In the Teeth of the Wind: The Story of a Naval Pilot on the Western Front 1916-1918 [Hardcover]

Squadron Leader C. P. O. Bartlett (Author), Nick Bartlett (Editor)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 159 pages
• Publisher: Naval Inst Pr (August 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557503931
• ISBN-13: 978-1557503930
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,516,172 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 Squadron RNAS - A concise history, April 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: In the Teeth of the Wind: The Story of a Naval Pilot on the Western Front 1916-1918 (Hardcover)

This book is the war journal of a naval aviator who flew 101 combat missions over and around the Belgian coast, first reporting to what was known as 5 Wing RNAS during September of 1916. This unit became 5 Squadron RNAS in December of that year, and was known as such until becoming 205 Squadron RAF in April of 1918. This remarkably well-written journal covers the entire period of 5 Squadron's operation, and preserves the history of that unit in an easily read style. There are many war journals in publication, but this one is a bit different since 5 Squadron was basically a bombing squadron. Most of the author's missions were flown in the DH-4 two-seater, and his harshest criticism is reserved for those pursuit pilots who were less than diligent when on escort duty. The book includes first person comparisons of the handling qualities of many different aircraft of the period, including captured enemy aircraft, and a few single seaters that the author flew on rare occasions. There are also graphic accounts of a number of individual missions, including a large scale battle against the "Flying Circus" which the author was fortunate enough to survive. Then too, there are personal glimpses of some famous personalities of the war such as Nungesser, and Beauchamp-Proctor. To me, however, the best parts of this book are the discusssions of what might be termed Great War trivia. These include the most vivid description of "flaming onions" that I have read anywhere, the story of the "Hanging Virgin" of Albert, the Leugenboom gun, and a simple description of how rotary engines are supposed to work. To top things off, the book features a good reference map of all the locations mentioned in the text, a selection of quality black and white photographs from the author's personal collection, and helpful footnotes by the author's son who edited the book for publication.