Great War Aircraft in An Ace Minus One

 The Great War spurred rapid innovations in aviation. Prior to and during the first few months of the war, the airplane was seen as little more than a toy. Because the airplane provided the ultimate high ground, however, perceptive commanders on both sides began employing the airplane to observe the enemy. Keeping one’s own troop movements a secret meant pilots needed to add an air-to-air mission to prevent the other side from observing them. Much of early aeronautical engineering test was trial and error. Both sides copied the best aspects of each others designs. Advances, such as the introduction of the synchronized machine gun (a machine gun that was timed properly to fire through the propeller arc), were so rapid that entire aircraft types could become obsolete and be replaced in months.

 Allied Aircraft

The Lafayette Escadrille pilots both in real life and in An Ace Minus One flew French scout aircraft (fighter aircraft in today’s terminology). When the United States entered the war they were so ill-prepared that they had no aircraft designs of their own that would withstand the rigors of air combat. The American military ordered aircraft from the French, British, and Italian factories, though the French were the primarily supplier for scouts. The only United States produced aeroplane that reached the front during the Great War was the DH-4, a bomber. Under license from the British de Havilland company, U.S. factories utilized their mass production techniques to build nearly 5000 copies of the DH-4.
 

Blériot: In 1909 Frenchman Louis Blériot became the first person to fly across the English Channel. His achievement won him both fame and many orders for his model Blériot XI. The predominant customer was the French military, who employed the multiple variants both as observation platforms (early in the war) and as trainers for French scout pilots. Learning via the Méthode Blériot, which Jack Elliot experienced in An Ace Minus One, meant that an élève pilote (student pilot) learned to fly without an instructor ever sitting with him in the aeroplane. Student pilots started their training by learning to taxi an underpowered Blériot, called a Penguin, whose amputated wings made it incapable of flight. Those who mastered the first phase moved to more powerful versions in which they learned to takeoff and land, and finally undertook cross-country flights. Learning to fly via the Méthode Blériot was difficult to say the least. Like most rotary engines, the Anzani or Gnôme engines in the Blériot did not have a conventional throttle. Each had a blip switch, which the pilot could only turn either on or off (full power or no power) to control the flight. There was no such thing as trim controls. Many machines were destroyed, and many students lost their lives in training.
 

Nieuport 17: The first aeroplane that Jack Elliot flies with N.124 in An Ace Minus One is the Nieuport 17. The Nieuport 17, because of its maneuverability, was one of more successful fighters of the war. Several of the great aces, such as Nungesser, Ball, and Bishop flew it. Either a 110 h.p. Le Rhone or 130 h.p. Clerget powered the Nieuport 17, providing a top speed of 105 m.p.h. For armament the Nieuport carried either an overwing Lewis machine gun, with a 47 round magazine, or the 7.7 mm synchronized Vickers. The overwing Lewis gun required a pilot to change drums in flight, once the first 47 rounds were expended, a tricky chore when one is trying to fly and evade the enemy at the same time. In An Ace Minus One, Jack flies his first patrols with an older model Nieuport 17 with the Lewis gun.
 

Nieuport 28: The Nieuport 28 was a successor to the Nieuport 17. The availability of a larger 160 h.p. Gnôme rotary engine required engineers to design a larger chord for the lower wing. The French rejected the Nieuport 28 as a front line fighter, partially because they wished to concentrate production with the SPAD XIII and partially because the aeroplane had the unfortunate tendency to shed the fabric on the lower wing during a dive. The Americans, however, having no scouts of their own, were not so picky. Thus the Nieuport 28 became the first fighter in the U.S. arsenal. In An Ace Minus One, Jack begrudgingly flies the aeroplane as he attempts to integrate the newly arrived U.S. pilots into his squadron.
 

