Osprey Aircraft of the Aces 78 : SE 5/5a Aces of World War I

The Royal Aircraft Factory SE 5/5a was, along with the Sopwith Camel, the major British fighting scout of the last 18 months of the war in France. It equipped several major squadrons, the first being No. 56 Sqn in April 1917. This unit became famous for the number of aces it had among its pilots, including Albert Ball, James McCudden, Geoffrey Bowman, Richard Maybery, Leonard Barlow, Hank Burden and Cyril Crowe. In all, 26 aces flew the aircraft with No. 56 Sqn alone. Other well-known units were Nos. 1, 24, 29, 32, 40, 41, 60, 64, 2 AFC, 74, 84, 85 and 92 Sqns. A number of Victoria Cross winners also flew SE 5/5as, namely Ball, Mannock, McCudden, Beauchamp Proctor and Bishop. Among the aces, no fewer than 20 scored more than 20 victories. In all, there were almost 100 SE 5/5a aces, and a large number of them are profiled in this book. Supporting the text are more than 110 photographs, 37 brand new colour artworks and detailed appendices listing every pilot who 'made ace' on the SE 5/5a. Text by Norman Franks with illustrations by Harry Dempsey.

Contents

• Chapter 1 : Origins of the SE 5/5a
• Chapter 2 : With the RFC in 1916
• Chapter 3 : RFC in 'Bloody April'
• Chapter 4 : 1917
• Chapter 5 : 1918
• Appendices
  Aces
  Squadrons and Bases
  Ace SE 5/5as
  SE 5/5a Pilot Awards