THE WAR IN THE AIR: World War I

 
 
 
THE RED BARON
 
  • The Red Fighter Pilot by Manfred von Richthofen: This is an on-line edition of Von Richthofen's 1917 book Der Rote Kampfflieger.
 
 
 
THE ZEPPELIN WAR (The Dirigible or Rigid Airship)
 
  • The Zeppelin Raids (The National Archives, United Kingdom):  Includes history, documents, and lessons.
  • Ferdinand Von Zeppelin (about.com) A look at the man behind the creation of the dirigible and its use during the Great War.
  • How the Zeppelin Was Destroyed (the Guardian Archive, September 5, 1916):  A newspaper story dated from 1916 explaining how a Zeppelin was brought down.
  • Midnight Raiders (From Air and Space Magazine, Smithsonian, June 2006):  How Zeppelin bombers during World War I terrorized the British -- and their own German crews.
 
 
  • All photos are courtesy of the National Museum of the USAF.
  • Pictured at right, top to bottom: 
  • Top photo: Planes of the 135th Aero Squadron line up on August 7, 1918.
  • 2nd Photo: De Havilland DH-4.  The first DH-4 flew on May 7, 1918 and by the armistice, 3,431 had been delivered, of which 1,213 had been received in Europe.
  • 3rd photo: Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, America's top ace with 26 kills.
  • Bottom photo: Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron, ace of aces with 80 kills.