During World War I, two types of aircraft gained a fabulous reputation for surpassing their actual achievements in close-quarters air combat, considered to be the most maneuverable war machines of the time, namely the Camel, Britain's first twin-gun fighter and the first fighter in history to adopt a cantilever wing structure, "Fokker".
One: performance
Since the birth of the fighter, there have been some models that have caused fierce controversy among the pilots who fly it, some people hail it as a superior aerial fighting machine, while others regard it as an absolute nightmare, the Camel fighter is certainly one of them, it is the best single-seat fighter of the First World War, and it is also the vicious killer of the pilots who destroy themselves, the Camel is a ruthless aircraft, the most destructive fighter of the First World War for those pilots who have mastered its powerful characteristics, But the extreme sensitivity of camels can be fatal to novices, the camel's maneuverability is amazing, as long as the light touch of the controller will respond immediately, it can be perfectly controlled under extremely low airspeed and rolling without height loss, the ability to turn is unmatched by any opponent, but although if the turn is too tight it will slip,
Sopwith's previous "Puppies" and triplanes and other models have always been known for their good sense of maneuvering, but the "Camel" is just the opposite, the pilot must maintain full control when driving, and can not relax the control stick at any time, otherwise it is very easy to make the fuselage lose its balance, so that the two hours of flight are tired and the arm is sore. This is mainly due to the fact that all the main weights (engines, weapons, pilots and fuel) are concentrated in a very small part of the fuselage, the camels on the structure are quite conservative, consisting of a single-sided wooden wing wrapped in fabric and a wooden box girder fuselage supported by wire, and the power unit is a 130 hp Clerget 9B 9 -cvlinder rotary air-cooled engine with a speed of 15 mph (185 km/h) and an empty weight of 929 lbs (421 kg), The camel's biplane layout provided pilots with a better overall view, but the upper wing obstructed the view from the front and above, causing many camel pilots to cut off fabric in the upper middle to expand, which remained a mainstay of the British Air Force until the armistice was signed. A total of 5.597 F.1 camels were ordered.
By the time the first "camels" were transported to the front lines, the triplanes had already felt their presence in the air rout known as the "Bloody April" of the Allies, and in February 1917 the Royal HNA Sopwis triplane appeared in the battlefield skies dominated by biplanes, and its flexibility and climb performance were better than that of both the biplanes and the monoplanes, and the German albatross D.III. and Albatross D.V fighters were difficult to match in air combat, and it is said that when the unique shape of the Sopwis triplane was seen in the air, " Fortunately, a complete Sopwis triplane landed behind the German position, and The Fokker Company immediately produced the Fokker Dr I triplane in August, but it was not a simple imitation, and the three-layer wing took a configuration that decreased from the top to the bottom of the wing area, although it looked more complex and bloated than the biplane, but it had excellent flexibility, removing the complicated tension lines commonly found between the wings, and replacing it with rigid pillar connections to reduce flight resistance. However, the load on the uppermost wing is much greater than that of the lower wing, which often leads to skin tearing or even wing breakage accidents.
Powered by a 110-horsepower Oberursel UR II nine-cylinder rotary air-cooled engine with a speed of 115 mph (185 km/h) and an empty weight of 894 pounds (406 kg), the Falk Dr I's full fuselage is small, lightweight, dexterous, more efficient than most enemy aircraft, and possesses superb aerobatic skills that can be turned into a dangerous adversary under the control of a skilled pilot. Mobility is also second to none. Compared with the previous common albatross and Faltz and other fighters, the Fokker Dr.I is particularly flexible and easy to maneuver, and the general reflection of the front line is "light action and quick response", which is a very outstanding air combat performance, especially in the tangle. The Fokker Dr.1 is designed for fighting, can turn at "incredible speed", and is a small turning radius, and even the "camel" type, which is known for its small radius sharp turns, is often not its opponent, and is often shot down by the Fokker triplane. In response, the British army quickly issued a formal warning: do not try to tangle with Falk Dr.I.
Two: Firepower
The "Camel" and "Falk" were similarly fitted with the development of the Maxim machine gun, the machine guns used in the First World War, only the "Costa" machine gun was an aircraft machine gun system designed specifically for aircraft, and more heavily the use of army light machine guns and gun mounts, the "Camel" was equipped with two .303-inch Vickers machine guns, which were fired forward from between the propeller blades by the Constantinsko C C or The Cowper 3 machine gun firing synchronizer, which was a stab at the "Puppies" The single machine gun of the Thorpevis triplane fell behind in the face of the albatross with a double-line gun. In order to prevent the 2 bolts from getting stuck in the air due to the cold, the designers specially installed a metal fairing plate on the upper part of the machine gun, and it is precisely because of the raised shape of the fairing that this new aircraft began to be named "Camel".
Fokker Dr I was equipped with two tried and tested 7.92 mm LMG 08/15 machine guns, which could carry 1000 rounds of ammunition, using Fokker's Zentralsteurung machine gun firing synchronization coordinator to achieve forward firing from between the propeller blades, the combat effectiveness of the aircraft machine guns in World War I was not high, the range was not far, mainly to attack the pilot, fuel tank, radiator, and other methods to shoot down the aircraft, if hit other parts, basically ineffective.
