First World War in the Air by Norman Ferguson

Author:Norman Ferguson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780750956925
Publisher: The History Press
Published: 2014-02-22T00:00:00+00:00

DID YOU KNOW?

The most produced aircraft of the war was the Avro 504, with almost 9,000 built. Despite its unfortunate place in history as the first Royal Flying Corps aircraft shot down in the war, it gave great service, being used to bomb Friedrichshafen in 1914, before becoming outdated and used as a trainer.

Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a

Introduced: April 1917

Speed: 138mph

Maximum altitude: 20,000ft

One of the war’s best fighters. It was fast, had good manoeuvrability and was also stable enough to be flown by inexperienced pilots. It was equipped with two machine guns: a Vickers firing through the propeller and a Lewis on top of the wing. In order to reload the Lewis gun, the pilot pulled it back down towards him, the gun being on a curved rail. This meant it could also be aimed and fired in an upwards direction, which pilots like Albert Ball used to attack enemy aircraft from beneath.

Sopwith Camel

Introduced: June 1917

Speed: 117mph

Maximum altitude: 19,000ft

Britain’s most successful fighter of the war: Camels shot down 1,294 enemy aircraft. They were not easy to fly, being described by one pilot as ‘a fierce little beast’,12 and 798 British pilots were killed flying them, most in training accidents. The gyroscopic effects of its rotary engine meant it could turn twice as quickly to the right as to the left. This was a useful attribute in combat, but if not controlled properly it could easily lead to a spin. In August 1918 there were more Camel squadrons than any other aircraft in the Royal Flying Corps.

Handley Page 0/400

Introduced: early 1918

Speed: 98mph

Maximum altitude: 8,500ft

The 0/400 was a development of the 0/100, which was the biggest aircraft Britain had produced, with a wingspan of 100ft. The Royal Naval Air Service had ordered a heavy strategic bomber in order to attack targets inside Germany and these giant machines were able to carry a bomb weighing 1,650lb. Over 400 0/400s were built. They undertook night raids into Germany as part of the Independent Force – bombers employed against strategic targets as opposed to those near to the battlefields.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.