Biplane Fighter

When the first shots of the Great War were fired in 1914, aircraft were still canvas-and-wire contraptions built for reconnaissance, not combat. Within months, pilots were shooting at each other with pistols. By 1916 the biplane fighter had evolved into a lethal duellist — twin synchronized machine guns firing through the propeller arc, a nimble airframe capable of tight turns above the shell-churned mud of the Western Front. Aces like Manfred von Richthofen — the Red Baron — became myths in their own lifetimes, racking up scores of aerial kills in fragile open cockpits at altitudes where frostbite was as dangerous as enemy fire. Fast and agile, the biplane fighter excels at intercepting slow bombers and engaging enemy aircraft in turning dogfights, but its light armament and minimal armor leave it vulnerable to heavier, faster fighters of later eras.