Three: Tactics
Although air combat is only one of the many tasks of the military aircraft of World War I, before that, the tactical positioning of the fighter was to defend the reconnaissance aircraft, the fast pilot realized that waiting for the enemy to "find the door", it is better to take the initiative to go out alone to find and search for the enemy aircraft and eliminate it, the simple air fighting has become the main mission of the fighter units of the warring countries, the key to the air combat at that time is who first found the other party, the most important principle is the height, higher than the enemy aircraft can have a more calm time, faster dive speed, in the first round of dive must be successful, If you lose your hand, the best action is to jump up and climb high to implement a half-roll reverse to restore the attack posture, generally rarely engage in complex maneuvers, turning maneuvers to get a shooting opportunity is the best tactic, at this point the Fokker fighter has the advantage. When it comes to maneuverability, the Fokker has a slight advantage, partly because its layout isn't as extreme as the Camel's, and partly because of its three wings and axle fairings and balance ailes, which overall improve maneuverability even more. The German pilot was advised to turn right to dodge the attacking camels– said to be a strong point for camels, but dr I could do this in a shorter radius and eventually fly to the camel's tail.
Fokker fighters usually attack in squadrons, each squadron contains three detachments, flying in a "V" formation formation, the front detachment flies at a lower altitude, the other two squads are on either side of the echelon, each detachment is separated by two or three meters, the highest flying squadron is used as a reserve to enter the battle when the first two squads are unfavorable, the British prefer 40 to 50 fighters to form a large-scale formation, and the smallest formation unit is also 5 to 6 fighters, which overwhelms the other side in numbers. However, this kind of large-scale formation command and control was quite difficult, especially in the absence of communication equipment at that time, and the attack formation was quickly chaotic
Four: Combatants
At that time, air combat mainly depended on the experience and training level of pilots, the pilot was a mixture of "veterans" and recruits, ranging from teenagers to twenty-five or six years old, that is, there were newcomers with an adventurous spirit, and there were also volunteers who were repeatedly publicized by various air combat heroes from the original branches of the armed forces to the combat aircraft units, generally novices can fly alone for more than ten days after the first flight, and after receiving further training, learn how to find targets in the air. It is also necessary to learn how to deal with frequent flying accidents of aircraft and dive turns and other martial arts knowledge, most of the crew members who pilot these aircraft are directly from the flight school to the battlefield, assigned to the air force squadron, have no actual combat experience to speak of, put on a full flight suit, put on a heavy sheepskin boots, and a woolen scarf around the neck. Add a fur-lined helmet, fur-lined mask and goggles, wear a pair of silk gloves under the sheepskin flying gloves, and you can take off into battle.
In 1918, one piece of equipment unique to Germany was the parachute, which was secured in the cockpit by Heineck with a harness reinforced with leather and wide-leg straps. Parachutes are bulky and often malfunction, but they do save lives. Allied commanders refused to distribute such devices because they thought it would encourage pilots to abandon their aircraft prematurely. Germany wanted to keep its limited, trained human resources, but soon discovered that german pilots tended to force damaged planes down despite the heightened confidence in parachutes. If possible, use their unreliable parachutes as a last resort. Although a large number of young people do not return after taking off, there are also a large number of elite pilots who stand out and become ace pilots with a record of shooting down more than 5 enemy aircraft. These flying elites are the flying knights who put wings into duels in the 20th century, and they are the heroes of the people of all countries. By the end of World War I, more than 1,800 people had been awarded the title of "Ace", the most famous of which was Manfred von Richthofen, who piloted the Red Fokker Dr I.
At the time? Piloting is a high-risk profession? Many of the "aces", including Yin Maiman and the Red Baron, could not escape the fate of being shot down. World War I airplanes and today's airplanes are not a concept at all? At that time, the plane was just a pile of wooden frames and some canvas- rudimentary devices, the speed and altitude were very limited, and the pilots were completely unprotected, let alone shot down, or hit by an ordinary rifle, or could be killed. This, coupled with frequent mechanical failures, makes the life cycle of a fighter pilot usually only measured in weeks. As a result, the pilots received generous living conditions, each with a special guard, a generous supply, and German pilots even lived in luxurious villas. A handful of air heroes who survived the war.
Five: Battlefield performance
Throughout the war, Britain had 87 Camel Ace Pilots, 94 SE 5a Ace Pilots, 67 Bristol Ace Pilots, and 14 Sopwith Dolphin Ace Pilots shoot down The Fokker Dr I, shooting down a total of 266 Fokker Dr Is, 54 fewer than all the Fokker Dr Is produced by the Fokker Company, and Manfred von Richthofen painted the Falk Dr I he flew in a personalized red, known as the Red Baron, By 21 April 1918, his personal record had reached 80, the first ace of the war, and the Allied representative in this regard was France's Le Viny Funk, whose record was 75, among others, the English Edward Fonker. Manock, 73 aircraft, William of Canada? Bishop, 72 sorties, Eddie Rickenbacker of the United States, 26. Between the beginning of March and the end of May 1918, The Falk Dr I's activities peaked, shooting down a total of 56 camels. During these 3 months, the actual casualties of Camel fighter pilots totaled 32, with 19 pilots killed, 8 killed and 5 wounded. By comparison, there were 13 German casualties, 4 pilots killed, 4 prisoners of war and 5 wounded.
Six: Summary:
The air war of World War I was a war of attrition, and it was a war of attrition in the era of the general war, and in addition to the confrontation on the front line, it was also a contest of industrial strength behind the battlefields of the participating countries, and the total production of aircraft produced by Germany, France and Britain in 1914 (August-December) was 1509 aircraft, which increased to 15006 in 1915. By the end of the war, the Allies had more than 8,000 combat aircraft, including 2,600 in Britain, about 3,800 in France, more than 800 in Italy, 740 in the United States, and only 2,800 in Germany, plus 600 in Austria-Hungary