Editing Western Front (World War I) (section)

=== Air warfare ===
{{Main|Aviation in World War I}}
Specialised aeroplanes for aerial combat were introduced in 1915. Aircraft were already in use for scouting and on 1 April, the French pilot [[Roland Garros (aviator)|Roland Garros]] became the first to shoot down an enemy aircraft by using a machine-gun that shot forward through the propeller blades. This was achieved by crudely reinforcing the blades to deflect bullets.{{sfn|Spick|2002|pp=326–327}} Several weeks later Garros force-landed behind German lines. His aeroplane was captured and sent to Dutch engineer [[Anthony Fokker]], who soon produced a significant improvement, the [[synchronization gear|interrupter gear]], in which the machine gun is synchronised with the propeller so it fires in the intervals when the blades of the propeller are out of the line of fire. This advance was quickly ushered into service, in the [[Fokker E.I]] (''Eindecker'', or monoplane, Mark 1), the first single seat [[fighter aircraft]] to combine a reasonable maximum speed with an effective armament. [[Max Immelmann]] scored the first confirmed kill in an ''Eindecker'' on 1 August.{{sfn|Wise|1981|pp=349–350}} Both sides developed improved weapons, engines, airframes and materials, until the end of the war. It also inaugurated the cult of the [[flying ace|ace]], the most famous being [[Manfred von Richthofen]] (the Red Baron). Contrary to the myth, [[Antiaircraft warfare|anti-aircraft fire]] claimed more kills than fighters.{{sfn|Granatstein|Morton|2003|p=40}}