Norman Leslie Robert Franks is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 writer who specialises in aviation

Aviation

Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...

 books on the pilots and squadrons of World Wars I and II.

Biography

He published his first book in 1976. He was an Organisation and Methods Officer with the Nationwide Building Society

Nationwide Building Society

Nationwide Building Society is a British building society, and is the largest in the world. It has its headquarters in Swindon, England, and maintains significant administration centres in Bournemouth and Northampton...

 in London before he retired. He now lives in Bexhill-on-Sea

Bexhill-on-Sea

Bexhill-on-Sea is a town and seaside resort in the county of East Sussex, in the south of England, within the District of Rother. It has a population of approximately 40,000...

, East Sussex

East Sussex

East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...

, with his wife Heather. They have two sons, Rob and Mike, and five grandchildren.

He was a consultant for the Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 television series Dogfight: The Mystery of the Red Baron. His 1995 book on the Red Baron has been published and reissued by three publishers. He is also one of the founding members of the Cross and Cockade society for World War I aviation historians, which was formed in 1970, and a member of Over the Front, the league of World War I aviation historians.

In total he has authored 120 books covering military aviation, with several others in the pipeline as at August 2009.

Published works

• Franks, Norman. Double Mission: Fighter Pilot and SOE Agent, Manfred Czernin (1976, William Kimber, London) ISBN 0 7183 02540
• Franks, Norman. Fighter Leader: The Story of Wing Commander Ian Gleed, DSO, DFC (1978, William Kimber, London) ISBN 0 7183 01064
• Franks, Norman. The Greatest Air Battle: Dieppe, 19 August 1942 (1979, William Kimber, London) ISBN 0 7183 0396 2
• Franks, Norman. Wings of Freedom:Twelve Battle of Britain Pilots (1980, William Kimber, London) ISBN 0 7183 0197 8
• Franks, Norman. Sky Tiger: The Story of Sailor Malan (1980, William Kimber, London) ISBN 0 7183 0487 X
• Franks, Norman. The Battle of the Airfields: 1 January 1945 (1982 & 2002, Grub Street, London) ISBN 0718304489 & ISBN 190230442X [Operation Bodenplatte]
• Franks, Norman. The Air Battle of Dunkirk (1983, William Kimber, London) ISBN 0 7183 0349 0
• Franks, Norman and Shedda, C. J. Tempest Pilot (1983 & 2003, Grub Street, London) ISBN 1904010385
• Franks, Norman. Typhoon Attack (1984, William Kimber, London) ISBN 0718305132
• Franks, Norman. Aircraft versus Aircraft: The illustrated story of fighter pilot combat since 1914 (1986). Grub Street (ISBN 0593010213). 192 pages.
• Franks, Norman; Forever strong: The story of 75 Squadron RNZAF, 1916-1990 (1991) Random Century ISBN 978-1869411022
• Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank. Over the Front: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the United States and French Air Services, 1914-1918 (1992). Casemate Pub (ISBN 0948817542)
• Franks, Norman; Giblin, Hal; and McCrery, Nigel. Under the Guns of the Red Baron - The Complete Record of Von Richthofen's Victories and Victims Fully Illustrated (1995 & 2007, Grub Street, London) ISBN 1904943977 (1998 & 1999, Barnes & Noble, USA) (ISBN 0760712093) (2000, Caxton, London). 224 pages.
• Franks, Norman; Guest, Russell; Bailey, Frank. Bloody April… Black September (1995). Grub Street (ISBN 1898697086). 314 pages [The two deadliest months for Allied airmen in WW I, April 1917 & September 1918].
• Franks, Norman; Guest, Russell; and Alegi, Gregory. Above the War Fronts: The British Two-Seater Bomber Pilot and Observer Aces, the British Two-Seater Fighter Observer Aces, and the Belgian, Italian, Austro-Hungarian and Russian Fighter Aces 1914-1918 (1997). Grub Street (ISBN 1898697566). 218 pages.
• Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank. The Storks: The Story of the Les Cigognes, France's Elite Fighter Group of WWI (1998). Grub Street (ISBN 1898697817). 160 pages.
• Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank; Duiven, Rick. Casualties of the German Air Service 1914-20: As Complete a List as Possible Arranged Alphabetically and Chronologically (1999). Grub Street (ISBN 1902304330). 362 pages.
• Franks, Norman; Holmes, Tony. Albatros Aces of World War I (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No 32) (2000). Motorbooks International (ISBN 1855329603). 96 pages.
• Franks, Norman. Nieuport Aces of World War I (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No 33) (2000). Motorbooks International (ISBN 1855329611). 96 pages.
• Franks, Norman; Wyngarden, Greg Van; Holmes, Tony. Fokker Dr I Aces of World War I (Osprey Aircraft of the Aces No 40) (2001). Osprey Aviation (ISBN 1841762237). 96 pages.
• Franks, Norman; Giblin, Hal. Under the Guns of the Kaiser's Aces: Bohme, Muller, Von Tutschek, Wolff : The Complete Record of Their Victories and Victims (2003). Grub Street (ISBN 1904010024). 192 pages.
• Franks, Norman. Sopwith Camel Aces of World War 1 (Aircraft of the Aces, 52) (2003). Osprey Publishing (UK) (ISBN 1841765341). 96 pages.
• Franks, Norman; Holmes, Tony. Sopwith Triplanes Aces of World War 1 (Aircraft of the Aces, 62) (2004). Osprey Publishing (UK) (ISBN 184176728X). 96 pages.
• Franks, Norman. Jasta Boelcke: The History of Jasta 2, 1916-1918 (2004). Grub Street (ISBN 1904010768). 224 pages.

External links

• Interview Channel 4 History
• Biography at Grub Street Press
• Titles (to 2008) at Stone & Stone