Dog-Fight: Aerial Tactics of the Aces of World War I

Air & Space Power Journal, Fall, 2004 by Bert Frandsen

Dog-Fight: Aerial Tactics of the Aces of World War I by Norman Franks. Stackpole Books (http:// www.stackpolebooks.com/cgi-bin/Stackpole Books.storefront), 5067 Ritter Road, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania 17055-6921, 2003, 288 pages, $34.95 (hardcover).

According to Norman Franks, Dog-Fight "is the story of the development of aerial warfare in 1914-18" (p. 7). He traces the technological development of the fighter and its employment in combat, relying heavily on a chronological presentation of vignettes about famous aces and their machines. Many of these depictions include lengthy quotations by the aces themselves. The book is also richly illustrated with photographs of the pilots and their airplanes, as well as several informative diagrams of formations and maneuvers. Focusing on the western front, Franks writes mostly about the British and their German opponents. He makes occasional references to the French Air Service and its most famous aces, but these are only tangential to the British-German story line and its organizational focus on the Jastas and Circuses. For example, the book makes no mention of the Cigognes (Storks), the elite French fighter group, until near the end (p. 238) and does not discuss the French Air Division, the largest combat-aviation organization of any of the World War I principals, at all.

The American experience receives about 10 pages of attention, the first page of which (p. 197) contains four factual errors: Franks states that Raoul Lufbery commanded the 94th Aero Squadron (he did not); that the 103rd Aero Squadron was equipped with Nieuport 28s (actually, Spad VIIs); that Capt James E. Miller was killed before the 95th Aero received its Nieuports (he was killed afterward); and that Miller led the patrol on which he was killed (Miller followed). Because Dog-Fight does not include citations, one can only guess what sources the author consulted in writing this error-riddled page.

Because of its focus on the aces, the discussion of aerial warfare rarely rises above the tactical level. Consequently, the narrative emphasizes aerial victories, thus losing sight of which side achieved aerial superiority and its operational effect on the campaign. The two-page index includes only the names of persons. Air Force professionals interested in the development of fighters and their role in aerial warfare during this period are better served by Richard P. Hallion's Rise of the Fighter Aircraft, 1914-1918 (Annapolis: Nautical and Aviation Publishing Company of America, 1984).

Dr. Bert Frandsen

Maxwell AFB, Alabama