WORLD WAR 1 AIRCRAFT

        WORLD WAR 1 AIRCRAFT

WHEN WORLD WAR 1 STARTED in 1914, the main ourpose of the military aircraft was reconnaissance.The British – build BE 2,of which the BE 2B was a variant, was well-suited to this duty; it was very stable in flight, allowing the occupants to study the tarrain, take photographs, and make notes. The BE 2 was also one of the first aircraft to drop bombs. One of the biggest problems for aircrafts designers during the war was mounting machine-guns. On aircraft that had front-mounted propellers, the field of the fire was restricted by the propeller and other parts of the aircraft. The problem was solved in 1915 by the Dutchmen Anthony Fokker, who designed an interrupted gear that prevented a machine-gun from firing when a propeller blade passed in front of the barrel. The German LVG CV1 had a forward-firing gun to the right of the engine, as well as a rear-cockpit gun, and a bombing capability.It was one of the most versatile aircraft of the war.