Aircraft from 1900 to 1919

AEG C.IV
The AEG C-series of fighter-bomber was a development of Allgemeine Elektritzitats Gesellschaft and was a principle aircraft available to Imperial Germany during the First World War. Seeing action on all fronts, the system was...

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AEG G.IV
The AEG G.IV was another successful product of the Allgemeine Elektritzitats Gesellschaft aircraft corporation and was an amalgam of what made the G.I, G.II and G.III successful aircraft in their own right. The system was pro...

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AGO C.II
The C.II was the product of the Aerowerke Gustav Otto aircraft firm, abbreviated as AGO in the designation, and is often regarded as one of the best reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War. Serving just a short span, t...

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Airco / de Havilland DH.4
With production numbering over 6,000 total units, the Airco / de Havilland DH.4 was another one of Geoffrey de Havilland's successful aircraft designs of the First World War (his legacy would later be solidified with the deve...

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Airco DH.2
Though not much to look at by today's fighter aircraft standards - let alone World War One-era aircraft standards, the Airco-produced DH.2 would prove to be a rugged and reliable platform. The DH.2 was the product of one Geof...

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Airco DH.5
With the view afforded the pilots of the DH.2, famed aircraft designer Geoffrey de Havilland set out to create a similar, yet more than capable in terms of performance, off-shoot in the form of the DH.5. The end result would ...

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Airco DH.9
The AirCo / de Havilland DH.9 was a further revision of the DH.4 bomber. Design was accomplished by the de Havilland company with production handled by the Aircraft Manufacturing Company ("AirCo" or "Airco"). The series was f...

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Albatros B.II
The Albatros B.II was a reconnaissance biplane used in the early years of the First World War, particularly on the German side. The product of design of one Ernst Heinkel, a name that would appear on a variety of aircraft typ...

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Albatros C.I
The Albatros C.I series of aircraft was the next evolution in the brand's reconnaissance aircraft line. Stemming from the development of the production Albatros B.II, the C.I shared many of the common characteristics in the i...

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Albatros C.III
Continuing in the long line of short-term reconnaissance biplane designs, the German Air Force fielded the Albatros C.III in an effort to improve upon the successes of the C.I design. Appearing outwardly nearly identical to t...

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Albatros C.V
The Albatros C.V can, in some ways, be approached as a step backwards in the progression of the C-series as a whole. Though the intent to produce a top-notch reconnaissance biplane aircraft, the system fell short of expectati...

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Albatros C.X
The Albatros production of the C.X model continued the firm's commitment to producing capable reconnaissance biplane aircraft. Supplanting the earlier C-series types before it, the C.X model looked to improved upon an already...

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Albatros D.I
The Albatros series of aircraft is a good study in how aircraft design evolved throughout World War One. The "D" series saw no fewer than five in the D.I, D.II, D.III, D.V and ultimately the D.Va. Such was the newfound weapon...

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Albatros D.II
The Albatros D.II became a further development of the successful Albatros D.I series. The D.I was instrumental in winning back air superiority to the side of the Germans, with their powerful engines and dual-synchronized mach...

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Albatros D.III
Like most of the documented fighters in the First World War, the Albatros D series saw many minor, but fundamentally substantial, changes that require the aircraft to achieve new series designations. With the ever changing ti...

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Albatros D.V
The Albatros D.V series is often regarded as the best of th bunch in regards to the preceding D.I, D.II and the D.III models. By the latter years of 1917, the improved D.III was already showing signs that it had become outcla...

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Albatros D.Va
The Albatros D.Va was a further development in the “D” series and a continuation of the successful D.V series. As with all of the preceding Albatros D models, the D.Va featured only minor improvements in the hopes that the ai...

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Ansaldo A 1 Balilla (Hunter)
The Ansaldo A 1 Balilla ("Hunter") was the first aircraft fighter design of Italian origins. Italian forces consistently used French-designed aircraft in the early years of the war, leading the Ansaldo Italian firm to create ...

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Armstrong Whitworth FK.8
The Armstrong Whitworth FK.8 model series was an aircraft conceived of by aircraft designer Frederick Koolhoven of Dutch origins. The system turned out to be a most versatile platform used throughout the First World War and p...

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Aviatik B.I
The Aviatik B.I series handled reconnaissance duties for Germany in the early years of the war, serving up to about early 1916 before being replaced by more improved contemporaries. The system was sufficient in the role and w...

