In just four years the changes brought on by war were huge. The British company Avro had produced one of the first aircraft used by the army in 1914 – the 504. In fact, the first British aircraft shot down by the enemy in World War One was an Avro 504 flown by Lieutenant V Waterfall. read more
In World War I, airplanes were used for reconnaissance, bombing, intercepting, and (especially seaplanes) for maritime patrols. This was the first war where aircraft became a primary weapon, able to attack enemy supply areas well behind the front lines. read more
This need for improvement was not limited to air-to-air combat. On the ground, methods developed before the war were being used to deter enemy aircraft from observation and bombing. Anti-aircraft artillery rounds were fired into the air and exploded into clouds of smoke and fragmentation, called archie by the British. read more