Reviewed by Rob Baumgartner

 
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Petr Aharon Tsa? is no stranger to Austro-Hungarian aviation. His interest in their flying machines was aroused when he was 14 and he has been researching the colours and markings ever since.

This is his latest book which presents to the English speaking reader a selection of captioned images that have previously been out of reach. For over ten years REVI magazine has published photographs in their 1914-1918 series. This book captures these snapshots and provides detailed and updated captions from those that originally appeared for the Czech reader.

An extensive number of new photos have been added to whet the appetite. These come from a range of sources. Apart from the expected Czech museums and archives, contributions are also made by private collectors from Austria and the Czech Republic.

But wait….there’s more. The generosity of K.u.k. Luftahrtruppe descendants have opened up their family albums so there is sure to be plenty of new material for the ardent devotee.

The reproduction of these photographs is excellent. Considering the state of the original material used, the images are remarkably clear. Most are printed two or three to a page which allows the viewer to glean as much detail from the image as possible. A few choice examples have a page to themselves.

One of the most remarkable is a Hansa Brandenburg C.I cockpit showing bullet holes through the steering wheel and instrument panel. Amazingly the occupant was not hit!

The photographs number over 150 and are spread over 184 pages. These are contained within A4 sized soft card covers and are the perfect format for this type of publication.

Thirteen pages are devoted to colour artwork and these are superbly done by Zden?k Machá?ek. His profiles include the Fokker A.III, B.II, Albatros D.III Oeffag series, Hanriot HD.1, Phönix D.I/D.II/D.IIa, Hansa Brandenburg C.I, Ufag C.I and even Lt E.G. Forder’s Sopwith Camel that was forced down by Linke-Crawford.

Many of the photographs tell a story and in many cases the author has written an article around them. Thus we see chapters on the red fuselage bands of Fliks 60J, 14J and 9J, as well as the mysterious story of Alfons B?hounek and his Albatros D.III (Oef) 53.50.

There are other such commentaries and they all add up to a fascinating read.

It was a frustrating time for non Czech speaking readers when REVI magazine ran their “Photo-album 1914-1918” series. By not understanding the language there was always the feeling that the reader was “missing out”.

This book changes all that by updating those articles and providing additional material besides. Radovan Vaší?ek does a great job with the translation which makes the text easy to follow and readily digestible.

The inspiring artwork tops off a much needed publication that is highly recommended for all those with even the slightest interest in World War I aviation.

Highly recommended

Thanks to REVI magazine for the review sample

Review Copyright © 2008 by Rob Baumgartner
Page Created 28 April, 2008
Last updated 29 April, 2008

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