Machine Guns and Monoplanes

Then German engineer Anthony Fokker invented a gun with an interrupter gear, which synchronized machine gun bul­lets so that they would shoot between the whirling blades of a propeller. Fokker fighters fitted with these synchronized machine guns went into battle in 1915 and were immediately successful.

Most fighters gave up the two-seat layout and became single-seat pursuit or scout planes. The fastest German fighter of World War I, the Fokker D. VIII, could fly 127 miles per hour (204 kilo­meters per hour). As well as engaging other fighters in aerial battles, or “dog­fights,” fighters attacked enemy bombers and airships. The most successful fighter pilots became known as aces.

Aircraft speeds did not increase dra­matically during the 1920s, and air forces continued to use biplane fighters with open cockpits. These pursuit planes were intended to intercept, chase, and shoot down slower enemy bombers. Engaging equally fast enemy fighters was thought less likely. In the 1930s, new monoplane fighters—such as the German Messerschmitt Bf 109—came into service. They were much faster: around 350 miles per hour (563 kilo­meters per hour). The Bf 109 served

ACE PILOTS

The most successful American fighter ace of World War I was Captain Edward V. Rickenbacker (1890-1973), a former racing driver, who led the first U. S. patrol over German lines in March 1917. Captain Rickenbacker ended the war with twenty-six confirmed victories. Other fighter aces of World War I included Major Edward Mannock (Britain), with seventy-three victories; Manfred, Freiherr von Richthofen, known as the Red Baron (Germany), with eighty; and Captain Paul-Rene Fonck (France) with seventy-five.

During World War II, fighter air­craft were used to support ground attacks as well as to defend territory against enemy bombers. German fighter aces in this war "scored" far more highly than any Allied pilots:

This was because, in the early years of the war, German pilots were opposed by pilots from European countries that were flying in out-of-date aircraft. The leading World War II German fighter ace, Major Erich Hartmann, destroyed 352 enemy aircraft.

throughout World War II (1939-1945) in the German air force (the Luftwaffe) and was used for ground attack as well as air-to-air fighting.

THE MIGHTY MUSTANG

The P-51 Mustang began life as a hastily built fighter for the British, who ordered it in 1940 when they were struggling in the war against Nazi Germany. At 437 miles per hour (703 kilometers per hour), the Mustang was faster than almost any other fighter of World War II. Its exceptional range of over 2,000 miles (3,218 kilometers) allowed it to escort Allied bombers as far as Berlin, Germany. The most popular production version was the P-51D, of which almost 8,000 were built.