The War in the Air

Aims: Examine the air battles fought during World War One. Identify the main components of a World War One aeroplane.

The first aeroplane was invented in 1903 but by 1914 many great advances had been made. In 1912 the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was created as Britain realised the potential for aerial warfare. Britain was the only country to begin the war with a trained air-force. An early design of an aeroplane.

During World War One the first aeroplanes were used for ‘spotting’ enemy ground movements. Good observation was key for checking if a large battle was soon to begin. To stop observation missions being successful there were pistol fights in the air. Early aircraft did not have guns or bombs. Some even flew over the enemies plane and dropped bricks on the pilot below.

A British Airman preparing to take a photograph of enemy lines

Advances During the War Eventually machine guns were fitted to the aeroplanes making combat in the air much more likely. The Germans invented the ‘interrupter gear’ in 1915 which synchronised the turning of the propeller with the firing of the machine gun. This allowed for a gun to be fitted in-front of the pilot and for him to fire accurately. Eventually the British copied this design.

A German Fokker Monoplane with a synchronised machine Gun

Fighting in the Sky When groups of pilots met enemy planes the fight which ensued was called a ‘Dog Fight’. A pilot’s main aim was to shoot the tail of the enemies plane as it would bring his plane down without him being able to shoot back.

The Pilots Most had little more than 30 hours training. Air aces were pilots who had managed to achieve 5 confirmed kills. Major Mick Mannock was killed in 1918 and had achieved 73 kills. Albert Ball was 20 years old when he died. He had only flown for 4 months but shot down 43 planes. He was awarded the Victoria Cross. Baron Manfred von Richthofen was known as the ‘Red Baron’. He was the top ace during the war with 80 kills. He was killed in April Around 5000 pilots died during the war.

Air Bombing During World War One around 5000 people were killed in Britain due to German aeroplane and airship raids. Most attacks took place at night and the Germans would use the moonlit River Thames to find their target. Although London was worst hit, other cities effected by the raids were Newcastle, Leeds, Liverpool, Birmingham and Glasgow.

Zeppelins A Zeppelin is a type of airship used by the Germans during World War One. It was used to drop bombs on British cities. Overall the Zeppelin was not very successful as their bombs were not very accurate due to the height they had to maintain to keep out of reach of British fighter planes. They could also drift off course in strong winds. One famously ended up in the Mediterranean – a long way off target!

A German Zeppelin