Military equipment of the First World War. History of the First World War Military equipment of the First World War
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Marienwagen - 4-track all-terrain chassis of the First World War. Also known as "Bremer-Wagen". An order for such a machine H.G. Bremer received in July 1915, and in October 1916 presented a prototype. According to the device, it resembled a conventional car with a front engine and a rear drive axle, but with the replacement of all wheels with caterpillar tracks, while only the rear pair of tracks remained driven. An order for 50 of these chassis began to fulfill the plant in Marienfeld on the outskirts of Berlin. The armament of the vehicle consisted of one 7.92 mm Maxim machine gun mounted in the turret.
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MERCEDES (ALSO BYLINSKY'S MERCEDES, BYLINSKY'S ARMORED CAR) is a cannon-machine-gun armored car of the Armed Forces of the Russian Empire. Developed in 1915 by staff captain Bylinsky on the basis of a Mercedes car. The composition and placement of weapons was originally decided. The artillery armament of the armored car was a rapid-fire 37-mm Hotchkiss cannon, located inside the hull. The gun was mounted in the middle part of the fighting compartment on a swivel pedestal and could fire on the sides of the armored car and back through the folding sheets of the side and aft armor. When the sides of the hull were closed, the presence of a cannon in an armored car was practically not given out. On the roof of the fighting compartment, above the cannon, there was a circular rotation tower with a 7.62-mm Maxim machine gun of the 1910 model. At the same time, the machine gun turret was attached to the gun pedestal, which significantly facilitated the rotation of the tower. In addition, two 7.62-mm Madsen submachine guns of the 1902 model were transported in addition to the stowage inside the hull. With such weapons, the crew of the armored car could conduct an almost circular fire, developing a very high firepower for such a vehicle. Artillery weapons, overall solid firepower, extremely high speed for armored vehicles and acceptable armor made these armored vehicles extremely useful combat weapons for their troops and dangerous opponents for the enemy. The scheme of booking and placement of weapons was successful, and the technically high-quality base of the Mercedes was an additional trump card for the armored car. The commission that tested armored vehicles noted: "... The stability of the cars is fully ensured, there are no design errors, the cars are easy on the go and can give more than 60 miles per hour ...". The combat use of armored vehicles also demonstrated their high efficiency. However, the use of the Mercedes base, which is extremely rare for the Russian army, resulted in a shortage of spare parts, which significantly reduced the service life of these armored cars.
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Mercedes (also Bylinsky's Mercedes, Bylinsky's armored car) is a cannon-machine-gun armored car of the Armed Forces of the Russian Empire.
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Rolls-Royce Armored Car - machine gun armored car of the British Armed Forces. Developed in 1914 by Rolls-Royce. In the period from 1914 to 1918, 120 copies of the armored car were produced. It was widely used by the British army in the battles of the First World War. At the end of the war, it underwent a number of upgrades and remained in service with the British army until 1944, taking part in the battles of the initial period of the Second World War and, thus, being a "long-liver" in a number of armored vehicles developed during the First World War. In addition to Great Britain, Rolls-Royce armored vehicles were in service with the armies of Ireland and Poland. A number of experts tend to consider the Rolls-Royce the most successful British armored car of the First World War.
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The first serial tank - "Big Willie" was created by engineer Tritton together with Lieutenant Wilson. The prototype appeared in the fall of 1915. This machine easily coped with the task assigned to it to break through the enemy's defenses, and the infantry had to go on the offensive after it. Initially, "Willy", like all other models, could not overcome wide ditches, which was due to the structure of the tractor caterpillar. However, a little later it was equipped with a diamond-shaped caterpillar, which made it possible to overcome a significant drawback. The model was equipped with a six-cylinder Riccardo engine that produced 150 hp. He was located in the stern of the car and had no protection. Exhaust gases flowed directly into the structure, which often led to the death of the crew, which consisted of 8 people. Armament was placed in half-towers on the sides of the structure, they were called sponsons. In its appearance, the car resembled a tank or cistern, which, by and large, gave it its name. She was called a tank, which is translated from English as "chan". Subsequently, this was the name of a new type of combat vehicles.
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"VEZDEKHOD" is an all-terrain vehicle developed by designer Alexander Aleksandrovich Porokhovshchikov in Russia in 1914-1915. In the developments related to this machine, A. A. Porohovshchikov also considered the possibility of installing armor and weapons on it, which is why the Vezdekhod is often considered in Soviet and modern Russian literature as one of the first Russian tank (wedge) projects. Later, Porokhovshchikov improved his car, making it wheel-tracked: on the roads, the car moved on wheels and the rear drum of the caterpillar, when an obstacle was encountered in its path - the “all-terrain vehicle” lay down on the caterpillar and “crawled” over it. This was several years ahead of the tank building of that time. Porohovshchikov made the hull of the tank waterproof, as a result of which he could easily overcome water obstacles.
