I've listed my library of WW1 Aviation books below and grouped them into (1) hard bound books and (2) booklets.   The latter category includes my collection of Profile Publications.  Also see my selection of WW1 Photos, that contain some interesting info on airplanes and pilot uniforms.

  "Aeroplanes and Flyers of the First World War" (1973) by Joseph A. Phelan.  Excellent general history of WW1 aviation.  A lot of history and technical info such as names and organizations of German units.  Even though it contains no photographs, every page is full of color illustrations, sketches, or line drawings. Contains many color illustrations of airplanes.  I read this book back in elementary school in 1960's under the title:
 "Heroes & Aeroplanes of the Great War, 1914-1918"  (1966) -   Exactly same book as above with different cover.  I finally picked up the original edition at an antique store.   Look for it in the children's section of your local library.

 "Air Aces of the Austria-Hungary Empire."   by Dr. M. O'Conner (Flying Machine Press, 1986)  The Austria-Hungary impact in avaition is over looked. This book is very well documented. Contains a detailed biography of each fighter ace(including navy) with some amazing photos.  Many color plates of various fighters. In some photos can be seen some early examples of camouflage and national insignia later adopted by Luftwaffe.  Excellent for modeling ideas.  Pages 336. ISBN 0-9637110-1-6.

"Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War 1" Forward by John W. R. Taylor.  A compilation of info from the original Jane's All the World's Aircraft from 1914, 1916, 1917, and 1918 editions(there was no 1915 edition).  Contains photos, spec data, and drawings on many of the aircraft of WW1.  It includes some historical info on the air forces and pilots.  A tremendous amount of performance data and details on engines, such as the wiring ignition connection for the Liberty Engine.  A nice, quick reference source for any aircraft you are looking for.  Some pages and photos appear to be poor copies. Contains over 1000 illustrations. 320 pages.  Publisher Studio.  ISBN 1-85170-347-0.

"Aces High: The War in the Air Over the Western Front"  by Alan Clark.  A highly illustrated chronical of aerial warfare.  Contains very crisp photos.  Republished with 80 new photos and illustrations. A good basic book on WW1 aviation.  Barnes & Noble, 1999(first printing 1973) ISBN 0-7607-1676-5.    Note: book contains several 5-view color plates from the Profile Publications(see below).

"Heroes of The Sunlit Sky."   by Arch Whitehouse  "Capsule biographies of the great air aces of WW1. With over 75 historic photographs".  A great reference book with information on 134 pilots, observers, zep pilots and even balloonists.  Details of combat experiences and feats of valor.  One of the best is the story of Lt. (USA) Paul Neibling, who was awarded a DSC for downing one Fokker D-VII.  Why?  He shot it down using his .45 caliber pistol.  Includes bios on the great aces and the unknowns; such as Dudley Hill, who served 2 years both with Lafayette Escadrille and in 5 US squadrons but yet there is no record of any kills because he refused the limelight and didn't report any.  Glossary & Index.  32 pages of photos.  384 pages. Doubleday & Co. 1967. Lib of Congress No. 67-19088.

"The Years of The Sky Kings."   by Arch Whitehouse  The story of the drama and excitement of aerial warfare.  A chronological collection of stories, some that I haven't read in other books.  Each year of the war begins with a new chapter and has a table of aircraft that entered combat in that year.   Pages 336, 16 pgs of nice glossy photos. Doubleday & Co. First Edition 1959.

"Above Flander's Field."   by W.M. Peters  A documentary of the fighter aces of the Belgian Air Service. Not a lot of first-person stories but does include a short biography of each pilot and a list of victories.  Pgs 123 with 24 pages of nice glossy photos of many fighter pilots.  Contains 14 apppendices; including a list of victories in chronological order, monthly list of top 3 highest-ranking aces and sketches of squadron markings. Grub Street ISBN 1-898697-83-3.

 "Who Downed the Aces in WW1"   by Norman Frans. Facts, figures, and many photos on the fate of over 3,000 pilots flying over Western front.  Meticulous accounts of every ace shot down and relates one combat to other events and aces.  Sometimes a struggle to follow author's writing style, but it is loaded with photos of many of the aces.
(1996)  ISBN 0-7607-0778-2

 "Knights of the Air"   One of the series of Time-Life Book's Epic of Flight series. Some good general history and info and sketches of aircraft and pilot uniforms from all countries. Covers a lot of the usual history but doesn't seem to cover the whole picture.