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Aviatik C.I
Aviatik (Automobil und Aviatikwerke) of Germany was already involved in aircraft designs from the outset of the war, graduating from the copying of French designs to producing their own new design in the Aviatik B.I. Followin...

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Avro 504
Without knowing it from the outset, the Avro Type 504 series of aircraft would become one of the most produced and influential biplane designs for the United Kingdom, being fielded from 1913 all the way through the early 1930...

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Breguet Br.M5
The Breguet Br.M5 series of biplane bomber was developed from the Breguet Br.M4. The Br.M5 was operated by a crew of two with the pilot seated in the middle of the aircraft and the gunner/observer to the front. Defensive arma...

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Breguet Bre.14
French aviation design triumphed with the arrival of the Breguet Bre.14 series (sometimes written as Breguet Br.XIV). The aircraft proved to be of the utmost reliability and lethality upon entering the war front in 1916 and w...

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Bristol F.2B
The Bristol F.2B fighter series was eventually the undoing of German air superiority in the First World War. Designed by Captain Frank Barnwell, the system was purposely engineered around the offensive and defensive armaments...

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Bristol Scout
The Bristol Scout is a good World War One aircraft study in the "what might have been" category. Born from the pedigree of a racing plane, the Bristol Scout was used in the beginning of the war as an unarmed flying scout, uti...

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Caproni Ca.36
The Caproni Ca.36 represented the definitive model in the C-bomber series debuted in 1914 as the C.31. The Ca.36 was a tremendous asset to allied operations against Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire and were put into ac...

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Caudron G.4
The Caudron G.4 series was a twin-engine bomber platform introduced in the early years of World War 1 by the French. The system served initially with the French air force but was put to good use in the hands of British, Itali...

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Caudron R.11
The Caudron R.11 was initially intended as a reconnaissance platform for the French Air Force but went on to serve the role of fighter escort instead. The system was fielded with a crew of three, was of a large two engine des...

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DFW C.V
The DFW C.V series of biplane aircraft was of German design in World War 1. The system was particularly noted for its good handling characteristics, power derived from its Benz engine and strong dogfighting capabilities even ...

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Fokker D.VII
The Fokker Dr.VII is now regarded as the best German fighter of the First World War. This biplane design entered development and production towards the end of the war but aircrews still managed some very impressive kill-to-lo...

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Fokker D.VIII
The Fokker D.VIII was a monoplane design and is regarded as one of the best fighters produced by the Germans during the First World War. It combined survivability, firepower and adaptability in a sturdy airframe. The syst...

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Fokker Dr.I (Dreidecker) Triplane
The Fokker Dr.I Triplane series will forever be associated to the famed German ace Manfred Von Richthofen (aka "the Red Baron"). Richthofen prefered the triplane design over contemporary ones in the end of his career for the ...

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Fokker E (Eindecker) Monoplane
As with most aircraft developed during the First World War, the Eindecker series enjoyed a relatively short period of time at the front lines. Aviation technology was ever changing to the point that aircraft designs could be ...

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Friedrichshafen G.III
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Handley Page H.P. O/400
The O/400 model series by Handley Page aircraft firm was the principle heavy bomber of the RAF by the end of the First World War. The O/400 was directly descended from the previous O/100 model series with the "100" and "400" ...

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Junkers CL.I
The Junkers CL.I was a break-through aircraft design produced in limited quantities in the final year of World War One. The system was an all-metal design proposed and accepted at a time when wood and fabric-constructed plane...

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Martin MB-1 / Glenn Martin Bomber
The Martin MB-1 (also known as the "Glenn Martin Bomber") became the first heavy bomber type to be purchased in quantity in the First World War, becoming the mainstay of the United States Army Air Service (USAAS) for a time. ...

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Martinsyde F.4 Buzzard
The Martinsyde F.4 "Buzzard" was a biplane aircraft appearing in the late stages of World War 1 and saw service most notably with the Royal Air Force. The aircraft proved to be of sound design and was regarded as one of the f...

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Morane-Saulnier Type N
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Nieuport 11 (Bebe)
The Nieuport (or "Bebe" translated to "Baby") was in some regards the first true Allied fighter of the First World War. Made of a militarized biplane design based on the famous "Bebe" racer aircraft, the Nieuport series as a ...

