The First Air War - Essay Example

The First Air War At the beginning of the First World War, the opposing nations consisted of the handful of rickety biplanes from which pilots took pot shots at one another with rifles. During this time, Air war saw a rapid advancement and countries were battling for supremacy (Kennett 21). The paper identifies some of the leading aces on both sides of the conflict and the aircraft which they flew. In Germany, the German Gotha G.V bomber was used to attack England. Luftstreitkräfte, an Imperial German Army Air Service was considered the leading ace in this air warfare with England (Kennett 33). The G.V series airplane intended for a long-range purpose was used mainly for a night bombing.

Captain Charles Chaplin Banks was a leading World War one air force in England. He was accredited with victory in May 1918 after shooting down Friedrichshafen G bomber for the Germans. Having brought down the German Gotha G.V bomber, he was considered the leading ace during this war. At one time when flying his Sopwith Camel during his defense duties at home, he drove down and captured the Gotha G.V bomber belonging to Germany (Kennett 73). In the air fight, his aileron controls were shot away and skillfully managing to bring back his machine and had a successful landing.

German Gotha G.V bomberSopwith CamelWork Cited Kennett, Lee. The First Air War: 9780684871202. New York: The Free Press, 1914-1918. Google Book Search. 20 March 2015.