"German Knights of the Air: 1914-1918"   Subtitled: "The Holders of the Orden Pour Le Merite".  Terry C. Treadwell & Alan C. Wood.  This book contains a biography of all 81 German pilots who were awarded the Blue Max.  Includes a photo of almost everyone of them wearing their medal and some photos of aircraft they flew.  Each pilot is described in a short biography that includes their birthplace, enlistment, list of awards, first victory and of course, how they died.  Pages 208.  Index and Appendices of glossary, rank and aircraft types. Barnes & Noble Books, 1997.  ISBN 0-7607-0790-1

 "War Planes in Battle Dress: 1914-1918"   H.D. Hastings & P. Parker (McLeod Ltd, 1963). Large 11 X 15 inch format with pages suitable for framing. The book covers each of the subject aircraft listed in table below.  Each aircraft has one page with photo and a short descriptive text and on the reverse page is a 3-view color drawing.  I used this book as painting guide for my Albatross D-V and Fokker D-VII (see photos in My Fleet).

 "The First to Fly: Aviation's Pioneer Days" by Sherwood Harris. Found this high school book at a garage sale. Covers early pioneers up to 1914 and some of their feats and their untimely deaths. Some of the great ones and not-so-great ones: Wright Brothers, Glenn Curtiss, Claude Grahame-White, Glenn Martin, Alfred Le Blanc, Cal Rodgers, Harriet Quimby,  and many others.  This book covers the years prior to WW1. (Simon & Schuster 1970)

"Aviation; the Early Years: The Hulton Getty Picture Collection" by  Peter Almond.  Combines the two new technologies of photography and aviation to chronicle the first years of man-powered flight.  Contains 450 vivid, black & white photos taken from 1908 to 1930.  A fine coffee-table reference book of high-quality photos.  Text in 3 languages.  Koneman 1997, 350 pages, 11.7 X 10.5 inches. ISBN 3-89508-682-7.

"Warplanes of the First World War; Fighters, Vol 3 of 10" by J. M. Bruce.  Small hardbound book with info like Jane's.  One 3-view drawing and photo of each aircraft.  Includes aircraft made by Sopwith, Supermarine, Pemberton, Vickers, Westland, Whitehead, & Wright.  Also includes some odd ones such as Wright Quadplane and the Pemberton Billing contraptions. 150 pages, with Index.  Doubleday & Co. 1969.

 "The Red Knight of Germany; The Story of Baron von Richthofen"   Floyd Gibbons.  The 1927 edition of the biography of Manfred von Richthofen.  This book has been reprinted with additional documents and is readily available.  Contains letters and first hand accounts by the Red Baron.

 "War Birds: Diary of An Unknown Aviator"by John MacGavock Grider, Edited by Elliott White Springs.  John Grider was an American who served with the Royal Air Force's 85th Squadron.  This is his diary that describes his trip overseas in September 1917, his training in England, and combat up until his death in August 1918.  Most of the book describes his adventures while on leave, but it has some good insight into the American aviators.  His best friend and ace, Elliot Springs, finished the book and fellow pilot, Clayton Knight, was the illustrator. Printed by Texas A&M Univ Press, 1988. 277 pages.  ISBN 0-89096-327-4.

 "Larry: A Biography of Larry Bell" by D. J. Norton.   Bell saw his first plane in 1910, designed aircraft for Glenn Martin and founded two companies with his name: Bell Aerospace and Bell Helicopters. A few good stories of early aircraft development and trials.   (Nelson-Hall)

"Hawker: One of Aviations Greatest Names"; "A biography of Harry Hawker" by L.K. Blackmore. Hawker was an Australian who began tinkering with motorcycles, he learned to fly at 12, attempted a trans-Atlantic flight and went on to have primary influence of all Sopwith fighter designs.  He founded Hawker Engineering after WW1, but died soon afterwards. The company became Hawker Aircraf and later Hawker Sidley Aviation. Bateman Ltd, 1990.   ISBN 0-949135-27-5

  "Fighting the Flying Circus" by Capt. Edwrd V. Rickenbacker of 94th ‘Hat-In-Ring’ Pursuit Squadron, USAS.  squadrons.  This famous ace tells his story of training and combat experiences.  He records the events and his feelings on the deaths of Alan Winslow, Frank Luke, and Quentin Roosevelt.  Honest, intelligent, and clinically analytical.  (Not to be confused with the book about his survival ordeal of a B-17 crash in WW2.)   370 pages. Copyrighted 1919.  1990 Reprint by Wings of War in nice hard-bound edition.

