King of Airfighters

A penetrating study of Britain’s top World War I fighter ace, written by fellow pilot Ira Jones, the author of An Air Fighter’s Scrapbook.

Ira Jones’ biography of Britain’s top-scoring ace of the First World War has become the subject of some controversy over the last few years; most notably, it claims seventy-three “kills” for Mannock, making him the number-one-scoring Allied ace of the war. Later research has thrown serious doubt on this assertion, and indeed, Mannock himself only claimed fifty-one kills.

Jones’ biography is nevertheless an important account, especially when seen in the context of the time in which it was first written. In particular, the biography delves into the mind of Mannock, portraying the singular nature of his character and the true stress that these pioneer air fighters experienced in the last few months of the war.

Originally published in 1934 by Ivor Nicholson and Watson in London, the book has been reprinted—most recently in the 1990s by Greenhill Books as part of its Vintage Aviation Library—and reproduced from the original 1930s version of the book.

Not a word has been changed in this Casemate edition, but the original, very dated type and page layout have been reworked, as has been the format in which the book is presented, to give a beautiful new treatment to this classic of aviation literature.