World War 1 aircraft of World War 1 BY BY JOHN HAMILTON JOHN HAMILTON & Abdo & Daughters An imprint of Abdo Publishing abdopublishing com
KNIGHTS OF THE SKY World War I introduced a new invention to the battlefield the airplane Slow and fragile at first airplanes evolved in just a few short years into swift and deadly weapons of war They were used to bomb and spy on the enemy Ace pilots also engaged in aerial dogfights to take control of the skies The soldiers of World War I fought a new kind of war Instead of facing the enemy millions were forced to take shelter in muddy trenches Artillery shells rained down launched by an unseen foe Machine guns and hidden snipers killed anyone daring or foolish enough to set foot in no-man’s-land Neither side was used to fighting this way Honor and heroism didn’t seem to have a place in this modern kind of warfare Every day however soldiers could look up and see airplanes dueling overhead These new machines buzzed through the sky with lightning speed Troops on the ground cheer as an airplane zooms overhead World War I pilots spotted enemy locations and told artillery operators where to fire their guns Airplanes were also used to drop bombs and fire machine guns at targets on the ground
