I just received a copy of American Eagles (The Illustrated History of American Aviation in WWI), by Narayan Sengupta and thought I'd let others know about this book.
It's a paperback, 8 1/2 by 11 inches (21 1/2 x 28cm), and contains 335 pages (not including the index) and 235 illustrations - mostly photos but some maps and artwork are also included.
As far as covering the USAS in WWI it couldn't get much more in depth, covering everything from how the war started and a brief look at Military Aviation history up to that point, through training Squadrons and the various differant operations of the USAS (Pursuit, Observation, Tactical Bombardment, Seaplanes, Lighter-than-air, Marine Aviation and Strategic Bombardment), to anecdotes and histories of some of the men involved including some photos from reunions in the 1980's.
More specifically, there are chapters on most of the individual units with many extracts from diaries, reports, and reminiscences, and photos (all of a very high quality) of the airfields, (some than-and-now), pilots and their machines, mechanics, etc. and an "Aftermath" chapter looking at the lives and careers of some of the pilots after the war.
The Appendices cover: Statistics and rosters (victory tables, aircraft types data, Squadron summaries including types flown and bases used, Order of Battle on 11/11/18), Quentin Roosevelt's death and the Roosevelt family service history, the USAS 90th Anniversary, and Saints airfield today.
All in all, I'm very impressed. A great referance book for any WWI Aviation fan, and certainly for anyone with a specific interest in the USAS.
I thoroughly recommend it!
To top all that off, I received excellent service from Mr Sengupta. My original order went missing, and he supplied another copy at his own expense, no questions asked.
Ian
