"S.E.5a in action", by J.F. Connors, is a replication of a book originally published before 1985 using print-on-demand technology.
The S.E.5 was a British biplane developed by the Royal Aircraft Factory by a team consisting of Henry Folland, John Kenworthy and Major Frank Goodden. It was one of the fastest aircraft of the war, while being both stable and relatively manoeuvrable. In most respects the S.E.5 had superior performance to the rival Sopwith Camel, both aircraft being capable dogfighters of the era; however, problems with its Hispano-Suiza engine, particularly the geared-output H-S 8B-powered early versions, meant that there was a chronic shortage of S.E.5s until well into 1918. Thus, while the first examples had reached the Western Front before the Camel, there were fewer squadrons equipped with the S.E.5 than with the Sopwith fighter. According to aviation author Robert Jackson, the S.E.5 was: "the nimble fighter that has since been described as the 'Spitfire of World War One’"