Osprey Publishing

No 56 Sqn RAF/RFC Aviation Elite Units

by  Alex Revell

Reviewed By  Michael Scott, IPMS# 43177

MSRP: $25.95 ISBN: 9781846034282 Website: www.ospreypublishing.com For WWI aviation modelers, historians and fans, this is a long-awaited volume. Not only does it chronicle arguably the most famous of the British squadrons at war on the Western Front, it is also the work of Mr. Alex Revell. Mr. Revell has been interested in WWI aviation since childhood, and writing it about since the early 1960s. He has interviewed many of the surviving members of the RFC/RAF/RNAS, thereby gaining unique and valuable insights into the air war as it originated and developed. Being an accounting of one particular squadron, the book follows basically a chronological sequence. While some other authors' use of this method can sometimes lead to stupor followed by an unexpected nap, Mr. Revell's writing style and content makes this extremely unlikely. There is much of the personalities and human goings-on in his account to hold the reader's interest and he provides an unending parade of interesting and, at least to me, little known facts and episodes. All of the well-known pilots are here: Ball, Rhys Davids, McCudden, Voss; and some are well represented who are lesser known, but should be better remembered like Cecil Arthur Lewis who flew with No. 3 Squadron during the Somme, then with No. 56 Squadron, after which he flew Camels with No's 44, 61 and 152 Squadrons. After the war he was a flying instructor in China, a founder of the BBC, a producer and director for stage and film in the 1930's and an Oscar winner in 1938 for his screenplay, Pygmlion. He wrote what Mr. Revell calls "...one of the legendary volumes on World War 1 air fighting, Sagittarius Rising based on his exploits in combat." Not content with that he served in the RAF in WWII, subsequently farmed in Africa, and retired, finally, in Corfu. He was the last surviving member of 56 Squadron. Now, where else can you learn stuff like that? And that's only a small example of the wealth of information contained in this book. Pictures abound, and not only the pedestrian airplane and pilot photos, but some surprising ones as well: Arthur Rhys Davids and the daughter of the Squadron Recording Officer, "Grandpa" Marson, and a photo of an impromptu lunch on the aerodrome field with Richard Mayberry, Rhys Davids and Mayberry's mother and female cousins, one of whom, it was said, "reached an understanding" with Rhys Davids. The human and personal touch is everywhere evident in this book. Osprey includes the usual color plates of various SE5 airplanes, including a curious one painted red, the "Schweinhund" flown by Capt. Duncan Grinnell-Milne in 1919. There is plenty here for the modeler to consider when facing a new SE5 kit. The Appendices contain data on the Squadron locations in France, Commanders, Top-Scoring Pilots and Casualties, and, extremely interesting and the product of some serious research, a table of "An Evaluation of German Victory Claims" which attempts to match 56 Squadron's casualties with the German pilots responsible for them. While I readily admit to a heavy bias towards WWI aviation, I maintain that this is the best Osprey book on wartime aviation now in print. And, I've bought plenty of them. You should buy this one whether your interest in WWI aviation is slight or intense for this is an important, well researched and written look at one of the most famous and influential air fighting groups in history. I recommend it without reservation. I would like to thank Osprey Publishing for the review sample.