Aircraft

• During WW1 the first aircraft were used for 'spotting' enemy ground movements
• The Germans invented the 'interrupter gear' in 1915 which synchronised the turning of the propeller with the firing of the machine guns. This allowed for the guns to be fitted Infront of the pilot and for him to fire accurately
• When groups of pilots met enemy planes the fight which ensued was called a 'dog fight'. A pilots main main was to shoot the tail of the enemies plane as it would bring his plane down without his being able to shoot back
• Pilots life expectancy was measured in weeks. They had the lowest life expectancy of any soldiers in the war
• Most pilots had little more than 30 hours of training before they went into combat
• Air aces were pilots who had 5 confirmed kills. Major Mick Mannock was killed in 1918 and had achieved 73 kills
• A Zeppelin is a type of aircraft used by Germany in WW1. Zeppelins dropped bombs on British cities. There were 20 raids in 1915 in which 37 tons of bombs were dropped