Canada's Fighting Pilots

Tim Cook is the World War I historian at the Canadian War Museum. He is
the author of No Place to Run: The Canadian Corps and Gas Warfare in the
First World War.

This book is a rousing homage to the skills and heroism of such fighter
pilots as Raymond Collishaw, Billy Bishop, “Black Mike” McEwen, and
George Beurling. The aces’ personalities are explored against the
backdrop of the war, changing tactics, and the technological limitations
of aircraft. It is an excellent introduction to Canada’s greatest air
aces.

But Canada’s Fighting Pilots shows its age: this is a reprint of a
1965 book. Because he wrote the history while many of these heroes were
still alive, Cosgrove got caught up in the glory of the air war. He
claims that airmen fought by a code of chivalry, but that is clearly
discounted by the aces themselves, who scored many of their kills
against the vulnerable or inept. There are daring tales of swirling
dogfights, and Cosgrove is at his best when describing the exploits of
William Barker or Alan McLeod, but aerial combat was just as brutal as
the mired-in-mud land war. However, this should not detract too much
from the work. With the original long out of print, this new edition
will be welcomed by all who like to read history with a flourish.
Readers should be warned, though, that the historical interpretation has
not been updated with new scholarship, and many of the fighter pilots in
question now have full biographies devoted to them. That said, this is
still exciting and moving history that will capture the attention of the
reader and recreate a vivid aspect of Canada’s aviation history.