"Word War I:Dogfight." 18 Sept. 2008 http://updatecenter.britannica.com/eb/image?binaryid=92036&rendtypeid=4.
Did you know that there are Dogfights in WWI? Dogfight is a term used to called a close-range aerial combat between war planes. The term "Dogfight" is most likely to come from the most preferred way of fighting; to position themselves behind the enemy and attack them from behind, it seemed like a dog chasing another dog's tail. Another possibility is that they usually fight very noisily, and fight in a large number. I chose this topic because I found Dogfighting interesting, the way they were able to kill many enemies, spy on enemies, and were one of World War I's most high-tech weapons at the time, and still has effect on today's military tactics.
The origin of planes in wars started as scouts; to collect information for the army about the position of enemy soldiers and guns. When enemies noticed that the opposing soldiers are using planes to spy on them, they need something to take out the planes, so they fitted machine guns onto scouting airplanes. Then both sides soon had all their scouting plane with machine guns.
Dogfighting pilots were called Dogfighters. Dogfighters are usually respected by their ranks, the ones with the most kills are usually titled "Aces." The most famous Dogfighter was probably Manfred von Richthofen, a German pilot, also known as "The Red Baron", he was the most famous flying ace of WWI, with a record of at least 80 confirmed victories against enemy aces.
The most preferred tactic used by Dogfighters is something called "the 6 o'clock", it involved getting behind the enemy pilot and shooting at them. During the war, a German ace pilot named Oswald Boelcke was the first person to ever write a book about dogfighting and tactics. He wrote about the basic rules and physics of aerial combat maneuvering, he wrote about fighting with your back towards the sun and with your enemy facing you, its is a smart tactic because the enemy wouldn't be able to see you, or a way to attack from above. The lessons the taught were called Dicta Boelcke, it is still used to teach in military schools today and are very valuable to fighter pilots today, same as they were almost a century ago.
Dogfighting is one of the most important tool for victory in a war. Dogfighting has inspired people to make more faster and stronger weapons, and has since changed the history of warfare.
"Dogfight." History Channel. 18 Sept. 2008 http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=minisite_generic&content_type_id=52089&display_order=10&mini_id=51833.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBm86lrCq2c
