The First Eagles

An incredible history of the American WWI pilots who refused to be grounded, enlisting in the British Royal Air Force and fighting for Allied forces.

In The First Eagles, award-winning historian Gavin Mortimer engagingly profiles the determined American aviators who grew tired of waiting for the their country to establish an aerial military force during World War I. It was these men who enlisted in Britain’s desperate and battered Royal Flying Corps. After an intensive and deadly year of training that gave recruits a frighteningly realistic taste of the combat they would face, 247 fresh American RFC pilots were shipped over to Europe, with hundreds more following in the next two months. Twenty-eight of them claimed five or more kills to become feted as “aces,” their involvement lauded as pivotal to the Allied victory.

Mortimer compiles their history through letters, diaries, memoirs, and archives from top museums in the United States and Britain—from John Donaldson, who left for France at age twenty and shot down seven Germans before being downed himself, to the Iaccaci brothers, who accounted for twenty-nine German aircraft between them. Complete with 150 period photographs, The First Eagles captures the bravery of these intrepid American pilots.

“Studded with magnificent, aptly captioned photos, [The First Eagles] tells the true story of brave young men from a privileged stratum of society in a way never done before. Highly recommended for the general public and for the ardent aviation buff!” —Walter J. Boyne, USAF (ret.), author/historian and former director, the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum