Fighter pilot : a history and a celebration / Philip Kaplan.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 254) and index.

"In this book Philip Kaplan has created a splendid record and celebration of fighter pilots of may nations, from the First World War aces in their fragile contrivances of fabric and wood to the men and, increasingly women, who fly the sleek, titanium-clad fighters of today. He examines the reality behind the myths - the chivalrous pilots who refused to shoot an enemy who bailed out, the flyers who, out of ammunition, saluted their foe before turning for home - and considers the way in which the media glamorized the image of the fighter pilot. He explains why only a tiny minority of pilots - those in whom the desire for combat overrode everything - accounted for so large a proportion of the victories. He surveys the skills that a successful pilot must have - a natural aptitude for flying, marksmanship, keen eyesight - and the way in which fighter tactics have developed. He also relates the history of some of the great fighter planes whose names - Spad, Spitfire, Mustang, Me 109, Zero, Sabre, Phantom -have gone down in aviation history."