I really can't understand all the 5 stars this got because other than a short, brilliant chapter on flying the camel, it just goes on and on and on and...you get the idea. Plot summary: get up and fly, dodge archie, come back to base, maybe somebody dies, get drunk, do it again tomorrow. That's pretty much it folks. Don't look for any plot development or character development here. There is some philisophical rambling about the meaning of the war which should rightly be included in any war book. Never goes anywhere. it was hard to actually finish the book but i was curious to see if it actually every "took off and flew". final verdict? down in flames! Want my copy free?

I really can't understand all the 5 stars this got because other than a short, brilliant chapter on flying the camel, it just goes on and on and on and...you get the idea. Plot summary: get up and fly, dodge archie, come back to base, maybe somebody dies, get drunk, do it again tomorrow. That's pretty much it folks. Don't look for any plot development or character development here. There is some philisophical rambling about the meaning of the war which should rightly be included in any war book. Never goes anywhere. it was hard to actually finish the book but i was curious to see if it actually every "took off and flew". final verdict? down in flames! Want my copy free?

In doing some family history research I established that an 18 year old relative had died in a mid air collision while flying a Sopwith Camel in the same area and at the same time this story is set. I was searching for some literature that could give me some understanding of what this brave young man had experienced. I could not have found anything that could have been more compelling reading or had more of an emotional impact than this superbly written account of the machinery and the time.

Based upon the author's own experiences in the RFC in 1918 here is the complete story of the war in the air on the western front. 148 sorties, the slow inexorable death of friends and squadron mates one at a time until only a squadron of ghosts is left, dogfights with Fokkers, air superiority over the Huns, death in the air, flamers (the worst way to die!), Archie, getting tight in the mess each evening singing rousing songs and smashing furniture to relieve the tension, dropping bombs, low altitude ground strafing, slaughtering ground troops with your machine guns until it sickens you, downing two seaters, mechanical failures of your Sopwith Camel while waiting for the new Snipes to arrive from England,gliding or limping back to the lines and safety, mid-air collisions, influenza turning to TB. It is all there. Highly recommended. This is the best book on the war in the air in WW1 I have ever found. Read it, and then read it again. It is that good.

A ripping yarn, a must for aviation enthusiasts, replete with explicit and graphic flight scenes. The philosophizing seems more 1930's than 1918, but that's when the author published it. The way the author/hero deals with the loss of comrades is skilled writing, evoking the banality of having to get on with the job without mourning. i'm not qualified to comment on any authenticity of the feeling expressed/felt but it stands out from others of the genre for that reason. for me, it ranks with Sagittarius Rising, and Derek Robinson's work. the author enjoys spiking the sometimes purple prose with neologisms and entertaining latinisms; a trait i enjoy but others shouldn't have much trouble ignoring.

A ripping yarn, a must for aviation enthusiasts, replete with explicit and graphic flight scenes. The philosophizing seems more 1930's than 1918, but that's when the author published it. The way the author/hero deals with the loss of comrades is skilled writing, evoking the banality of having to get on with the job without mourning. i'm not qualified to comment on any authenticity of the feeling expressed/felt but it stands out from others of the genre for that reason. for me, it ranks with Sagittarius Rising, and Derek Robinson's work. the author enjoys spiking the sometimes purple prose with neologisms and entertaining latinisms; a trait i enjoy but others shouldn't have much trouble ignoring.

One of the great novels about flying over the trenches in World War 1. The only shame is that this edition does not carry the introduction by
T E Lawrence ('Lawrence of Arabia') that the earlier editions carry. Based upon the author's own experiences in the RFC it does not glamorise the life, nor does it indulge in self-pity.

One of the great novels about flying over the trenches in World War 1. The only shame is that this edition does not carry the introduction by
T E Lawrence ('Lawrence of Arabia') that the earlier editions carry. Based upon the author's own experiences in the RFC it does not glamorise the life, nor does it indulge in self-pity.