SPAD VII: The SPAD VII replaced the Nieuport 17 in the Lafayette Escadrille. Compared to the Nieuports, the SPAD VII was less maneuverable, though its sturdier build meant it was a much better diver and a steadier gun platform for the single 7.7 mm Vickers machine gun. With a maximum speed of 119 m.p.h. provided by its 150 h.p. V-8 engine, the SPAD VII was much faster than the Nieuport. The French aces Guynemer and Fonck scored many kills in the SPAD VII. In An Ace Minus One, Jack scores his first two victories in this aeroplane.
 

SPAD XIII: The SPAD XIII was arguably the best scout produced by the Allies during the Great War and the most successful scout integrated into U.S. squadrons. With a longer wing span, improved ailerons, and more powerful 220 h.p. Hispano-Suiza engine, it could reach a top speed of 139 m.p.h. and had a service ceiling of 21,800 feet. Additionally, two Vickers machine guns packed more punch than the single version on the earlier SPAD VII. In An Ace Minus One, Jack achieves his final three victories in this aeroplane.
 

German Aircraft

 The German Jagdstaffeln (term for squadron, conventionally shortened to Jasta) held many advantages over their adversaries before one added in such intangibles as courage and aggressiveness. On the Western Front, the Jastas fought defensively, primarily over their own lines – a big German advantage for fuel. What’s more, the typical westerly prevailing wind meant that dog fights tended to drift toward the German lines. The Germans learned quickly to hunt in packs, protecting each others vulnerable spots. They often employed a slower moving observation aeroplane, such as a Rumpler, as bait. Inexperienced Allied pilots, such as Jack Elliot early in his flying career in An Ace Minus One, often fell for their well-planned ambushes.

The Germans were great innovators. Tony Fokker, borrowing heavily from a captured French model, developed the first reliable synchronizer for a machine gun. The Germans equipped their pilots with dual Spandau machine guns as early as September 1916, eight months ahead of the Allies. The D.VII had the first steel tubular fuselage which provided unparalleled strength.

Albatros D.III: The Albatros D.III is the first enemy aeroplane Jack Elliot goes up against in An Ace Minus One, and the first type he shoots down. Also known to Allied pilots as the “V-strutter”, the D.III was an improvement in terms of speed and climb rate over its predecessors, the D.I and D.II. The D.III could reach a top speed of 109 m.p.h. The dual Spandau machine guns carried by all of the Albatri offered superior firepower because of their heavier round (7.92 versus 7.7 mm of the Allied Vickers) and range. Richthofen’s Jasta 11 flew D.IIIs painted a garish red. In the “Bloody April” of 1917 this unit scored 83 victories against the British. The D.V replaced the D.III in German squadrons starting in mid 1917.
 

 Fokker D.VII: Probably the best scout of either side in the Great War, the D.VII had a high power-to-weight ratio, which made in an excellent climber with exceptional performance at higher altitudes. Built around a steel tube frame, the D.VII was both strong and easy to maintain. The D.VII carried dual Spandau machine guns. This Fokker was so feared by the Allies, it was mentioned by name to be handed over to the Allies in the Versailles Treaty that ended the war.
 

Pfaltz: D.III and D.XII: Though not as popular with their pilots as the Albatri and Fokkers, German factories built about 600 variants of the D.III, which proved to be a suitable weapon for diving attacks on Allied observation balloons. German ace Udet was one who favored the D.XII, which came into service at the same time as the Fokker D.VII. This latter Pfaltz was faster in a dive than the Fokker, but was not as maneuverable.
 

Gotha G.IV and G.V Bombers: More feared as a terror weapon than militarily effective, these lumbering two-engine bombers raided, at separate times, the Allied capitols of London and Paris. Each could carry a maximum of 1,100 lbs of bombs. The G.V flew at a vulnerable, slow speed of 87 m.p.h. One of its chief attributes was its ability to withstand punishment, though a few Allied pilots, such as Nungesser, were successful in bring one down. More Gothas were lost in accidents than by enemy action.