Why did aircraft play an important role in world war 1?

Answer 1

World War One was the first global war in which airplanes were been used to fight each other (though not the first EVER conflict- that was in the Italo-Turkish War of 1913). The first World War aircraft were typically very delicate, single engined biplanes that were equipped with a side-mounted machine gun. The German Fokker Aircraft Company perfected a technique whereby front-mounted machine-guns could be fired between the revolutions of the aircraft's propeller- initially the Allies did not have this technology, but when a Fokker aircraft was forced to surrender after having to land in Allied territory after getting lost in fog, the technical know-how became known to the Allies, who were then able to match the Germans on their own terms. Over time during World War one, airplanes started getting bigger and faster. When planes equipped with bombs were made, that's when airplanes played a huge role. Twin and even four-engine bombers were made, including by Handley-Page in England and by Gotha in Germany- London suffered badly from air raids by Gotha's, one of which notoriously bombed a school and killed a number of children and their teachers.

Answer 2

At the beginning o f WW1 aircraft were first used as observers to see the enemy moves. Nobody saw them as weapons and they were often attached to the army. Then some pilots added machineguns to their planes which led to the creation of the fighter plane. Early in the war fighter planes could be dispersed but later they were organised in big formations.

There were also bombers with rudimentary means and the aircraft carriers appeared.

The first aircraft were unarmed and used for observations. Most carried an Officer who acted as an observer. They began to fly longer and further over enemy territory so they began to arm the observer. He also would operate a camera to take photos of the enemy troops and supplies. Some early bombers were developed that were large multi-engine aircraft that could carry bombs long distances. Russia and Italy made some of the first large bombers. As the war progressed, the aircraft replaced the Zeppelin as the long-range bomber. Eventually fast fighter aircraft were developed that had guns that could fire forward. These were used to attack the enemy's observation balloons, other aircraft and even troops on the ground. Seaplanes were also used heavily along the northern coast of Europe and at the Austria-Italian border. Some were small observation aircraft but others were large torpedo planes.

Britain experimented with aircraft carriers but these did not prove very effective.

Answer 3

Primarily aerial reconnaissance, later aerial combat (dog-fighting).