This is the finest book of wartime aviation, or for that matter war, I've ever read. A pilot who took great joy in flying but not in flying in war, Tom's willingness to leave the enemy alone as long as they leave him alone is an eye opener in this era when authors like Stephen Ambrose try to elevate every person in uniform to mythological hero status. The only thing I wonder about is whether the cynicism of the pilots was prevelent during the war or is a reflection of the disillusionment these young men felt in the years after the war.

I just finished Winged Victory last night. It really tells two stories in tandem, one is telling the day to day life of a squadron as they fly combat missions in Camels over the western front and the other is the account of the mental anguish the main character endures as the pressure of war and death become more and more unbearable. At its core the book is a tragedy with the theme being the hopelessness of war and how it destroys the living as well as the dead.

As far as the flying and combat, the book is really good. Yeats goes into detail about the Camel and what it was like to fly it. Most all of the novel is describing combat over the front; bombing, strafing and dogfighting. There is no shortage of action and it is all told well by a man who saw it all. Yeats loved to fly but hated to kill and sadly that is what these machines were all about.

This book is probably one of the best aviation books I have ever read. This book is a fictionalized account of Victor Yeates owns experiences and it really draws you in.

Tom Cundell is the main character and he wrestles with: fear, loneliness; worries of cowardliness and just wanting to stay alive.

At certain times in the book you feel his pains and longings and loss of friends. Cundell is not the heroic aviator we have gotten used to reading about, but an average man who was swept up by patriotic fervor to enlist in the infantry and, after seeing the futility of trench warfare, transfers to the Royal Flying Corps. As an average man, who only wants to survive the war, he is even more the hero for overcoming his fears.

Victory Yeates wrote this book in 1934 while dying of tuberculosis. This book never got the acclaim it deserves but hopefully, in reprint, it will take its place as one of the best aviation books ever written.

A truly great war book.

This book is probably one of the best aviation books I have ever read. This book is a fictionalized account of Victor Yeates owns experiences and it really draws you in.

Tom Cundell is the main character and he wrestles with: fear, loneliness; worries of cowardliness and just wanting to stay alive.

At certain times in the book you feel his pains and longings and loss of friends. Cundell is not the heroic aviator we have gotten used to reading about, but an average man who was swept up by patriotic fervor to enlist in the infantry and, after seeing the futility of trench warfare, transfers to the Royal Flying Corps. As an average man, who only wants to survive the war, he is even more the hero for overcoming his fears.

Victory Yeates wrote this book in 1934 while dying of tuberculosis. This book never got the acclaim it deserves but hopefully, in reprint, it will take its place as one of the best aviation books ever written.

A truly great war book.

What a remarkable book! There really aren't that many stories of WWI aviation that I haven't read, so I was delighted to find this one on Amazon. It's written with marvelous attention to detail and with a great sense of authenticity. Often I had to pause to look up a word that has fallen out of usage these days. As other reviewers have mentioned, there are no "knights of the air" in this story, just young men doing a job the best they can. In fact, the story's protagonist often finds himself mourning the deaths of the German airmen that fall to the British Vickers machine guns. My only complaint (a minor one) is the cover: It shows an SE5a in a dogfight. Tom and his squadron fly the now-famous Sopwith Camel. Altogether, a great read and a book that I will re-visit from time to time.

What a remarkable book! There really aren't that many stories of WWI aviation that I haven't read, so I was delighted to find this one on Amazon. It's written with marvelous attention to detail and with a great sense of authenticity. Often I had to pause to look up a word that has fallen out of usage these days. As other reviewers have mentioned, there are no "knights of the air" in this story, just young men doing a job the best they can. In fact, the story's protagonist often finds himself mourning the deaths of the German airmen that fall to the British Vickers machine guns. My only complaint (a minor one) is the cover: It shows an SE5a in a dogfight. Tom and his squadron fly the now-famous Sopwith Camel. Altogether, a great read and a book that I will re-visit from time to time.

By chance, I came across this book a few years ago, read it, and now treasure it among my favorites.

