The Great War of 1914-1918 saw the rapid development of the aeroplane
as a weapon of war. Initially its role was seen as that of reconnaissance, an
extension of the cavalry, but as the war stagnated into static trench warfare,
with each side facing each other across No-Man’s-Land, the use of artillery,
both in shelling enemy positions and counter-shelling his artillery, also became
of prime importance. With the early development of radio communication between
ground and air, aeroplanes also undertook the task of ‘spotting’ for the
artillery, and it soon became apparent that these aeroplanes – both the
reconnaissance machines and those working for the artillery – could not be
allowed to work unmolested, and fast fighter aeroplanes - both single and two
seat – began to make their appearance over the Western Front.
Technical development was rapid. The mostly unarmed reconnaissance
aeroplanes, and the early fighters of 1915 and 1916, armed with a single machine
gun, had given way to fighters carrying two guns, flying at altitudes of over
16,000 feet and at treble the speed of the predecessors of 1914.
With these developments a new type of soldier had evolved: the
fighter pilot. Capable of fighting in the air, in three dimensions and at great
speed, individual pilots began to emerge whose singular talents and temperament
brought them to the forefront of their respective air forces. They became the
‘aces’, pilots who had brought down five or more of the enemy. Despite their
expertise, few of these ‘aces’ survived the war. The last combats of some are
known and well documented, others are obscure. Some of the pilots in these pages
are well-known, others less so, but all shared the common experience of fighting
in the air during the war of 1914-1918: the conflict which saw the aeroplane
evolve from a relatively fragile, unarmed reconnaissance machine, to a deadly
weapon that changed the face of war for ever.