  "Falcons of France"   A Novel by Charles Nordhoff & James Norman Hall.  Even though this reads like a memoir of a WW1 aviator, it is only a novel.   The authors were pilots with the Lafayette Flying Corps and draw from their experience and knowledge about aircraft and American squadrons.  Pages 332, with 4 color illustrations.  Little, Brown & Company, 1945  (Original printing 1929).

  "Falcons of the Sky"   A collection of stories assembled into a history. Page of photos includes some of models and some that are mis-identified.  (Not excited about this book--I thought I was buying "Heroes of the Sunlit Sky", see above.)

"Fighter Pilots of World War 1"   by Robert Jackson.  Short biographies of 14 aces.  This book is an elementary-level book with no
photos. 158 pages.  St. Martin's Press, 1977.

 "They Fought for the Sky" by Quentin Reynolds.  A older book with a collection of stories.

 "Army Uniforms of World War 1" by Andrew Mollo and Pierre Turner.  Good reference pocket book on uniforms of all the countries.  Starts with a section with history of each country.  Each sketch is a coloried drawing made from actual photos and museum artifacts.  Faces appear as life-like photographs.  Contains 68 pages with 3 infantry figures per page and a few pages with mounted officers or cavalry for a total of 191 soldiers.  Also includes at least 55 pieces of equipment; guns, helmets, packs, etc.  Included are 8 known aces from several countries and also ground crew and commanders of avaition units. 219 pages; 80 pages of artwork.  Arco Publishing Co. NY, 1978.

"Pocket Encycolpedia of World Aircraft in Color"   A must for every modeler and history buff.  Each book has a 3-view, color plage for about 80 aircraft.  Includes a brief history and performance data on each.  Includes monoplanes, float planes and large bombers. 5 X 7.5 inch format.
           "Fighters 1914-1919"    K. Munson (MacMillian Co. 1968)
           "Bombers 1914-1919"   K. Munson (MacMillian Co. 1968)

 

Lieutenant Laumann and his Fokker D-VII from a Sanke postcard. Note: Irregular Lozenge pattern in fabric.  Also, fuselage band (yellow?) painted  over the aircraft serial number and the initials "A L" applied.

"Balloon-Busting Aces of WW1" by Jon Guttman (2005)  Details about the aces who went after the observation balloons.  Has one chapter on the top balloon ace; Wiley Coppens.  Includes 40 color plates side-views of aircraft pluw 8 views of the top of a few.    96 pages.  ISBN 1-841768774.

"British Fighter Units- Western Front 1914-1916"  by Alex Revell (1978)  A good history of the beginning of the British fighter command in WW1.  Includes photos of early aircraft such as the Gunbus, Neiuports, and Moranes and Bristol Scouts.  Only one 5-view color profiles of a Nieuport and side views of 4 other aircraft.  Includes an order of battle of the fighters of the RFC in 1916.     48 pages.  ISBN 0-85045-285-6.
 

"The Fighters: the Men and machines of First Air War" by T. R. Funderburh (1977)  Birth and development of fighter aviation in WW1.  Soft bound cover but has loads of good history and aircraft line drawings.  ISBN 0-448-01349 & 0-448-14018-7.

 "Scale A/C Drawings - Vol 1 - WW1"   Enough detail to almost build a flying model from scratch. Has detail drawings of structure, fuselage contours, rigging and flight controls.  Some info on paint schemes for aces, but not in color. I've used this when I needed to build an elevator or strut to exact scale for my models.  Includes details on 35 aircraft, 4 engines and 3 guns. Air Age Inc, 1986. ISBN 0-911295-02-X.

"The 60 Best Airplanes of World War One" by Peter M. Bowers, "Air Progress" Magazine.  Each page has a nice photo of an aircraft and a brief description with s some performance data.  5 X 10-inch format.  64 pages.  Hobby Helpers Library No. 150.  Copyrighted by Street & Smith Pub.  1960.

"The First War Planes" by William E. Barrett.   Small format, printed on newsprint.  Has at least 1 photo per page.  144 pages.  Fawcett Publications.  A Fawcett How-to Book No. 460.

 Profile Publications:    Original Profile Publications were 8 to 12 page, small-format booklets published in England in 1960's. Later, these were compiled and published in hard bound editions.  These booklets primarily describe the aircraft development, design and armament; not much info on combat usage.  Each contains a 5-view color plate of one subject aircraft and 7 color side-views (or as many as 16 in the 12-page booklets). Below is a list of ALL the Profile Publications related to WW1 aircraft.  The issues listed in blue are the ones currently in my library.