The author gives an unvarnished account of a young RFC/RAF fighter pilot's experiences on the Western Front during the spring and summer of 1918.

Despite the glamor often associated with the public image of the "dashing airman" of the First World War, he faced a variety of hazards, from anti-aircraft fire, collision in a dogfight, to the prospect of a fiery death from "the Hun in the sun".


In "WINGED VICTORY", the reader is given access to the all the perils, fears, and frustrations faced by the young pilot Tom Cundall, who, each day he went off on patrol, gambled with his life and fought to keep his sanity, never knowing which friends wouldn't return to the aerodrome. Or whether he would survive or be maimed or crippled.

Unlike their German counterparts (who had the "Hennecke" harness in the later stages of the war), the Allied airman was issued no parachute.

"WINGED VICTORY" brings back the immediacy of what it was like to be a British fighter pilot on the Western Front in the last year of the First World War. Highly recommended.


P.S. One minor note: Cundall flew a Sopwith Camel, not an S.E.5A as featured on the cover.

Biplanes were (and still are) very cute. There is a mystique about them that transcends even steam trains. There is a mystique about the noble Knights of the Air of the Great War with which we love to associate ourselves and wish we could share in that Great Adventure. There are people who would give anything to be there.
But being there, we would do anything to get out. You stayed because your comrades needed you, because your country called you, because they would shoot you if you ran away. But there was no mystique, no great adventure. Just constant fear, constant danger, thousands upon thousands of bullets fired at you till the risk of death or maiming became probability and then virtual certainty. Tearing your flesh, burning your living flesh, in agony. And to survive was to see friends die, waves of friends passing through while death missed you by inches, knowing how stupid it was to hope to escape till the end of your six months at the front.
This is not a book about the grand and chivalrous knights of the air, jousting in single combat over the fields of France. It is a book about Fear, and the torture of Fear. It is a book about a War without purpose or reason prolonged by corruption and the genocidal stupidity of a generation of Generals and politicians, from which the only bright light was the courage of men. This is not a comfortable book at all. It was written by a man who was dying as he wrote it, with nothing to lose and a young family he knew that he would never see grow up, as he tried to leave behind something for them in a world already escalating towards another paroxysm of madness.
I have been changed by reading this book. It is one of the best books I have read. I am very very glad I was not there in 1918. There is no glory in death.

This is THE book about war flying. Long out of print, if you are lucky enough to find a copy, keep it safe. Do not let your dog eat your other copy (that's what happened to me).

As a boy I learnt that copies of Winged Victory were changing hands between WW2 Bomber Pilots for ý5 (or $20) a time - a considerable sum. Having read it I found out why - it contains some of the best descriptions of the sensations of flying in general - in particular the description of a flight near London remains in my memory - it also gives the feelings of a First War pilot before, during and after action. Every time I get a copy some one 'Borrows' it and it never returns. My next copy will be kept under lock and key - it's that good!

For anyone interested in WWI aviation this is essential. For anyone interested in studying the effects of constant stress this is also a needed book. It is truly a shame it's out of print as I feel a new issue and some publicuty would create at least a modest sales volume.

Just as interesting as the novel is the real and tragic life of the author, Yeates. There are many things to be learnt from this book. It's worth your effort to find a copy,

I find this book to be an excellent portrait of life as a WW1 pilot. The characters are fully developed and the setting is set perfectly. This book has to be one of the best I have picked up. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do

Over many years, I have read perhaps 100 novels about combat in the First World War written by men who fought in that war. Despite its obscurity, Winged Victory may be the best of the lot. It certainly is the best book that I've read on World War I aviation. The parallels with Catch 22 are striking: Either Joseph Heller based Catch 22 on Winged Victory or there is an insanity to wartime aviation that is univesal. It's a wonderful book.

The book gives a deep insight into the mind of the WW1 fighter pilot, written by one who was there. The authenticity of the details, both of the flying and domestic kind, is obvious. Written from the heart, this is a moving book. Brian Norminton.