Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No 53:

Fokker D VII Aces of World War I

Part 1

by Norman Franks and Greg VanWyngarden

reviewed by Steve Jantscher

Definitely the best German fighter of WWI, and arguably the best fighter of the war, the Fokker D VII was the mount of the last great (surviving) German fighter pilots of WWI. This book follows the popular formula pioneered a few years ago when the first of the "Aces" series of books hit the market. Some books have been very well received, while others have had questions raised, often about the accuracy of the famous color profiles. I must say that the 40 different profiles included in this volume, many accompanied with overhead "wing" profiles, are very striking. What isn't in doubt with this series is the generally excellent and concise text covering in less than a hundred pages interesting slices of life in aviation history. Norman Franks is a well known full time aviation author, with a long list of books on air combat "over the front" during WWI. The co-author Greg VanWyngarden isn't known to me from previous reading (I have a number of Frank's earlier books) however his "speciality" lies in the color schemes of the very flamboyantly marked aircraft of WWI.

I like the Osprey books. Their overall quality is a known commodity, and this volume is no exception. Numerous black and white photographs, short biographies of the aces and 'D VII units, with special attention paid to including interesting stories of specific combats while flying the Fokker round out the book. This makes a nice addition to anyone whose interest tends toward WWI or who wants to continue their aviation library at an affordable price.

a scrap view from the books color profiles