Fighting The Flying Circus

Fighting the Flying Circus' contains an exciting collection of stories about air battles in France by Eddie Rickenbacker, and is a perfect book for anyone with an interest in the German Air Service looking for an unusual read. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

"Fighting the Flying Circus" is fighter ace Eddie Rickenbacker WWI memoir. He fought in and eventually became commander of the 94th "Hat-in-the-Ring" Squadron, which ended the war with the highest number of air victories of any American squadron. The circus mentioned in the title refers to the German squadron commanded by the famous Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen. Eddie Rickenbacker (1890-1973) was an American World War I pilot. He was the most successful fighter ace in that war and received the Medal of Honor. After the war, he was as a car designer, driver, and worked as a military consultant for the government. He was also an air transportation pioneer, as worked as a head of the Eastern Air Lines company for many years.

In Fighting the Flying Circus, Captain Rickenbacker recounts his combat missions against the Germans in the skies over Europe during WWI.

The history of WWI aviation is a rich and varied story marked by the evolution of aircraft from slow moving, fragile, and unreliable powered kites, into quick, agile, sturdy fighter craft. At the same time there emerged a new kind of 'soldier', the fighter pilots whose individual cunning and bravery became crucial in the fight for control of the air. Dog-fight traces this rapid technological development alongside the strategy and planning of commanders and front-line airmen as they adapted to the rapidly changing events around them and learned to get the best from their machines. Often, this involved discovering and employing tactics instinctively to stay alive. Based on the author's personal correspondence with a number of WWI fighter pilots and aces, and drawing on published contemporary memoirs, this is an authoritative and lively history that serves as a captivating tribute to the brave pilots of both sides.

Illustrated with 22 photos of the Author, his unit and his life. The top American Fighter Ace of World War Two recounts his experiences, combats and victories in the skies above the Pacific. His citation for the Congressional Medal of Honour gives the bare unadorned facts about the eagle-eyed flyer from Sioux Falls, South Dakota; “For outstanding heroism and courage above and beyond the call of duty as executive officer of Marine Fighting Squadron 121, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, at Guadalcanal. Engaging in almost daily combat with the enemy from 9 October to 19 November 1942, Captain Foss personally shot down 23 Japanese planes and damaged others so severely that their destruction was extremely probable. In addition, during this period, he successfully led a large number of escort missions, skillfully covering reconnaissance, bombing, and photographic planes as well as surface craft. On 15 January 1943, he added 3 more enemy planes to his already brilliant successes for a record of aerial combat achievement unsurpassed in this war. Boldly searching out an approaching enemy force on 25 January, Captain Foss led his 8 F-4F Marine planes and 4 Army P-38’s into action and, undaunted by tremendously superior numbers, intercepted and struck with such force that 4 Japanese fighters were shot down and the bombers were turned back without releasing a single bomb. His remarkable flying skill, inspiring leadership, and indomitable fighting spirit were distinctive factors in the defense of strategic American positions on Guadalcanal.” One of the most thrilling combat memoirs written of World War Two. Highly recommended.

Excerpt from Fighting the Flying Circus Eddie Rickenbacker's stories of his air battles in France are of exciting interest, both in the narration of the thrilling adventures with enemy airmen and in the revealment to the reader of his intimate thoughts and feelings, as he went out day after day to attack the boasted champions of the German Air Service. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.