Knights of the Air [Hardcover]

David Bashow (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2, 2001

This book contains many striking historical photographs, maps, and documents, and the text is complemented by the outstanding art of Stephen Quick.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 210 pages
• Publisher: Mcarthur & Company; First edition (August 2, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1552781623
• ISBN-13: 978-1552781623
• Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 9.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,766,422 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Bashow was born in Calgary, Alberta in 1946. After graduation from UNB he joined the Canadian Air Force, flying the CF104 Starfighter for ten years on 439 Sqn. in Germany, 417 Sqn. Cold Lake, Alberta, as an exchange FWIC instructor on the Fighting 69th in Phoenix, AZ. Best known for his book, Starfighter, Bashow has also written several books on Canadian air operations in WWII and WWI. Upon retiring from the military Bashow became the editor of the Canadian Military Journal and is also an associate professor of history at Royal Military College. Bashow lives with his wife Heather, and their horses and dogs on a 72 acre farm in Kingston, Ontario.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Canadian Fighter Pilots in WWI!, June 1, 2009

By 

Michael OConnor "Wordsmith" (Wausau, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Knights of the Air (Hardcover)

During the War to End All Wars, some 13,000 Canadians served in the RFC/RNAS/RAF. By war's end, Britain boasted some 863 aces of which 171 were Canadians, a disproportionate number from a country with such a small population. Interestingly enough, of the 26 top Empire aces with 30 or more kills, ten were Canadians including the top ace of aces. Donald Bashow examines the exploits of those aces in this 2000 release from McArthur & Company.

Though Bashow's book is subtitled CANADIAN FIGHTER PILOTS IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR, that's a little misleading. The story of Canada's fighter pilots is just one of the threads that runs through the book. Bashow also describes the overall ground war, the development of military aviation among the combatants, Canadian efforts to support the war effort and so on. The resulting book is part scholarly tome, part popular history which sometimes makes for uneven reading.

Bashow surveys the air war in chronological order with two special chapters on Billy Bishop and Roy Brown/Manfred von Richtofen. Numerous Canadian fighter pilots/aces are introduced in their proper place and their exploits detailed. A number of the accounts feature first-person reminiscences and/or combat reports which are quite interesting.

To his credit, Bashow does an admirably fair-handed job of rehashing the Brown/Richtofen controversy. When it comes to Bishop, Bashow makes his sympathies fairly evident with the title he assigns to Chapter Four - 'The Incomparable Billy Bishop.' Bishop's record including his VC-winning, lone-wolf raid on a German airfield has been hotly debated for years. Bashow admits Bishop wasn't a saint but is generally supportive of his claims. Rather than re-fight the Billy Bishop Battle in this review, I suggest readers check out THE MAKING OF BILLY BISHOP for an opposing view.

KNIGHTS OF THE AIR includes dozens of vintage and contemporary b&w and color photographs of pilots, aircrew and aircraft along with color profiles of various fighter aircraft by Stephen Quick. Quick also furnished ten dramatic air combat scenes done in color and various pencil drawings of aircrew and aircraft.

All in all, KNIGHTS OF THE AIR is a detailed, well-researched and well-illustrated history of WWI in the air that furnishes many fascinating details on Canadian fighter pilots. If possible, I would have given it 4 1/2 stars, in large part because of its take on Bishop. Be that as it may, air combat enthusiasts will want to add KNIGHTS OF THE AIR to their collection. Recommended.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, April 17, 2004

By 

Ben Lawson (Kingston, ON, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Knights of the Air (Hardcover)

A really good book. Very informative. LCol Bashow is one of my profs here at The Royal Military College of Canada so I can voich for his credibility. His book covers Canadian involvement in the Air Force from the beginning of the war until the end, with interesting anecdotes and sidenotes included, such as a section on Billy Bishop and his famous raid. Perfect for research or just for fun reading.