Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION
6
CHAPTER ONE THE PIONEERS 1908–1912
12
CHAPTER TWO FLYING FEVER 1912–1914
36
CHAPTER THREE LUCKY DEVILS 1914–1915
54
CHAPTER FOUR ABOVE THE FRAY 1915
74
CHAPTER TEN BLOODY APRIL 1917
232
CHAPTER ELEVEN THE SUPREME SACRIFICE 1917
260
CHAPTER TWELVE A BIGGER ENDEAVOUR 1917
286
CHAPTER THIRTEEN THE ‘GREATEST SHOW EVER SEEN’ 1918
316
CHAPTER FOURTEEN SPRING OFFENSIVE 1918
334
CHAPTER FIFTEEN SEA ASSAULT 1918
360
CHAPTER SIXTEEN ONE HUNDRED DAYS 1918
386
CONCLUSION
414
ROLL OF HONOUR AND MAPS
428
NOTES
438
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
480
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
484
INDEX
488

About the Author

Dr Adam Claasen is an historian at Massey University, New Zealand. He is a Smithsonian Institution Fellowship grantee, a Fulbright Scholarship (Georgetown University) awardee and a Massey University research team medallist. Adam teaches on the Second World War and American foreign policy and is a Vice-Chancellor’s award recipient for sustained excellence in teaching. He has presented conference papers and published on military intelligence, air power and geostrategy. His books include Hitler’s Northern War: The Luftwaffe’s ill-fated campaign, 1940–1945; Dogfight: Anzacs in the Battle of Britain; and Fearless: The extraordinary untold story of New Zealand’s Great War airmen.

Reviews

‘It’s a wonderful book — one that risks inducing a Peter Jackson-sized enthusiasm for the biplane era’ — Russell Baillie, NZ Listener

‘Meticulously researched, this is a first-rate contribution to the aviation literature of the First World War’ — Alex Spencer, National Air and Space Museum, Washington DC

‘It's an extraordinary work of scholarship’ — Joan Mackenzie, Whitcoulls

‘Fearless is not a dry history about the planes and their parts. Rather, it combines the military and political scene with the stories of individuals. We learn the stories of the early pioneers, the political activists, the daring adventurers. It is here – in the stories of the passion and persistence of some of these young men who were determined to fly into war -that I found the greatest interest. Their stories are detailed, lively and often humorous.’ — Booksellers NZ