                            Profile Publications   -   WW1 Aircraft

No.	Aircraft	Comments
1	S.E. 5A.	Coolest bi-plane, ever.  Profile#103 for earlier version.
5	Vickers F.B.27 Vimy	Two-engine, post-war bomber.
9	Albatros D-V	Faster than the D-III, but not as maneuverable. See#127.
13	Sopwith Pup	An early scout with fine lines.
17	SPAD XIII	Latest version of single seat SPAD fighter.
21	Bristol Fighter	A superb 2-seat fighter.  (Photo on my Photos Page)
26	DeHaviland D.H. 4	British colors.  See#97, below.
31	The Sopwith Camel	Loads of technical and production info.
37	Curtis JN-4 "Jenny"	US Trainer that went into civil use after war.
38	Fokker Monoplanes	E-III, mostly.  Some info on others.
43	Pfaltz D-III	Stats indicate it was superior to Albatros D-III.
49	The Nieuport 17	A versitile sesquiplane that influenced the design of Albatros.
50	Sopwith Snipe 7F.I	Another late-war fighter; used by British until 1923.
55	Fokker Dr-1	Germany's most successful Triplane design.
61	The S.V.A.     (Ansaldo) Scouts	Italy's finest armed recon plane.   (Would you believe it could out perform the Fokker D-VII !! )
67	Fokker D-VIII	Late production monoplane. Officially an E-series type.
68	Thomas Morse Scout	American fighter.  Never made it to Front.
73	Sopwith Triplane	The airplane that started the triple-decker craze.
74	The Short 184	Early 2-crew British seaplane; first torpedo bomber.
79	Nieuport 28C.1	Used by Americans but not popular.
85	R.E. 8	"Harry Tate" - Most produced British 2-seater, even with its faults. Some info & photos of R.E. 9.
86	Siemens Schuckert	German late-model fighter of limited production
91	D.H. 2	Most successful pusher fighter.
97	The American      DeHaviland D.H. 4	USMC DH4 was first US-built aircraft to fly in combat.  (British designed it; but some were built in US.)
103	S.E. 5	Earlier version, powered by 150hp.  Only 58 built.
109	The Hanriot HD-1	Lovely French plane; flown by Italy & Belgium.  (Photo on my WW1 Photos  )
115	The Gotha GI  - GV	Includes details of early 1915 up to 1918 variations.
121	The Sopwith 1-1/2 Strutter	Came in both single & 2-seater versions. a.k.a. Type 9700.
127	The Albatros D-I ~ D-III	Illustrations of Voss's and Goering's aircraft.
133	B.E. 2, 2a & 2b	An early, unarmed Brit 2-seater.  Richthofen downed ~18 of them.
139	Bristol Scouts, C & D	One of first aircraft in RFC inventory.
145	DeHaviland D.H. 10	Arrived on the scene too late for combat.
151	O. Aviatak Berg D-I	Austria-Hungary fighter.  Very colorful.
157	Breguet 14	French 2-seater.  Used by American Squadrons.
163	Roland C-II	German 2-seater known as the "Whale".
169	Sopwith Dolphin	Superb late-war fighter.
175	Phonix Scout	Austria-Hungary fighter.
181	D.H. 5	Rear staggered wings.
193	Bristol M.1	A fat monoplane fighter.
199	Pfalz D-XII	Late war fighter.  An example is at Champion Fighter Museum.
200	The Martinsyde Elephant	G100 & G102 "Elephant" single-seat bomber.
237	Bristol F.2B  1918-32
248	DeHaviland D.H. 9	(Late edition in blue & white cover)

                                                           Only the issues in blue are in my library.
 

Squadron Publications    Modeler's reference booklet with loads of photos and sketches of aircraft details.  Usually has 2 or 3 artists' action illustrations and color details of 8 to 10 aircraft.  Not much text in these.
       Fokker Dr-1 Triplane -  She could do a flat 180-degree turn in 4 seconds.
       S.E. 5     -  Did I say "The Coolest bi-plane, ever"?
       B.E. 2     -  Early British fighter.
       Albatros Fighters.  D-I through D-V.
       de Havilland DH 2.  Includes detail of DH 1 and earlier model.
        de Havilland DH 9.

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