Héros del Aire en Venezuela

By Clemente Balladares Castillo
Editorial Arte, ©2007
ISBN 978-980-6476-18-9
Hardbound, 118 Pages

Reviewed by Chris Banyai-Riepl

When I first heard about this book, I thought that it sounded like a fascinating subject. While the exploits of the large nations’ aviators are well known, there are many countries out there that have just as big an interest in aviation. This book presents the history of a dozen aviators that are, in one way or another, related to Venezuela. These aviators span a century of flight, from World War One to the war in Iraq. Each aviator gets a detailed written history (written in Spanish, so be ready to do some translating if that is not your native tongue), as well as photos and illustrations to complement the text.

The aviators covered are Carlos Meyer, Georges Flachaire, Karl Odebrett, Freidrich Nielebock, Mario Velázquez, Richard Gluski, Charles Neville, William Pérez, Heinz Hammacher, Robert Latshaw & Manuel Fernández, and Roberto Elortegui. Of these, Meyer, Flachaire, Odebrett, Neilebock, and Velázquez flew during the Great War (Meyer, Odebrett, and Neilebock on the German side, and the other two with the French). Gluski and Neville were with the British during the Second World War, while Pérez served with the USAAF and Hammacher with the Luftwaffe. Post-war, Latshaw & Fernández took part in the Korean War, while Elortegui flew helos with the US Navy in Iraq. All of these aviators have an interesting history, and the presentation here is simply stunning.

For those interested in building collections of related aircraft, the people presented here are ideal for just such a project. The great span of nations, markings, and eras would guarantee to garner attention, and there is plenty of reference in these pages to do just that. My thanks to the author, Clemente Balladares, for the review copy. Contact him for ordering information.