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No Parachute

A Classic Account of War in the Air in WWI

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No Parachute

By: Arthur Gould Lee
Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
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About this listen

This account of the Great War puts you right in the action - from one of the fighter pilots of the Royal Flying Corps.

From the young airmen who took their frail machines high above the trenches of World War I and fought their foes in single combat, there emerged a renowned company of brilliant aces - among them Ball, Bishop, McCudden, Collishaw, and Mannock - whose legendary feats have echoed down half a century. But behind the elite pilots in the Royal Flying Corps, there were many hundreds of airmen who flew their hazardous daily sorties in outdated planes without ever achieving fame.

Here is the story of one of these unknown flyers - a story based on letters written in the day, telling of a young pilot's progress from fledgling to seasoned fighter. His descriptions of air fighting, sometimes against the Richthofen Circus, of breathless dogfights between Sopwith Pup and Albatros, are among the most vivid and immediate to come out of World War I.

Arthur Gould Lee, who rose to the rank of air vice-marshal and also authored the classic Open Cockpit, brilliantly conveys the immediacy of air war, the thrills and the terror, in this honest and timeless account.

©1968 Arthur Gould Lee with the kind permission of David Reed- Felstead; copyright 2013 by Grub Street (P)2020 Tantor Air Forces Armed Forces Military Military & War World War I War Aviation Aviation History Air War
All stars
Most relevant  
Vivid recounting of one pilot’s experience on the Western Front in 1917. Move over Biggles.

Thrilling

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Excellent story teller, putting a very relatable face to a conflict from another age.
Very well chosen narrator, speaks with authenticity.

Fabulous first hand account

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Rare to find such a readable first hand account of war in the air during the age of biplanes - add to this observations of life in the squadron. Of equal interest are the author's appendices of a few key questions such as why parachutes were not issued when they were in wide use for observation balloons and spy dropping? To answer, the author quotes his research in War office files in the 1960's - showing he is both a flyer and thinker.
Excellent all round!

What a Surprising Find

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Great eye opener to what the pilots of ww1 had to endure. Really brings home the terrible waste of young lives.

Great story, well narrated.

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