It is one of the more interesting stories of World War One Aviation, at a time when airplane design was advancing, and clean, streamlined (well, more or less) monoplanes were becoming something of the norm, France and Britain would field several pusher airplanes that were a bit backward even by the standards of the day. The surprising thing is that these airplanes brought a certain amount of success to their pilots.

Author Jon Guttman brings us this story in a very readable package in this addition to the Osprey Aircraft of the Aces series. From the very beginning of the war, pilots began trying to figure out how to deny airspace to the enemy. This meant trying to create a clear field of fire for a machine gun and the pusher layout would seem to have been a very logical solution to the problem. While not the engineering marvel of the interupter gear of the Imperial German Air Force, these pusher airplanes did meet with a great deal of success. In particular, the story of the Royal Aircraft Factory's FE2b and FE2d is simply amazing. This large, awkward and seemingly vulnerable two seat pusher would surprise everyone with its ability to defend itself and the airspace for which it was responsible. And the defensive prowess of the "Fees" surprised, very nearly for the last time, a young German ace named Von Richtofen!

Airco's DH-2, an early design from Geoffrey deHavilland, is also covered in detail. Perhaps best understood as the first purpose built "fighter" (Fokker's eindekker was a pre-war sport plane)the DH-2 gave us the first British aces and helped even the lopsided score created by the Fokkers. They would be the main British fighter through most of 1916 and were in front line service on the western front even into 1917, finally pushed out of the sky by the Albatross.

This is all a pretty amazing story and it is rarely heard in any real detail. Guttman has filled this void rather respectably and I would certainly recommend this volume to anyone with an interest in early aviation.

Single- and two-seater pusher scouts with the engine behind the pilot were the first Allied fighters to see combat in World War I. Inherently inferior to tractor scouts, pusher scouts were put into service due to the Allies' lack of an effective gun synchronization system. Despite their somewhat archaic appearance, the FE 2s, DH 2s, FE 8s and assorted pushers compiled quite a combat record in large part due to the aggressiveness of their pilots/crews. Jon Guttman chronicles these "bathtub-shaped battlers" in this 2009 Osprey 'Aircraft of the Aces' book, #88 in the series.

Along with scoring the first Allied air victories of WWI, pusher crews helped invent air combat, pilots like Lanoe Hawker devising tactics and armament mixes that helped make pushers effective even against now-modern German fighters. Two-seaters like the FE 2bs successfully battled against the 'Fokker Scourge;' their single-seat compatriots in the DH 2 being equally successful against Fokkers. Two-seaters fought all through the war; the DH 2s eventually being replaced by more effective aircraft like the Camel and SE 5a. Yet, during the war, pilots and observers such as John Andrews, W. B. Rees, Fred Libby, Alan Wilkinson, John Quested, Edwin Benbow, James McCudden and Fred Thayre turned in outstanding performances, earning several VCs and downing a number of German aces including Max Immelmann and wounding von Richtofen himself.

PUSHER ACES OF WORLD WAR I features over 110 vintage photographs of aircrew and aircraft and eight pages of nicely-done color profiles by Harry Dempsey. Looking at the fragile, ungainly Fe 2bs, DH2s and FE 8s, it's hard to believe their crews did so much with those birds!

To my mind, Guttman's book is doubly interesting. Not only does it relate the air combats flown by the single- and two-seater crews, it provides a window into the development of early Allied tactics, formations, etc. It's a fascinating story and nicely told. Recommended.