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Nieuport 17
The Nieuport 17series of aircraft was the weapon of choice for World War One aces such as Rene Fonck, Albert Ball and Billy Bishop. The XVII was directly developed from the existing and successful 11 "Bebe" platform and would...

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Nieuport 27
The Nieuport 27 was a derivative of the successful Nieuport 17 offering. Building upon the successes of it's predecessor, the Nieuport 27 was one in the long line of offshoots generated from the base design, though featuring ...

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Nieuport 28
The French-built Nieuport 28 fighter was the third of the successful trilogy of "Nieuport Fighting Scouts" that included the original Nieuport 11 and 17 models. The 28 model would become the aircraft of choice for aces such a...

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Pfalz D.III
The Pfalz D.III was an exceptional aircraft produced in large numbers by Bavaria for Bavarian forces and; later, Imperial German air forces. The D.III biplane was a agile fighter capable of high-speed diving attacks and excel...

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Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2
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Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.8
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Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5
The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 series of aircraft proved to be a pivotal addition to Allied fighter squadrons in the First World War. Through a period of familiarity, the aircraft began to endear itself to some of the war's...

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Siemens-Schuckert D.I
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Siemens-Schuckert D.III
The Siemens-Schukert D-series of biplane aircraft was a direct German copy of the successful French-mase Neiuport XI aircraft. The arrival of the Nieuport over the front caused great concern for German warplanners, as the sys...

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Sikorsky Ilya Mourometz A
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Sopwith 1-1/2 Strutter
The Sopwith 1-1/2 (one and one half) Strutter was a successful aircraft design fielded in the First World War. The aircraft was principally produced by the British (1,439) but more so by the French to the tune of some 4,200 t...

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Sopwith Camel
The Sopwith Biplane (later carrying the nickname of "Camel") was arguably the best fighter in the entire First World War. The Biplane design stemmed from the developments of the Sopwith Pup biplane and the highly agile Sopwit...

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Sopwith Dolphin
The Sopwith Dolphin was yet another fighter design in the long line of Thomas Sopwith production aircraft during World War 1. The system was produced with the fighter pilot in mind and offered up an unobstructed view from out...

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Sopwith Pup
The Sopwith Pup appeared in 1916 at a time when the Allies were coming up against what would be known as the "Fokker Scourge" - air supremacy by Germany and her allies across the front. The Pup was based on the Sopwith Strutt...

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Sopwith Snipe
The Sopwith Snipe took all of the components that had made the Sopwith Camel a legend in the middle years of World War 1 and introduced several new features that made this new design the most formidable Allied fighter. Appear...

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Sopwith Triplane
The Sopwith Triplane (dubbed the "Triplehound" by her pilots) was a three wing design built upon the successes of the Sopwith Pup series. The aircraft strayed from the normal aircraft design techniques of the time, where mono...

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SPAD S.VII
The SPAD S-series VII aircraft many an Allied air force the chance to compete on a level playing field by the time it was introduced in 1916. Though not comparing favorably to various Nieuport types, the SPAD VII was nonethel...

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SPAD S.XIII
The SPAD "S" series of aircraft proved to be one of the most successful aircraft (both in terms of capabilities AND numbers) that by war's end, over 16,000 were produced. The demand of the aircraft was a testament to the qual...

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Standard J-1
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Vickers FB.5
The FB.5 (also known as the "Gunbus") was of a biplane type design for the scouting role. What set the system apart from earlier examples was that this aircraft was the first scout type to be armed. In that way alone, one cou...

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Voisin Type 5
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Wright Flyer (Series)
Though the prospect of manned flight had been around for hundreds, maybe even thousands of years, it would be the Wright Brothers - Orville and Wilbur - that would put theory to practice and produce the first in a series of h...

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This page features aircraft covering the time period between 1900 and 1919. During this time, flight was just being pioneered and the air war in World War One would solidify the aircraft as a viable fighting machine. Designs throughout wartime forced aviation engineers to learn at a fast pace, usually outdoing themselves design after design. Such was the air of wartime design for aircraft that many would only live to see service for a matter of months before being replaced by more powerful and deadly versions. Design and production of aircraft for military use would continue at war's end and would cause a boom in military spending for new and faster model capable of much more. Aircraft design during these two decades would still revolve around the tried and true fabric-covered skins with synchronized-firing machine guns in the monoplane or biplane designs.