World War One: In the Air

I read an article in the Autumn 2013 issue of the Quarterly Journal of Military History (MHQ) on WWI airplanes and air combat during that time. The opinions of civilians and military men on this new weapon and the new type of warfare it brought with it were discussed. At first the airplane was not seriously considered a threat. A British nun in Belgium said that they looked like “beautiful little birds.” This type of thinking vanished when planes started shooting and bombing.

At first the airplane’s only use was as an observer with no fighting capabilities. After a while though, pilots started carrying rifles and handguns with them. Machine guns were then mounted on the planes, but many of these early attempts to mount guns on the plane failed. One of the big problems was that the bullets from the machine guns would destroy the propeller of the plane. The Germans were the first to fix the problem. They did this by synchronizing the propeller with the fire of the gun so the bullets would go between the propellers instead of through them. The mechanism was called the Interrupter Gear. The Allied forces adopted the technique soon after the Germans did. With the ability to shoot, the planes began to shoot at each other with greater accuracy. The plane was no longer merely an observer but a fighter.

The incorporation of planes into warfare did not make everyone happy. Some people ( mainly military men) thought the new invention would ruin warfare. The majority though, saw the airplane as a game changer for the side that had the most and best of these planes. Countries scrambled to produce planes and train pilots. Most pilots were inexperienced when sent into the air and many died as a result. The few that survived though went on to teach new airmen. Slowly each country was able to accumulate a force of seasoned pilots.

The First World War sowed the seeds for future air warfare. World War I showed the leaders of the world how useful planes were, and the technological progress on airplanes during the war made a great base for future experimentation and improvement.