This is an amazingly complete story (told at a pace that seems at times to be breathtaking) of everything all the fighter squadrons got up to in World War I. It concentrates on tales from all aspects, by date rather than by unit, with both sides of the conflict getting a fair share of the action. A glance at the Index (titled ‘Name Index’) reveals the author’s predilection for people rather than things and places, so this is not a turgid list of serial numbers, aircraft and aerodromes into which some histories can degenerate. It is all the more enjoyable because space has been found for some of the minutiae of life, like the RFC living off blackberries during the retreat from Mons. (There were plenty of them about, because French peasants considered them to be poisonous!)

Of course, all the famous are here: Louis Strange, Albert Ball, Lionel Rees and the others get their rightful shares along with the less well known although just as interesting. The photographs, both of men and machines, (some familiar, but the majority new to me) are profuse and first class. This massive, beautifully produced book is quite as good as one would expect from its provenance; it is much more than an overview, and it should be on everyone’s bookshelf.