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Renault FT-17 is the first mass-produced light tank. The first tank to have a turret with a circular rotation (360 degrees), as well as the first tank of the classical layout (control compartment - in front, combat compartment - in the center and engine compartment - in the back). The crew of the tank consisted of two people - the driver and the commander, who was also involved in servicing the gun or machine gun. One of the most successful tanks of the First World War. Developed in 1916-1917 under the leadership of Louis Renault as an infantry close support tank. Adopted by the French army in 1917. Approximately 3500 copies have been produced. In addition, Renault FT-17 was produced under license in the USA under the name M1917 (Ford Two Man) (950 copies were produced) and in Italy under the name FIAT 3000. A modified copy was also produced in Soviet Russia under the name Renault Russian.
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At the start of the First World War, Russia had the largest air fleet in the world of 263 aircraft. Ilya Muromets is the common name for several series of four-engine all-wood biplanes produced in Russia at the Russian-Baltic Carriage Works during 1914-1919 under the leadership of I. I. Sikorsky. The aircraft set a number of records for carrying capacity, number of passengers, time and maximum flight altitude. It is the world's first serial multi-engine and passenger aircraft. For the first time in the history of aviation, it was equipped with a comfortable cabin separate from the cockpit, sleeping rooms and even a bathroom with a toilet. The "Muromets" had heating (exhaust gases from engines) and electric lighting. On the sides there were exits to the consoles of the lower wing. Bombs weighing about 80 kg were used, less often up to 240 kg. In the autumn of 1915, the experience of bombing the world's largest, at that time, 410-kilogram bomb was made.
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The Fokker D.VII is a single-seat, light, high-speed fighter. The plane is considered the best German fighter of the First World War. In the second half of 1918, Fokker D VII aircraft made up 75% of the fleet of German fighter squadrons. This fighter was so good that under the conditions of the First Compiegne Armistice of 1918, a clause was specifically introduced obliging the destruction of all Fokker D.VII aircraft. Despite this, the car was in service with a number of countries in the post-war period - Anton Fokker managed to secretly save many aircraft, and then secretly transport them by train to the neutral Netherlands, where they were updated and sold to the air forces of other countries; such as the Danish Air Force. Crew: 1 pilot Length: 6.95 m Wingspan: 8.9 m Height: 2.85 m Empty weight: 700 kg Normal takeoff weight: 850 kg Engine power: 1 x 180 hp with. (1 × 132 kW) Maximum speed: 200 km / h Flight duration: 1.7 hours Armament Small arms and cannon: 2 × 7.92 mm synchronous machine guns LMG 08/15 Spandau, 500 rounds of ammunition per barrel.
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Albatros D.III - German biplane fighter, one of the most successful fighters of the war. Albatros D.III aircraft began to operate in the first months of 1917. During air battles on the Western Front during 1917, Albatros D.III fighters showed their superiority over British and French aircraft. By the autumn of 1917, almost 500 Albatros D.III fighters were already in use. The famous aces of the First World War, the German Manfred von Richthofen, ("Red Baron") and the Austrian Godwin Brumowski piloted this biplane. Crew: 1 pilot Length: 7.33 m Wingspan: 9.04 m Height: 2.98 m Empty weight: 661 kg Normal takeoff weight: 886 kg Engine power: 1 × 175 hp (1 × 129 kW) Maximum speed: 175 km / h Flight duration: 2 hours Service ceiling: 5,500 m
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Aviation of the German Armed Forces is the second largest aviation in the world at the beginning of the First World War. Numbered about 220 - 230 aircraft. The Germans sought to secure air superiority by introducing technical innovations into aviation as quickly as possible (for example, fighter planes) and in a certain period from the summer of 1915 to the spring of 1916 practically held dominance in the sky at the fronts. Great attention was also paid by the Germans to strategic bombing. Germany was the first country to use its air force to attack the strategic rear of the enemy (factories, settlements, sea harbors). Since 1914, first German airships and then multi-engine bombers regularly carried out bombardments of the rear facilities of France, Great Britain and Russia. Germany made a significant bet on rigid airships. During the war, more than 100 rigid airships designed by Zeppelin and Schütte-Lanz were built. Before the war, the Germans mainly planned to use airships for aerial reconnaissance, but it quickly turned out that over land and in the daytime airships were too vulnerable. The main function of heavy airships was maritime patrolling, reconnaissance at sea in the interests of the navy, and long-range night bombing. It was the Zeppelin airships that first brought to life the doctrine of long-range strategic bombing, raiding London, Paris, Warsaw and other rear cities of the Entente. Although the effect of the application, excluding individual cases, was mainly moral, blackout measures, air raids significantly disrupted the work of the Entente, which was not ready for such an industry, and the need to organize air defense led to the diversion of hundreds of aircraft, anti-aircraft guns, thousands of soldiers from the front line.
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In early 1915, the British and French were the first to put machine guns on aircraft. Since the propeller interfered with the shelling, initially machine guns were placed on vehicles with a pusher propeller located at the rear and not preventing firing in the forward hemisphere. The first FIGHTER in the world was the British Vickers F.B.5, specially built for air combat with a machine gun mounted on a turret.
