WWI AIRCRAFT and PHOTOS
(Photographs
reprinted by permission of the
San Diego Air and Space Museum)
British Aircraft
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The Aircraft Manufacturing
Company (AIRCO) produced the prototype of the De
Havilland 2 in July, 1915. It was a single-seat pusher with a 100hp
Gnome rotary engine, permitting the pilot to fire a single
machine gun forward. (Click here
for more detailed description) |
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On November 21, 1914, an Avro
504 made the first bombing raid in history against
the airship sheds at Friedrichshafen. Three of the
planes were converted later to single seat fighter
status and served as late as 1918. In August, 1917,
(Click here for more detailed
description) |
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Although the Bristol
Scout first
appeared in February, 1914, it was so light that its
80hp Gnome rotary engine gave it had an extraordinary
speed of 97mph and an equally extraordinary ceiling of
nearly 16,000 feet. Pilots loved the little machine because
it was feathery light on the controls and a pleasure
to fly. (Click here for
more detailed description) |
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By
1913, the French had become very sophisticated with streamlined
monoplanes. Early in 1914, Raymond Saulnier designed
synchronizing gear, but temporarily abandoned the effort.
In March, 1915, a pilot (Roland Garros) flew a Morane
Saulnier Type "N" Bullet to Villacoublay
to collaborate with Saulnier to place steel plates on
the propellor to permit firing through the propellor
arc. (Click
here for more detailed description) |
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In August, 1916 the Nieuport
17 was the best French-built fighter at the Front. .Armed
with a single machine gun on top of the wing, it had
a sea-level speed of 107 mph and a ceiling of 17,400
feet. It had a range of about two hours (200 miles)
and a rate of climb of 650 feet per minute. (Click
here for more detailed description) |
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The prototype S.E.5 was powered
by a new 150hp Hispano-Suiza engine. It had a new Constantinesco
synchronizing gear. Superior to the Albatros DIII, DV
and Fokker Dr-1 Triplane, the S.E.5 was able to hold
its own against the formidable Fokker D-VI through 1918.
(Click here for more detailed description) |
German Frontline Aircraft - 1916
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The Albatros C.III was first introduced
in early 1916, and became the workhorse
for the German Army for photo-reconnaissance, observation
and light bombing (maximum of 200 pounds).(Click
here for more detailed description) |
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The Albatros D.I came
out in August, 1916. It was strengthened and
streamlined with a unique plywood shell, powered
by a 160hp Mercedes engine and armed with twin
Spandau machines guns synchronised to fire
through the airscrew arc. The D.I proved to
be overwhelmingly superior in speed and firepower
and otherwise comparable to the Nieuport 17
and other contemporary Allied fighters.(Click
here for more detailed description) |
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First designed in late 1915 to replace the so-called "Eindekker" monoplane,
the Fokker D.I and D.II mounted
a single machine gun and used primitive wing-warping.
Its 13,000 foot ceiling and its slow rate of climb put
it at a disadvantage against the Nieuport 17. (Click
here for more detailed description) |
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The single-seat fighter, Halberstadt
D.II, was redesigned
and went into production in early 1916. Only eighty-five
were built. With a speed of only 90mph and a ceiling
of 10,000 feet, it was not competitive with more advanced
Allied designs like the Nieuport 17 and was used primarily
to escort reconnaissanceplanes. (Click
here for more detailed description) |
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The Roland C.II "Whale" first
appeared in October, 1915. Covered with plywood and streamlined,
it carried a Spandau firing forward and a Parabellum
on a ring mount firing to the rear. With a speed of over
100mph and a ceiling of over 16,000 feet, it could compete
with the best Allied fighters. In the summer of 1916,
(Click here for more detailed
description) |
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