Fighter Aircraft

Combat aircraft whose primary mission is to destroy opposing aircraft. Since its introduction during World War I, the fighter has evolved to carry out other roles as well, including reconnaissance and ground attack. Today, its main goal is securing air superiority by eliminating enemy threats on land, sea, and air.

Early History

The fighter made its debut in World War I, the first conflict in which aircraft were used as weapons of war. Improvements in aeronautical engineering and materials during the 1920s and 1930s dramatically increased the performance, durability, and deadliness of fighters. By the start of World War II, fighters had become sophisticated machines capable of performing a wide variety of roles.

World War I

When World War I began in 1914, the airplane was still in its infancy. Nevertheless, many military leaders immediately grasped its potential as a weapon of war. Hot air balloons had been used for decades as a way to observe enemy troop positions, so using the airplane for reconnaissance was merely a logical extension of that practice. The mission of reconnaissance planes was to report on enemy troop movements, not to engage in combat.

Commanders on both sides soon realized the value of observation planes and decided they needed a way to attack enemy aircraft. However, mounting guns on [Page 261]early airplanes presented a challenge. The wood-and-fabric construction of the planes made their wings too light to support guns. The only place to mount a machine gun powerful enough to shoot down another plane was over the engine. However, this meant shooting through the spinning propeller of the aircraft, and the technology to do this safely did not yet exist. The advent of the true fighter aircraft would await this development.

Some pilots tried to solve the problem by bolting steel plates on the backs of their propeller blades. This way, any rounds fired that struck the propeller would bounce off harmlessly. Although clever, the device was not terribly practical, and it wasted a great deal of ammunition. It was not until 1915 that a workable solution to the problem was discovered with the invention of the synchronizing gear. This gear was a device that could be connected to both the propeller shaft and the machine gun and interrupted the firing of the gun when a propeller blade passed in front of it.

The synchronizing gear revolutionized aerial combat by enabling the design of aircraft specifically intended to shoot down enemy planes. This soon led to a second important role for fighters: protecting one's own observation aircraft. The presence of enemy fighters made solo reconnaissance missions much more dangerous, so friendly fighters were dispatched to defend escort observation planes. This led to the birth of the plane-against-plane “dogfight” between fighters escorting observation flights and those trying to intercept them.

By the end of World War I, fighter “aces” (those who had at least five victories in aerial combat) had become the most romantic figures of the conflict. Often referred to as “Knights of the Air,” fighter pilots were seen as living a dashing and exciting life that was far removed from the mud and blood of the trenches on the ground. However, for all their glamour and renown, fighters played a relatively minor role in the war. They were valuable mainly as a way to counter enemy reconnaissance efforts, but they contributed little else to the overall military effort.

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