Tumult in the Clouds
The British Experience of the War in the Air, 1914-1918
Steel, Nigel - Hart, Peter
First Edition. First Printing.
The first great air war, fought by the pioneers of military aviation between 1914 and 1918, was an epic chronicle of human endeavour brilliantlv lit by flashes of audacity and courage. Yet across it, too, hung the dark shadow of death.
The airmen of the Royal Flying Corps, the Royal Naval Air Service and eventually the Royal Air Force were engaged in a harsh contest in which onlv the most skilful and ruthless could prevail. Whether they were flying as scout pilots deliberately to confront the enemv, or fulfilling the fundamental raison d'etre of the air services through reconnaissance or artillery spotting, they had but one aim. They were there to win and the pressure of failure played fiercely on their nerves. Yet, like moths to a burning lamp, the young and the energetic continued to be drawn towards the struggle above the ground. They sought out a life of great excitement and rapid change. To survive they relied on a sardonic sense of humour and a determination to live while they still could. From the nauseating depths of combat to the intoxicating heights of the squadron mess, the airmen soared and fell in a world of extremes.
It is this world that Nigel Steel and Peter Hart evoke in their account of British experience of the First World War in the air. Drawing on a tapestry of personal testament incorporating fresh oral material as well as diaries and letters written at the time, they show how life changed from the early days of unarmed encountcrs to the intense, deadly combat of the final years. The reaction of civilians to the new form of warfare is also detailed alongside that of the men in the front line, and as the advent of bombing raids both by airships and aeroplanes brought the war direct to the British public in their homes, this massive expansion of the conflict itself forced morals as well as tactics to be reassessed and moved war on to a new battlefield.
Hardcover with dust jacket
382 Seiten / pages
photos and documents
good condition with a dedication to the prvious owner
London - 1997 - Hodder & Stoughton
Art.Nr. 25161
