Australian Hawk over the Western Front

by Hellwig, Adrian

• ISBN13: 9781904943341
• ISBN10: 1904943349
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-08-30
• Publisher: Grub Street

Summary

Major Roderick Dallas is Australia's leading air ace of all time and, with fifty victories, also one of the highest-scoring Commonwealth aces. Even so, until this excellently researched volume, there has never been a full biography of this exceptional pilot. Flying Nieuport Scouts, Triplanes and Camels with the RNAS and RAF, he was an ever-present threat over the Western Front and the scourge of the German Air Force. Hellwig's book has been taken principally from primary sources (Dallas' own letters, log book and service record, in addition to squadron record books, combat reports and contemporary accounts), and his resulting conclusions will surprise many. Here is a fitting tribute not just to Australia's greatest war hero of the air but to a man any country would be proud to call their own. It will be read avidly by all those interested in World War I history. Adrian Hellwig has had articles published previously in Cross & Cockade International, Over the Front, and the Australian Association of WWWI Aero Historian's journal.

Table of Contents

Preface	7	(1)
Foreword	8	(2)
Fledglings and Eaglehawks	10	(7)
The Fledgling Stretches His Wings	17	(14)
The Fledgling Learns His Trade	31	(10)
The Hawk Flexes His Talons	41	(42)
The Hawk Fathers His Flock	83	(53)
The Hawk Reaches the Heights	136	(32)
The Hawk Falls	168	(8)
Postscript	176	(6)
Appendix A Notes on Fighting in the Air	182	(8)
Appendix B Rank Structure	190	(1)
Appendix C Calendar of Notable Dates	191	(2)
Appendix D Medals, Awards and Citations	193	(3)
Appendix E Victory List	196	(3)
Appendix F Aircraft Flown	199	(1)
Appendix G Three Views of Aircraft Flown in Combat	200	(2)
Appendix H Stan's Artwork	202	(8)
Acknowledgements	210	(2)
Bibliography	212	(1)
Map	213	(1)
Index	214