH2 had already been tested and deployed in action in August 1915. But unfortunately its pilot was killed and the plane ended up in German territory.) The DH2 was a unique aircraft for its time in that its engine was situated behind the cockpit, and a forward-firing Lewis gun was set directly in front of the pilot, affording him a clear field of fire.
Throughout the spring and summer of 1916, the RFC deployed 3 squadrons on the Western Front with the DH2 (Nos. 24, 29, and 32 Squadrons), which proved themselves to be more than a match for the Eindekker in aerial combat. Indeed, the DH2 performed so well in combat that the Germans were compelled to withdraw the Eindekker from frontline service by mid-1916 and work on developing and deploying at the Front fighter planes that could effectively challenge the DH2.
So it was that the DH2s - which was among the RFC's first true fighter planes - gave the British aerial supremacy over the Somme Front until the introduction by the German Luftstreitkräfte in the late summer and fall of 1916 of the Halberstadt DV (armament: 1 forward-firing machine gun) and Albatros series of fighters (the DI, DII, and DIII) which boasted 2 forward-firing Spandau machine guns, synchronized to fire through the propeller. These planes, in terms of performance, were superior to the DH2 in terms of speed, firepower, and rate of climb. But until the RFC could introduce to the Front advanced fighters, it had to soldier on with the DH2, which it did well into the spring of 1917.
This book offers a full and definitive story --- rich with photos --- of the DH2s' service on the Western Front, in addition to its later service in Salonika (Macedonia), Egypt and the Middle East. There is also extensive information about the aircraft's characteristics, full color illustrations of the DH2, the tactics it deployed in combat, and the squadrons they flew the DH2 overseas and with Home Defence in the UK.
I highly recommend DeHAVILLAND DH2 AND THE MEN WHO FLEW THEM for any World War I aviation enthusiast. It's an absolute keeper.