Hat in the Ring: The Birth of American Air Power in the Great War

Hat in the Ring is an assiduously researched account of America's first cadre of fighter pilots who accepted the challenge of leading the United States into a new dimension of warfare. In 1918 the 1st Pursuit Group organized and then absorbed French and British experience and technology. The U.S. pilots became a well-led, respected, and lethal force over the trenches of the Western Front.Hat in the Ring's vivid descriptions explode old myths and shed new light on raging controversies of some of America's most interesting aviation heroes, including Eddie Rickenbacker, Billy Mitchell, Frank Luke, Benjamin Foulouis, Bert Atkinson, and Jimmy Meissner. Dozens of photographs, some rare and all historically significant, bring America's first aerial legends and their fighting machines closer to the reader. Carefully prepared maps provide graphic reference for following the action of the AEF's air campaigns.