Tuesday, December 03, 2013 - 07:57 PM UTC
Osprey continue their Duel series next month with the RFC’s FE 2b/d vs Albatros Scouts over the Western Front during 1916–17.
Series - Duel 55

Illustrators - Jim Laurier Mark Postlethwaite James F. Miller

About this book
In the spring of 1916 the deployment of the RFC’s FE 2 – with its rotary engine ‘pusher’ configuration affording excellent visibility for its pilot and observer, and removing the need for synchronized machine guns – helped wrest aerial dominance from Imperial Germany’s Fokker Eindecker monoplanes, and then contributed to retaining it throughout the Somme battles of that fateful summer. However, by autumn German reorganization saw the birth of the Jagdstaffeln (specialised fighter squadrons) and the arrival of the new Albatros D scout, a sleek inline-engined machine built for speed and twin-gun firepower. Thus, for the remainder of 1916 and well into the next year an epic struggle for aerial superiority raged above the horrors of the Somme and Passchendaele battlefields, pitting the FE 2 against the better-armed and faster Albatros scouts that were focused on attacking and destroying their two-seater opponents. In the end the Germans would regain air superiority, and hold it into the following summer with the employment of their new Jagdgeschwader (larger fighter groupings), but the FE 2 remained a tenacious foe that inflicted many casualties – some of whom were Germany’s best aces (including ‘The Red Baron’).

Contents
Introduction
Chronology
Design and Development
Technical Specifications
The Strategic Situation
The Combatants
Combat
Statistics and Analysis
Aftermath
Bibliography
Index

Paperback
January 2014
80 pages
ISBN - 9781780963259

Please remember, when contacting retailers or manufacturers, to mention that you saw their products highlighted here - on AEROSCALE
Click Star to Rate
No one has rated this yet.
Get a daily email with links to all our latest news, reviews, and features.

THIS STORY HAS BEEN READ 5,867 TIMES.
ADVERTISEMENT

Osprey Publishing ReviewsMORE
P-47 vs Ki-43 Book Review
by Frederick Boucher
P-40E Warhawk vs A6M2 Zero-Sen Book Review
by Frederick Boucher
Guadalcanal 1942-43 Book Review
by Frederick Boucher | of 1 ratings, 100% found this helpful
Ploesti 1943 Book Review
by Frederick Boucher | of 1 ratings, 100% found this helpful
Schweinfurt–Regensburg 1943 Book Review
by Frederick Boucher | of 1 ratings, 100% found this helpful
Do 17 Units of World War 2 Book Review
by Frederick Boucher | of 1 ratings, 100% found this helpful
Six-Day War 1967 Book Review
by Michael Satin | of 2 ratings, 100% found this helpful
F-105 vs MiG-17 Book Review
by Frederick Boucher | of 1 ratings, 100% found this helpful
XB-70 Valkyrie Book Review
by Frederick Boucher | of 1 ratings, 100% found this helpful
Zero Aces 1940-42 Book Review
by Frederick Boucher | of 2 ratings, 100% found this helpful
Spitfire VC vs A6M Zero First Look
by Frederick Boucher | of 1 ratings, 100% found this helpful
Linebacker II Book Review
by Frederick Boucher | of 1 ratings, 100% found this helpful
CBI B-25 Units Book Review
by Frederick Boucher | of 1 ratings, 100% found this helpful
Hellcat vs Shiden Book Review
by Frederick Boucher
Air Combat Dogfights WWII First Look
by Frederick Boucher | of 1 ratings, 100% found this helpful

ADVERTISEMENT