The day-to-day insights of a brilliantly daring World War I ace that only ends with his death at the age of 23 . . . James McCudden was an outstanding British fighter ace of World War I, whose daring exploits earned him a tremendous reputation and, ultimately, an untimely end. Here, in this unique and gripping firsthand account, he brings to life some of aviation history's most dramatic episodes in a memoir completed at the age of twenty-three, just days before his tragic death. During his time in France with the Royal ...
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The day-to-day insights of a brilliantly daring World War I ace that only ends with his death at the age of 23 . . . James McCudden was an outstanding British fighter ace of World War I, whose daring exploits earned him a tremendous reputation and, ultimately, an untimely end. Here, in this unique and gripping firsthand account, he brings to life some of aviation history's most dramatic episodes in a memoir completed at the age of twenty-three, just days before his tragic death. During his time in France with the Royal Flying Corps from 1914 to 1918, McCudden rose from mechanic to pilot and flight commander. Following his first kill in September 1916, McCudden shot down a total of fifty-seven enemy planes, including a remarkable three in a single minute in January 1918. A dashing patrol leader, he combined courage, loyalty, and judgment, studying the habits and psychology of enemy pilots and stalking them with patience and tenacity. Written with modesty and frankness, yet acutely perceptive, Flying Fury is both a valuable insight into the world of early aviation and a powerful account of courage and survival above the mud and trenches of Flanders. Fighter ace James McCudden died in July 1918, after engine failure caused his plane to crash just four months before the end of World War I. His success as one of Britain's deadliest pilots earned him the Victoria Cross.
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Seller's Description:
Good. Good condition. No Dust Jacket Air Combat Classics Series. (Aviation, Autobiography, royal Flying corps) A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good+ with no dust jacket. 0947898603. Softcover. Spine extremities are very lightly bumped. Else covers and pages are clean.; B&W Photographs; WKT19B; 270 pages.
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Seller's Description:
Very good in very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 304 p. Contains: Unspecified. Vintage Aviation. Audience: General/trade. Book is in very good condition, didn't see any marks, shipped with a tracking number.
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Seller's Description:
As New in As New jacket. First printing of this reissue of this WWI memoir. With photos and appendix of the author's victoriess. As new in an as new dustjacket. (box 146)
Major James Thomas Byford McCudden was one of the finest fighter pilots ever to take to the air over the trenches of the Western Front. He ranks as one of the top 10 aces of that conflict, of either side. He might have become the #1 allied ace had he not lost his life in July 1918; not because of enemy action, but because of a stall/spin accident following an engine failure immediately after takeoff. This book gives the reader an initimate glimpse of life in the RFC (Royal Flying Corps) during the earliest days of the war, and in fact preceding it. During this time McCudden served in 3 Squadron as an engine fitter, although those responsibilities did not prevent him from cadging rides whenever possible. His accounts of these flights are remarkable, for he is riding in machines that were flying less than a decade after the Wright brothers flew at Kittyhawk. His later exploits as a pilot were no less notable. In one instance, McCudden was flying a FE (which has a pusher propeller) and notes that: "...on patrol, up high, I sometimes stood on my seat and looked over the tail, the machine was so steady and stable. My observer never liked this part of the performance, especially when one day I was doing it and one of my gloves blew off into the propeller, which shed a blade, and very nearly wrecked the machine before I could reach my seat and throttle my engine down." Of equal importance is the fact that this book was not written many years after the events and persons which they describe. His writing is simple, plain, and tells the story as one might expect a 22 year old to do. It is fresh, and breathes life into those young boys who are no more. It is worth noting that McCudden handed the final installment of his original handwritten manuscript to his editor just two days before his last flight ended in tragedy. If you are a student of World War One aviation, or aviation history in general, track down a copy of "Flying Fury: Five Years in the Royal Flying Corps". You will not be disappointed.
