Transcript WWI Aircraft Development June 1914 – November 1918

WWI Aircraft Development
June 1914 – November 1918
• When war broke out in Europe in August of 1914 (only 10 years after
the first flight by the Wright Brothers), aircraft designed to fight one
another did not exist
• The Generals and Admirals were almost unanimous in thinking that
aero planes had little if any practical application for war purposes
• It was grudgingly conceded that aero planes might be of some use
“as an adjunct to the existing military and naval forces“, to observe
the progress of the war.
• The possibility of aero planes making any positive contribution to the
progress of the war received scant support.
• The official French position was that the aero plane was no more
than “a substitute for a captive balloon”
In the years before the war…..
• In 1911, Major Brooke-Popham of the Air Battalion,
Royal Engineers had successfully fitted a gun to his
Bleriot monoplane – His superiors ordered it removed
• In 1913, Major Issac Newton Lewis demonstrated firing
of one of his Lewis machine guns from a Wright bi-plane.
The U.S. Army Signal Corp rejected the idea.
June 1914
Arch Duke Ferdinand
killed, and WW1 Begins
A Russian staff pilot
attempted towing a
grappling hook on a steel
cable attached to his
Moraine in an attempt to
hook it into an opponent
aircraft and tear the him
apart
NO GUNS
Aug 1914
Germans invade Belgium and
France
Upon being ordered across the
English Channel to France,
crews of these unarmed aircraft
were instructed to use their
planes to ram any Zeppelins
they may encounter on the way
Jan 1915
Machine guns make it into the air
Roland Garros first used deflector
plates with this aircraft in March of
1915
In April of 1915 Garros crashed and
the secret to his success was out
Feb 1915
No guns
March 1915
-appx. 1900 built, some
equipped with a 37mm cannon
for strafing
May 1915
Another solution to aerial combat
was mounting a gun so it fired
upward at a 45 degree angle, so that
bullets passed the area swept by the
propeller blades
June 1915
•
•
First interrupter gear installed
on a Fokker M.5K *(became
Fokker E series with appx.
266 E’s built)
It took the German Air Service
about 6 months to figure out
the value of this weapons
system and begin to exploit it
June 1915
•
Raymond Saulnier had
developed a type of interrupter
gear for French aircraft. The
French authorities were
unwilling to back continued
research.
•
French aircraft had to make do
with a machine gun mounted
above the top wing.
July 1915
-Appx. 400 built
-A reasonable match (one on
one) with the Fokker E type.
Oct 1915
• Manfried von Richthofen ‘s first solo flight,
ended in a crash
• The Red Barron’s first kill in April of 1916
• The Red Barron received the “Blue Max” in
Jan of 1917
• The Red Barron Killed in April of 1918 at age
25 (80 victories)
November 1915
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•
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The beginning of the Fokker Scourge
A mediocre underpowered airplane (Fokker E) dominated the skies because
1. synchronized machine gun firing through propeller allowed pilot to
aim airplane rather than the gun
2. Pilot officers, Max Immelman and Oswald Boelcke developed
maneuvers to take advantage of their Fokker E’s weapon
3. Immelman and Boelcke developed tactics, and organized German
aircraft and pilots into hunting groups, rather than a number pilots acting as
individual hunters (get the high position and attack out of the sun)
Feb 1916
-better performer than the Fokker “E”
types, and the Fokker “D” types to be
introduced in June of 1916
-not well respected by German pilots
as it appeared slender and frail
May 1916
-larger stronger wing than the
Nieuport 11
-most popular aircraft fighting
aircraft of entire war because of
its flying qualities and fighting
ability
June 1916
-Appx. 291 DII & III’s built
-meant to replace “E” models
was only marginally better
July 1916
-Fast climbing , tight turning
aircraft but the drag of the
three wing layout made it
slow.
-RFC were not impressed and
built only a few, quickly
shifting to other models
-Germans were impressed
with its turning ability and
ordered Anthony Fokker to
build a copy.
Aug 1916
-Appx. 2000 DI thru DIII’s built
-First German fighter to carry
a 2 gun armament without
suffering loss of performance
-Red Barron scored majority of his
victories in this aircraft
Sept 1916
-Appx. 6000 built
-French built, designed around
newly developed water cooled
Hispano-Suiza 150hp V8 engine
-some equipped with an over
wing gun in addition to the single
fuselage mounted gun
March 1917
-Appx. 2700 built
-British built, designed around
newly developed water cooled
Hispano-Suiza 150hp V8 engine
-standard armament was 1
fuselage mounted and 1 wing
mounted machine gun
-S.E.5-a model had 200 hp
May 1917
-Appx 8500 built
-2 machine guns and a 220 HP
Hispano-Suiza motor, with
138mph speed
-tricky to handle at low speeds but
strong and an excellent gun
platform
Aug 1917
-Appx 1000 built
--semi-monocoque plywood
fuselage gave great strength
-stable gun platform, but not as
fast as French and British
contemporaries
-could dive at higher speeds
without shedding its wings
Nov 1917
-Development of the Nieuport 17,
but with only 10 more HP,
increased weight, and less
endurance, they were not popular
-appx. 381 built
Jan 1918
Developed to replace the
Nieuport 17’s, and 24’
-appx. 297 built
-Had 60 more HP, and 10%
faster, but was not a particularly
good fighter
-Would have faded into
obscurity except that it was the
only fighter available when the
A.E.F. entered the war in early
1918
April 1918
-Thought to be the best German
fighter of WW1 as it was capable
of maintaining performance at
high altitude
-appx. 1000 built
-so feared by allies that is was
singled out for specific treatment
(handed over to allies) in the
armistice agreement
-some smuggled to Holland by
Fokker to continue his aviation
business
May 1918
-Basically a Fokker triplane
minus one wing
- Faster than the D7 but disliked
by pilots only 59 built
July 1918
-Appx. 400 built
-Fast and maneuverable, and a
better overall fighter than many
allied aircraft, but too late to do
any good
11am-11-11-18
it ended
To be continued 01-09-39