British Ace

In the air, we find freedom. In the summer of 1914, the world stands on the brink of chaos, and for young William Harsker, life is about to change forever. Drawn to the pride of the cavalry and the allure of glory, William trades the freshness of English fields for the muddy trenches of Flanders. But nothing can prepare him for the brutal reality of cavalry charges against merciless machine guns, where valour and death dance intimately on the battlefield.

The story of the Gunbus. First Lieutenant Bill Harsker and his squadron come up against the deadly Fokker monoplane. While many other squadrons are decimated, the Gunbuses give the fledgling RFC hope. When a new commanding officer takes over the squadron and imposes impossible rules, lives are lost and Bill has to face a court martial. All of the gains they have made are threatened by a martinet. The novel spans the end of 1915 and the start of 1916. It shows the harsh realities of life on the Western Front, in the air and the problems of the civilians back home.

It is the beginning of the Somme Offensive and thousands of British and French soldiers are about to assault the German lines. The RFC comes of age as they sweep the German Fokkers from the skies. Providing a protective umbrella over the Somme they ensure that the offensive does not fail. When the Germans retaliate with their new and deadly Albatros fighters the pendulum swings in favour of the Germans and Bill and 41 Squadron find themselves with their backs to the walls as they fight a superior aircraft in the skies of northern France.

The Battle of Arras is about to begin and the new German fighters will rule the skies in what will become Bloody April when the Royal Flying Corps begin to lose pilots and crews in huge numbers. 41 Squadron become the one hope on the Arras front and Bill, Gordy and Ted have to fight for their lives against the new Albatros and Baron Manfred Von Richthofen. The novel moves between the war in France and the home front to give a graphic snapshot of the war in the Spring of 1917.

It is late 1917 and the war still grinds on. The Sopwith Camels are holding their own against the German war machine and then they meet the Fokker Triplane, and the pilots of the RFC began to fall. As the war drifts into 1918, the Germans have one last throw of the dice and come within a whisker...