 SPA
124 Lafayette Escadrille
American Vounteer Airmen in World War 1
By Jon Guttman
Osprey Publishing
ISBN 1 84176 752 2
Softbound, 128 Pages
This book is a great history on the all-volunteer unit formed by men
from the United States to fight alongside their French brethren. It starts
with the formation of the unit, goes through the entire war period while
it was formed, goes through when some of the US servicemen joined the
USAS when the US entered the war, and ends with a postscript of its members,
during the late stages of the war and into the post-war environment.
Not only is this a great book on the history of the unit, but with all
the photographs and color profiles included (39 of them, to be exact)
it's also a great book for the modeler to have. Any interest at all on
the Lafayette Escadrille and this book should be picked up.
The book covers the aircraft when it started as the escadrille Americaine
(N 124), through the Lafayette Escadrille, to the change in squadron nomenclature
to SPA 124, and into when it split into SPA 124 Jeanne d'Arc and
the USAS 103rd Aero in February of 1918. Not only are the typical Nieuports
and SPADs covered, but so is the Morane-Saulnier Type P that Sgt Ronald
W Hoskier and Cpl Jean Dressy flew.
There have been a lot of books out in the past that covered this famous,
all-US volunteer unit, and some of those in greater detail. However, for
an overall history of the escadrille, it's pilots and aircraft
this book can't be beat. Especially if you are looking for a book that
will help your Lafayette Escadrille modeling endeavour.
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