The Royal Aircraft Factory SE 5/5a was, along with the Sopwith Camel, the major British fighting scout of the last 18 months of the war in France.
It equipped several major squadrons, the first being No 56 Sqn in April 1917. This unit became famous for the number of aces it had among its pilots, including Albert Ball, James McCudden, Geoffrey Bowman, Richard Maybery, Leonard Barlow, Hank Burden and Cyril Crowe. In all, 26 aces flew the aircraft with No 56 Sqn alone. Other well-known units were Nos 1, 24, 29, 32, 40, 41, 60, 64, 2 AFC, 74, 84, 85 and 92 Sqns. A number of Victoria Cross winners also flew SE 5/5as, namely Ball, Mannock, McCudden, Beauchamp Proctor and Bishop. Among the aces, no fewer than 20 scored more than 20 victories. In all, there were almost 100 SE 5/5a aces, and a large number of them are profiled in this volume.
Supporting the text are more than 110 photographs, 37 brand new colour artworks and detailed appendices listing every pilot who 'made ace' on the SE 5/5a.
Autorentext
Norman Franks is one of the world's leading authorities on World War 1 fighter aviation, having published some of the seminal works on the subject. He has written volume 32 'Albatros Aces of World War I' and 33 'Nieuport Aces of World War I' in 2000 and co-authored volume 40 'Fokker Dr I Aces of World War I' in 2001.
Inhalt
Chapter 1: Origins of the SE 5 5a
Chapter 2: With the RFC in 1916
Chapter 3: RFC in 'Bloody April'
Chapter 4: 1917
Chapter 5: 1918
Appendices: Aces; Squadrons and bases; Ace SE 5 5as; SE 5 5a pilot awards