Somme Success: The Royal Flying Corps and the Battle of The Somme 1916
Somme Success: The Royal Flying Corps and the Battle of The Somme 1916 book cover

Somme Success: The Royal Flying Corps and the Battle of The Somme 1916

Paperback – October 24, 2012

by
Price
$24.95
Format
Paperback
Pages
224
Publisher
Pen and Sword Military
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1848848825
Dimensions
5.75 x 0.5 x 9 inches
Weight
1.01 pounds

Description

"Another dimension of the Somme battles by an established British historian." WWI Historical Foundation "This is a good book for anyone looking for a different perspective to the Battle of the Somme or interested in narrative and oral histories of the Great War. It is a wonderful overview to aerial combat and a good exploration of air force diaries. Hart makes no attempt to deal with the historiography of war but provides an interesting and valuable narrative of the learning curve of the early days of air warfare which adds to any understanding of the Battle of the Somme." Kathryn's History Blog Peter Hart is an author and historian.

Features & Highlights

  • High above the blood soaked trenches of the Somme during the Summer and Autumn of 1916, the Royal Flying Corps were acting out - and winning - one of the first great aerial battles of history.Even in those pioneering days of flying, primitive aircraft flown by brave young men were of significant military value. Before the battle, photographic reconnaissance aircraft from both sides were desperately trying to map the opposition's deployment. Artillery spotting aircraft were proving invaluable in directing devastating fire onto otherwise hidden targets. Bombing raids became a normal routine.Somme Success is a highly effective description of all facets of air operations of the period. It uses the voices and accounts of those who were there. It describes how the RFC met the Fokker scourge head on using DH2 single seaters and, later, the ubiquitous FE2B two seaters, of the type that German 'Ace' Max Immelmann was shot down by.Having conceded air supremacy to the RFC early in the offensive, the German Air Service launched an aerial counter attack during August and September. The elite scout squadron led by Oswald Boelcke raised the stakes and their Albatross single seaters proved superior to any allied aircraft. Richthofen then appeared on the scene and a new period of German supremacy began.This is a thrilling account of the dramatic events of the period and an insight into the 'glamorous' world of the Great Aces.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(61)
★★★★
25%
(51)
★★★
15%
(30)
★★
7%
(14)
★
23%
(47)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Somme Success reviewed

This is one of several books by Peter Hart on the role of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) in the First World War. It is extremely well written, and uses a wide variety of first-person accounts to reveal both the British and German perspectives on the real nature of early air combat, and the role it played in the overall strategy of the Western Front in 1916. Much more than aces and fighter vs. fighter combat, this book looks at the vital role played by reconnaissance, artillery observation and photographic planes in planning and carrying out one of the great battles of the war. A must read for anyone interested in the Great War in the air.
6 people found this helpful
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An Old Book With A New Cover

As are all of Peter Hart's works, this is a wonderful history of air combat on the Western Front. Hart, as always, makes heavy use of anecdotes to tell his story. It is heavily weighted toward the British side but, after all, Hart, works at the Imperial War Museum and that is where he finds most of his raw material. My only gripe (and it is a frequent gripe with Amazon) is that they make this book appear to be a new publication when, in fact, it was first published many years ago. Amazon, on this web site, gives only the most recent printing date, not the original copyright date. Still, I hadn't read it and it was new to me if not the rest of the world.
3 people found this helpful
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Somme Success

Despite it being predominately/All from the Entente/RFC/British point of view, I'm enjoying It. No, I've yet
to finish this volume.
More historical - that is Not A Novel, which is to my liking.
1 people found this helpful
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Four Stars

Very easy read, lots of pictures of some incredible aircraft and crews
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Worth the money, a good read.

A very good summary of early WWI aviation with lots of historic first person accounts from letters post battle correspondences.
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Bot Too shabby

The book is easy to read if you are into early aviation during WW1. I needed it for background on WW1 and how aviation developed, fitted into the offensive model and if and how it changed the course of warfare in similar circumstances to the tank. I would recommend it to military historians who do not specialise in air war.

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