This is a first-hand account of the authors grandfather, Guy Mainwaring Knocker and his experiences as a pilot in the R.F.C. in the First World War written as a series of letters and diary entries. He wrote letters virtually every day to his family, while he trained in England and was in service in France, and often illustrated them with little sketches. Guy was a gifted artist, particularly pencil and Pen & ink, and also an excellent photographer. He flew with No 65 (Fighter) Squadron that was formed in June, 1916 as a fighter squadron, and flew to France in March 1917 in time to play a prominent part in the air operations during the Battles of Arras. In June 1917, the squadron moved to Calais for special patrol work in the Dover Straits area, to intercept enemy aircraft raiding England.

Flying at 18, demobbed at 20, Semple's astonishing experience has been meticulously put into context. How do you fly a Handley Page across France in total darkness? The answer is the 'Lighthouse system', just one of the revelations in this unique record of ingenuity and courage.

The typewritten script of a First World War pilot s diary with a large number of photographs was submitted to the publishers William Heinemann and published by them in 1933. Heinemann stated on the book s jacket that the diary contained no names, dates, or anything that could reveal the identity of the writer or the squadron in which he served. The publishers understood that the diarist was killed in action in 1918 and that it was in deference to the wishes of those who were close to him that his diary should be published.So remarkable were the photographs that their veracity was immediately questioned, but no proof of their authenticity or otherwise could be ascertained. It was not until 1983 that a collection of documents, photographs and artifacts was presented to the Smithsonian s National Air and Space Museum. Some of the photographs were recognized as being those of the mystery diarist and the truth was soon revealed. The author was Wesley Archer, an American with Canadian parents who served with the RFC in the First World War, and the photographs and diary had been faked."

Following the declaration of war by the United States, more than 200 American men, unwilling to wait until US squadrons could be raised, volunteered to join the Royal Flying Corps in the summer of 1917. Amongst these men was John MacGavock Grider and Elliott White Springs who both joined 85 Squadron to fly SE.5 fighters.During his service with the RFC and the RAF, Grider kept a record of his experiences from when he joined up until his untimely death in 1918, when he was shot down over the Western Front. Before his death, Grider had made a pact with Elliott White Springs that in the event of one of them dying, the other would complete their writings. Springs went on to write this book, an amalgamation of his own recollections and Griders diary and correspondence.War Birds records in detail the stresses of training and the terror and elation of failure and success during combats with the enemy the First World War. This unique edition of War Birds has been produced from a copy owned by another officer from 85 Squadron, Lieutenant Horace Fulford. In his copy, Fulford made numerous handwritten annotations and stuck in a number of previously unpublished photographs all of which have been faithfully reproduced.

"... In the summer of 1917, two hundred and ten young university men, who had joined the Air Service at the declaration of war, volunteered for immediate service abroad. They were sent to England, just as others were sent to France, Italy, and Canada, to be trained by our allies and to fight with them until we could supply them with fighting planes. One of these men kept a diary which has been published as "War Birds." He was one of two hundred and ten ... but because he was closest to me in life, I have undertaken to publish the story of his career in the A.E.F. Before he was killed, he gave me his diary and told me how he would like to have his deeds reported in case I survived him. He was very definite in his ideas and I agreed to respect them. He promised to do the same for me in case I should go first. I have discharged this trust faithfully. Though "War Birds" is an individual diary, intended only to refresh the mind of the writer in later years, it became the actual history of those two hundred and ten men. It tells, for the first time, of their lives and deaths, their successes and their failures. Though it gives the opinions and prejudices of one individual, these same opinions and prejudices were shared by us all. Whatever errors he made were made by us all. If he committed any transgressions, so did we all. It could have been the diary of any of the two hundred and ten. ... Of the two hundred and ten men who landed in England and trained with the Royal Flying Cops, fifty-one were killed, thirty were wounded, fourteen were prisoners of war, and twenty became mentally unfit for flying before they finished their training. When the Armistice was signed, the survivors found themselves on the American front, under the American high command. ... They wandered home by various channels - a sort of lost battalion - disillusioned and discouraged. ... They were without rank or medals and they suffered by comparison with the much decorated pilots from the American front who returned with rank and headlines. It was for these survivors that the publication of "War Birds" was intended. They will attest to its authenticity. And they will understand it. ...It is not an attempt to make heroes of any group of men. It is the actual story of one man and his friends ... The ten men whose names appear in it most prominently read it and compared it with their own diaries and records. They gave their endorsement to it without asking for a single deletion or change ... My name and Callahan's appear oftener than any others. I have no apologies to make for that since we three were constantly together for nearly a year. None of the books I have read about the war mention the fact any one beside the writer therof did any fighting at all. I do not like this title "War Birds." It was given to the diary by Liberty and stuck so closely that it was necessary to use it on the book. But to me it will always be "The Diary of the Unknown Aviator." His body lies at Houplines, near Armentieres. His spirit still haunts the pages of his diary...I have carried out his orders"--Foreword, page ix, signed by Elliott White Springs, dated Fort Mill, S.C. July 1927.

Dagbogsnotater af en ukendt amerikansk pilot, der deltog i 1. verdenskrig beskriver her pilotens oplevelser og den tids luftoperationer. Redigeret som flyvelitteratur snarere end et historisk værk.