MILITARY AERONAUTICS 1914–1918

If you are passionate about the history of French aviation, this book will interest you — it offers a fresh and updated perspective on what has already been published. Among other things, it features the insignia worn on 11 November 1918 at 11:00, those that have become the traditions of our Air Force and its allies.

This book, Military Aeronautics 1914–1918, which catalogues and recounts the history of those 619 escadrilles, goes beyond the corpus of insignia of the 371 operational escadrilles — for it is the story of the birth of that Military Aeronautics which would become the French Air Force that the author tells, through the evolution of the war, its dates, its battles, both on the front lines and in the corridors of ministries and general staffs.
He also explains how each escadrille created its own signature and personality … through that "mark", the escadrille's insignia — a reflection of its character and mettle, embodied by a commander, an ace … often born of circumstance, humour, a play on words, an anecdote, a drama, or sheer irreverence. Philippe Jourdan recounts dozens of these "small stories". It is a book of multiple entry points, in which one can wander freely among the escadrilles and the men.
The book is richly illustrated and punctuated with anecdotes and commentary — such as what a DCA escadrille or a Coastal Escadrille actually was, the reality and the reasons behind a genuine war in the Maghreb … how a Seminole Indian became a proud Lakota warrior … and the "philosophy" of a Marcel Jeanjean …
Not forgetting the martial exploits of Gabrielle D'Annunzio … Dell'ultimo condottiere!

120 pages / 21×29.7 cm. Semi-matt coated paper 115 g, UV varnish. Softcover.

This book is bilingual and fully translated into English.