The first fighter airplane was born during the First World War, over the battles at the Western Front. Planes that were made for reconnaissance to tell the leaders where the battles were being fought and where the enemy was at all changed with a little hand pistol. The airplanes were now changed to fighter planes. As friction developed between the Allied and German pilots, a variety of weapons were called into use. In addition to pistols and rifles, sporting shotguns loaded with chain shot were taken into

The first flights of planes often tried to use manpower to fly. They finally figured out that you need to use an engine. During the First World War there was to types of engines, radial disposed cylinders and an in-line cylinders type engine. The radial engine was usually seven or nine cylinders, revolved round a stationary crankshaft. This was the lighter and more compact engine. The French used this type engine because they were more concerned about a more light and fast aircraft. The Germans preferred the stationary engines with in-line cylinders. This engine was heavier but had more power. It required a stronger and larger frame to carry them. This engine was a water-cooled type. It had a problem when it performed high altitude flights the engine inlet valves in the crown of each piston would fall out due to over heating. This problem was solved with the Monosoupape, it means single valve. This meant that a single valve worked as both the induction and exhaust. These engines could only go up to 70 hp and had a speed of 60 mph. More powerful engines were made lighter and stronger with the increasing availability of light alloys. Steel for example eventually replaced cast-iron for the manufacture of pistons. In 1915 Henry Royce built a V-12 water-cooled Rolls-Royce Eagle engine, which had 225 hp. By the mid-1930s the power of engines had advanced a lot. The more powerful engines of up to 1,000 hp gave speeds of around 350 mph. The increase of power made it possible to reach 30,000 feet high. In 1938 the altitude record was held by the Italians of 56,000 feet high, and the speed record was 469 mph held by Germany. Soon came the turbojet aircraft during the 1940s. There were two basic designs, the axial-flow type of compressor and the centrifugal-flow type. The axial-flow type compressed the air, which was thrust directly backwards. The centrifugal-flow type thrusts the air outward before being ducted back. The difference was in the external design. The axial-flow type was long and slender while the centrifugal-flow type shorter and thicker. The Germans also developed a rocket motor. This was powered simply by the thrust from a liquid oxygen fuel. It was so powerful for its time, it had a speed of 620 mph.(Fighter) In the late 1980s the United States came out with the B-2 Stealth Bomber. It has four general electric F-118-GE-100 engines, with a trust of 17,300 pounds in each engine.(Stealth Technology) The engines in airplanes have amazingly changed from propellers to turbojets in such a rapid pace. What kind of engine will be design next we will have to wait and find out?

Airplanes have been used in wars s

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Approximate Word count = 1793
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)