Opis w j. angielskim:
The quest for an effective fighter aeroplane to achieve air superiority during World War 1 was pursued in three basic ways: mounting a machine gun to fire above or around the propeller; devising a means of synchronising the weapon with the engine so it only fired when the propeller was not in the way; and literally avoiding the problem by putting the engine behind the machine gun. The last, seemingly simplest, method led to a series of Allied pusher fighters that were able to hold their own against their German counterparts ? including the Fokker Eindeckers with their synchronised machine guns ? until 1917. By then, however, the drag-producing wire-braced latticework required to clear the fuselage and wings of the rear-mounted propeller rendered the pusher fighter unable to match the performance of tractor-engined machines. In mid-1916 Maj Lanoe G Hawker?s No 24 Sqn, with its Airco DH 2s, had became the first single-seat fighter unit in the Royal Flying Corps ? Hawker would later become the first British ace, win the VC and then be killed in an epic dogfight with Manfred von Richthofen. The most successful pushers of them all were the large, deceptively ungainly looking Farman Experimental FE 2s, whose crews? exploits included the valour that earned Sgt Thomas Mottershead a posthumous VC and the demise of German aces Hans Immelmann, Karl-Emil Sch�fer and the wounding of the Red Baron himself, Manfred von Richthofen, in combat with ?Fees?.
Contents
* Chapter 1: A Simple Solution
* Chapter 2: More Dangerous Than They Looked
* Chapter 3: Britain’s First Fighters Chapter 4: The Fighing ‘Fees’
* Appendices: Aces, Squadrons and bases
Jon Guttman
A resident of Leesburg, Virginia, Jon Guttman is currently research editor for Weider History Publications. Specialising in World War I aviation, he has written eleven titles for Osprey including the popular Balloon-Busting Aces of World War I in the Aircraft of the Aces series. |
