Evolution of Fighter Planes during World War I

fhdowntheline · 5th January 2023, 12:55

I used to read a lot of the aviation stuff in books available in US public libraries . But much earlier, in my childhood days, I had a book " Biggin Hill", which was the story of the RAF airbase, which covered both the wars and the interim period in good detail. Especially of note were the aerial battles featuring the Sopwith Camel, Fokkers( forget the model), the Hurricane and Spitfire vs Me109/110, Do17, He111, FW190, Ju88 and several others. I am not sure if it is available anymore though. Try your luck!

JoshMachine · 6th January 2023, 13:16

Nice thread, thanks for sharing. Brings back a lot of memories

Right from my teenage days, I have been fascinated with relics and content from the military world. Even today, I do make it a point to view documentaries, movies etc. whenever something good comes up.

Speaking of the era for this thread and to enable spread of the knowledge for a younger audience, I think it could be a good idea to visit the evergreen "Commando" comics (https://www.commandocomics.com/) series specially for fighter planes.

Here is a cursory look at what they offer in this category:-

Evolution of Fighter Planes during World War I-commando-fighter-pilot-comics.png

You name it - be it the Mustang, Supermarine Spitfire, the Messerschmitt, the Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk, the Grumman Avenger, the Gloster Gladiator or the Corsair - this series will have stories for all of them!

And to go along with it, there are some nice playing card versions of the fighter planes of that yesteryears, available for purchase on the Amazons and eBays.

gypsygenes · 6th January 2023, 13:21

Wow! What a lovely morning it has been to read this thread. Thanks @nivatakavacha , @shankar.balan and V.Narayan for all the information shared. As I began reading nivatakavacha's post, I could only hear the sound of MiG takeoffs above my house in my teenage years. We lived next to the IAF's Golden Arrows squadron.
I came to aviation not so much from books as some of you, but from being around a lot of aviation crafts and machines. It is probably hard to believe now. As a 10 year old, I could ride up to the fence line of airforce station in Hakimpet (Secunderabad) through a long grassy meadow, slip through the barbed fence with my friend and stand up facing those huge hangars with helicopters sitting quiet in the silence of early mornings. I lived in awe. Pure awe. All of those years. Battle-craft excited me to no end. From armoured vehicles to aircrafts. And those days we could walk up to so much of these and see. This was the 90s. Life and security perception were different then I guess.

I remember the day they found a wing of a crashed aircraft in Markanda river's dry, sandy bed (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/36607946.cms). Apparently there was another piece of a crashed aircraft wing that local women used as a washing surface. Could be heresy, but the implied indifference amazed me. I cycled around dry beds of Tangri and Markanda to try my luck too.

MiGs, Antonovs, Ilyushins... these inspired me much to begin reading. I wasn't too much of an engineering mind then. Always a user/consumer.

A plane taking off still makes me leave work at hand and admire it. Admire the liftoff. Whether I am onboard or watching from a distance.

Thanks for such an illuminating thread!

5th January 2023, 12:55	#16
fhdowntheline Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: Pune Posts: 2,487 Thanked: 7,462 Times	Re: Evolution of Fighter Planes during World War I I used to read a lot of the aviation stuff in books available in US public libraries . But much earlier, in my childhood days, I had a book " Biggin Hill", which was the story of the RAF airbase, which covered both the wars and the interim period in good detail. Especially of note were the aerial battles featuring the Sopwith Camel, Fokkers( forget the model), the Hurricane and Spitfire vs Me109/110, Do17, He111, FW190, Ju88 and several others. I am not sure if it is available anymore though. Try your luck!
	() Thanks

6th January 2023, 13:16	#17
JoshMachine Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Pune Posts: 1,248 Thanked: 6,073 Times	Re: Evolution of Fighter Planes during World War I Nice thread, thanks for sharing. Brings back a lot of memories Right from my teenage days, I have been fascinated with relics and content from the military world. Even today, I do make it a point to view documentaries, movies etc. whenever something good comes up. Speaking of the era for this thread and to enable spread of the knowledge for a younger audience, I think it could be a good idea to visit the evergreen "Commando" comics (https://www.commandocomics.com/) series specially for fighter planes. Here is a cursory look at what they offer in this category:- You name it - be it the Mustang, Supermarine Spitfire, the Messerschmitt, the Curtiss P-40 Tomahawk, the Grumman Avenger, the Gloster Gladiator or the Corsair - this series will have stories for all of them! And to go along with it, there are some nice playing card versions of the fighter planes of that yesteryears, available for purchase on the Amazons and eBays.
	(2) Thanks

6th January 2023, 13:21	#18
gypsygenes Newbie Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: Bangalore Posts: 19 Thanked: 51 Times	Re: Evolution of Fighter Planes during World War I Wow! What a lovely morning it has been to read this thread. Thanks @nivatakavacha , @shankar.balan and V.Narayan for all the information shared. As I began reading nivatakavacha's post, I could only hear the sound of MiG takeoffs above my house in my teenage years. We lived next to the IAF's Golden Arrows squadron. I came to aviation not so much from books as some of you, but from being around a lot of aviation crafts and machines. It is probably hard to believe now. As a 10 year old, I could ride up to the fence line of airforce station in Hakimpet (Secunderabad) through a long grassy meadow, slip through the barbed fence with my friend and stand up facing those huge hangars with helicopters sitting quiet in the silence of early mornings. I lived in awe. Pure awe. All of those years. Battle-craft excited me to no end. From armoured vehicles to aircrafts. And those days we could walk up to so much of these and see. This was the 90s. Life and security perception were different then I guess. I remember the day they found a wing of a crashed aircraft in Markanda river's dry, sandy bed (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/36607946.cms). Apparently there was another piece of a crashed aircraft wing that local women used as a washing surface. Could be heresy, but the implied indifference amazed me. I cycled around dry beds of Tangri and Markanda to try my luck too. MiGs, Antonovs, Ilyushins... these inspired me much to begin reading. I wasn't too much of an engineering mind then. Always a user/consumer. A plane taking off still makes me leave work at hand and admire it. Admire the liftoff. Whether I am onboard or watching from a distance. Thanks for such an illuminating thread!
	(1) Thanks