French Aircraft
of the First World War

by James Davilla
and Arthur Soltan

Reviewed by Bill Rutherford


This volume is overwhelming. The authors have tried to, and, I think, largely succeeded, in giving us the tour de force regarding the aircraft of the Aviation Militaire of World War One. It's a large book - 618 pages, not counting covers - and is packed with information. There're 189 sets of plans herein both l/72nd and 1/144th scale, a color section with 61 color schemes (each with informative and descriptive side notes), a nice pair of color prints, and three pages of color photos of surviving French a/c.

It's a rare page that doesn't have at least one or two b/w photos of French a/c on it. French Aircraft finishes up with an extensive bibliography and a detailed index - especially welcome, considering the wide variety of aircraft described. So what's the body of the book like? It's an alphabetical listing of just about every type of aircraft the Aviation Militaire flew, basic technical details, and development and operational histories. Specific information regarding foreign operators is provided when available, including specific squadron assignments and short operational histories. Davilla and Soltan don't try to get into the esoterica of aces and unit histories - I've a strange feeling we can look to a future volume - at least as big as this - on these topics. This book's price is just about as big as the book $89.95 from your FLGS, book store, or direct from Flying Machines Press, at 5 Chelsea St., Stratford, CT 06497. French Aircraft of the First World War gives truth to the old adage - that you get what you pay for. It is, in my humble opinion, worth every cent of it's price -

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