The Evolution of World War I Aircraft

Observation and reconnaissance missions began an aviation arms race. Each side needed to protect their aircraft and attack the enemy’s. This would lead to a new class of armed aircraft: pursuit planes.

Pursuit Planes

Pursuit pilots—later called fighter pilots—flew a new class of high-performing airplanes to hunt enemy aviators. 

These light, maneuverable aircraft appeared around nine months into the war. They were also equipped with machine guns. This gave the pilots the means to intercept the enemy. However, making airplanes into effective weapons was one of the greatest design challenges of World War I. Early fighter planes were not well suited for attacking enemy aircraft. Front-mounted propellers got in the way of the best firing position: pointing the airplane at the target and firing forward.

Mounted Guns

Before machine guns were mounted to combat aircraft, observers took hand-held weapons aloft to fire at the enemy. Eventually, planes were redesigned with workarounds to account for the addition of guns, like rear-mounted propellers. 

The best solution was the gun synchronizer, which timed bullets to pass between propeller blades. By mid-1916 these innovations led to the formation of the first dedicated fighter squadrons.