The Flying Sword

“Where on earth have I put my ties?” Vanity, air heroism, deadly aerial encounters, the chivalry, the ruthlessness – “The crash from 2600 metres up was, of course, an enjoyable sight” – the humanity and brutality; they are all here in this unique book from a bygone era of flight and warfare. 

The Flying Sword is augmented with photographs and first-hand descriptions from airmen. “Hello children, we’re back!”, says a voice, and our two missing friends climb out of the car. None of us is able to say a word. We shake their hands silently, but that handshake says it all.”

There are many moving letters, too: about the death of German ace Max Immelmann; about meeting another ace, Oswald Boelcke, and the outbreak of emotion when he was killed; there is aerial action from Gottfried von Banfield and also a first-hand report from the man who killed French flying ace Adolphe Pégoud. These are just some of the shuddering events in a unique book that has been published in English for the first time, one hundred years after its first edition.