WWI Aircraft Development June 1914 – November 1918

When war broke out in Europe in August of 1914 (only 10 years after the first flight by the Wright Brothers), aircraft designed to fight one another did not exist The Generals and Admirals were almost unanimous in thinking that aero planes had little if any practical application for war purposes It was grudgingly conceded that aero planes might be of some use “as an adjunct to the existing military and naval forces“, to observe the progress of the war. The possibility of aero planes making any positive contribution to the progress of the war received scant support. The official French position was that the aero plane was no more than “a substitute for a captive balloon”

In 1911, Major Brooke-Popham of the Air Battalion, Royal Engineers had successfully fitted a gun to his Bleriot monoplane – His superiors ordered it removed In 1913, Major Issac Newton Lewis demonstrated firing of one of his Lewis machine guns from a Wright bi-plane. The U.S. Army Signal Corp rejected the idea. In the years before the war…..

June 1914 A Russian staff pilot attempted towing a grappling hook on a steel cable attached to his Moraine in an attempt to hook it into an opponent aircraft and tear the him apart NO GUNS Arch Duke Ferdinand killed, and WW1 Begins

Aug 1914 Germans invade Belgium and France Upon being ordered across the English Channel to France, crews of these unarmed aircraft were instructed to use their planes to ram any Zeppelins they may encounter on the way

Jan 1915 Machine guns make it into the air Roland Garros first used deflector plates with this aircraft in March of 1915 In April of 1915 Garros crashed and the secret to his success was out

Feb 1915 No guns

March appx built, some equipped with a 37mm cannon for strafing

May 1915 Another solution to aerial combat was mounting a gun so it fired upward at a 45 degree angle, so that bullets passed the area swept by the propeller blades

June 1915 First interrupter gear installed on a Fokker M.5K *(became Fokker E series with appx. 266 E’s built) It took the German Air Service about 6 months to figure out the value of this weapons system and begin to exploit it

June 1915 Raymond Saulnier had developed a type of interrupter gear for French aircraft. The French authorities were unwilling to back continued research. French aircraft had to make do with a machine gun mounted above the top wing.

July Appx. 400 built -A reasonable match (one on one) with the Fokker E type.

Oct 1915 Manfried von Richthofen ‘s first solo flight, ended in a crash The Red Barron’s first kill in April of 1916 The Red Barron received the “Blue Max” in Jan of 1917 The Red Barron Killed in April of 1918 at age 25 (80 victories)

November 1915 The beginning of the Fokker Scourge A mediocre underpowered airplane (Fokker E) dominated the skies because 1. synchronized machine gun firing through propeller allowed pilot to aim airplane rather than the gun 2. Pilot officers, Max Immelman and Oswald Boelcke developed maneuvers to take advantage of their Fokker E’s weapon 3. Immelman and Boelcke developed tactics, and organized German aircraft and pilots into hunting groups, rather than a number pilots acting as individual hunters (get the high position and attack out of the sun)

Feb better performer than the Fokker “E” types, and the Fokker “D” types to be introduced in June of not well respected by German pilots as it appeared slender and frail

May larger stronger wing than the Nieuport 11 -most popular aircraft fighting aircraft of entire war because of its flying qualities and fighting ability

June Appx. 291 DII & III’s built -meant to replace “E” models was only marginally better

July Fast climbing, tight turning aircraft but the drag of the three wing layout made it slow. -RFC were not impressed and built only a few, quickly shifting to other models -Germans were impressed with its turning ability and ordered Anthony Fokker to build a copy.

Aug Appx DI thru DIII’s built -First German fighter to carry a 2 gun armament without suffering loss of performance -Red Barron scored majority of his victories in this aircraft

Sept Appx built -French built, designed around newly developed water cooled Hispano-Suiza 150hp V8 engine -some equipped with an over wing gun in addition to the single fuselage mounted gun

March Appx built -British built, designed around newly developed water cooled Hispano-Suiza 150hp V8 engine -standard armament was 1 fuselage mounted and 1 wing mounted machine gun -S.E.5-a model had 200 hp

May Appx 8500 built -2 machine guns and a 220 HP Hispano-Suiza motor, with 138mph speed -tricky to handle at low speeds but strong and an excellent gun platform

Aug Appx 1000 built --semi-monocoque plywood fuselage gave great strength -stable gun platform, but not as fast as French and British contemporaries -could dive at higher speeds without shedding its wings

Nov Development of the Nieuport 17, but with only 10 more HP, increased weight, and less endurance, they were not popular -appx. 381 built

Jan 1918 Developed to replace the Nieuport 17’s, and 24’ -appx. 297 built -Had 60 more HP, and 10% faster, but was not a particularly good fighter -Would have faded into obscurity except that it was the only fighter available when the A.E.F. entered the war in early 1918

April Thought to be the best German fighter of WW1 as it was capable of maintaining performance at high altitude -appx built -so feared by allies that is was singled out for specific treatment (handed over to allies) in the armistice agreement -some smuggled to Holland by Fokker to continue his aviation business

May Basically a Fokker triplane minus one wing - Faster than the D7 but disliked by pilots only 59 built

July Appx. 400 built -Fast and maneuverable, and a better overall fighter than many allied aircraft, but too late to do any good

11am it ended To be continued