Aerial warfare

Aerial warfare is fighting a war in the air. This is usually done by using helicopters and airplanes. Bombers and attack aircraft fight enemies on the ground or bomb strategic targets in air raids. Fighter planes fight other airplanes. Transport aircraft carry infantry troops into battle or drop them as paratroopers.

History

Eight years after aircraft were invented by the Wright brothers they were used in combat. Planes were mostly used for reconnaissance and as spotters for artillery before they were armed. At first enemy pilots threw bricks, rope or other objects at enemy pilots. Later they used small arms like pistols and rifles to try to shoot the enemy pilots. In 1914 machine guns were mounted on many planes and this has continued to modern day. Biplanes were mostly replaced by monoplanes in World War II. By then, the concepts of bombers, fighters and fighter-bombers had been developed. This was the first war where aerial warfare played a major role. A famous aerial battle in WWII was the Battle of Britain.

a biplane

After the war propeller aircraft were replaced with jet aircraft and fighters started carrying air to air missiles. This was when fighter aircraft were very optimized for speed and only carried air to air missiles. This was because the dogfighting of previous wars was considered impractical with jet aircraft. This was wrong and soon jets were armed with guns and made more maneuverable again.