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Aviation combat tactics in the First World War In the initial period of the war, when two aircraft collided, the battle was fought from personal weapons or with the help of a ram. The ram was first used on September 8, 1914 by the Russian ace Nesterov. As a result, both aircraft fell to the ground. On March 18, 1915, another Russian pilot used a ram for the first time without crashing his own plane and successfully returned to base. This tactic was used due to the lack of machine-gun armament and its low efficiency. The ram demanded exceptional accuracy and composure from the pilot, so Nesterov's and Kazakov's rams were the only ones in the history of the war. In the battles of the late period of the war, aviators tried to bypass the enemy aircraft from the side, and, going into the tail of the enemy, shoot him with a machine gun. This tactic was also used in group battles, while the pilot who took the initiative won; causing the enemy to fly away. The style of air combat with active maneuvering and shooting at close range was called "dogfight" ("dog fight") and dominated the concept of air warfare until the 1930s.
War spurs scientific and technological progress. The states leading wars are trying to destroy the enemy soldiers more, and, at the same time, to protect their soldiers from defeat. Perhaps the most prolific invention was the First World War.
R2D2. Self-propelled firing point on electric traction. Behind her, a cable dragged across the battlefield.
French trench armor against bullets and shrapnel. 1915 
Sappenpanzer appeared on the Western Front in 1916. In June 1917, after capturing some German body armor, the Allies conducted research. According to these documents, the German body armor can stop a rifle bullet at a distance of 500 meters, but its main purpose is against shrapnel and shrapnel. The vest can be hung both on the back and on the chest. The first samples assembled were found to be less heavy than later ones, with an initial thickness of 2.3 mm. Material - an alloy of steel with silicon and nickel. 
Such a mask was worn by the commander and driver of the English Mark I to protect their faces from shrapnel. 
Mobile barricade 
German soldiers captured a mobile barricade 
Mobile infantry shield (France). It is not clear why there is a man with a cat 
Experimental helmets for machine gunners on airplanes. USA, 1918. 
USA. Protection for bomber pilots. Armored pants. 
Various options for armored shields for police officers from Detroit. 
An Austrian trench shield that could be worn as a breastplate. He could have, but there were no people who wanted to constantly drag such a heavy piece of iron on themselves. 
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from Japan. 
Armored shield for orderlies. 
Individual armor protection with the uncomplicated name "Turtle". As far as I understand, this thing did not have a “sex” and the fighter himself moved it. 
Shovel-shield McAdam, Canada, 1916. Dual use was supposed: both as a shovel and a shooting shield. It was ordered by the Canadian government in a series of 22,000 pieces. As a result, the device was uncomfortable as a shovel, uncomfortable due to the too low location of the loophole as a rifle shield, and was pierced through by rifle bullets. After the war melted down as scrap metal 
Carriage, UK 1938. 
Armored observation post 
French bomber 
military slingshot 
As for armored vehicles, the most unimaginable designs existed here. 
On April 24, 1916, an anti-government uprising broke out in Dublin (Easter Rising - Easter Rising) and the British needed at least some armored vehicles to move troops along the shelled streets.
On April 26, in just 10 hours, specialists from the 3rd Reserve Cavalry Regiment, using the equipment of the workshops of the Southern Railway in Inchicore, were able to assemble an armored car from an ordinary commercial 3-ton Daimler truck chassis and ... a steam boiler. Both the chassis and the boiler were delivered from the Guinness Brewery 
armored rubber 
Truck converted into an armored car 
Danish "armored car", based on the Gideon 2 T 1917 truck with plywood armor(!). 
Peugeot car converted into an armored car 
Bronetachanka 
This is some kind of hybrid of an aircraft and an armored car. 
Military snowmobiles 
Same but on wheels 
Armored car not based on a Mercedes car 
In June 1915, the production of the Marienwagen tractor began at the Daimler plant in Berlin-Marienfelde. This tractor was produced in several versions: semi-tracked, fully tracked, although their base was a 4-ton Daimler tractor. 
To break through the fields, entangled with barbed wire, they came up with just such a hay wire mower. 
And this is another one that overcame any obstacles. 
And this is a tank prototype 
Tank FROT-TURMEL-LAFFLY, a wheeled tank built on the chassis of the Laffly road roller. Protected by 7 mm armor, weighs about 4 tons, armed with two 8 mm machine guns and a mitrailleuse of unknown type and caliber. By the way, the armament in the photograph is much stronger than the declared one - apparently the “holes for the gun” were cut with a margin.
The exotic shape of the hull is due to the fact that the idea of the designer (the same Mr. Frot), the machine was intended to attack wire barriers, which the machine had to crush with its hull - after all, monstrous wire barriers, along with machine guns, were one of the main problems for the infantry. 
A cart based on a motorcycle. 
Armored variant 
Here protection is only for the machine gunner 
Connection 
Ambulance 
Refueling 
Three-wheeled armored motorcycle designed for reconnaissance tasks, especially for narrow roads. 
Combat water skiing 
Combat catamaran 
On September 10, 2015, the Russian Post in the long-term series "History of the First World War" puts into circulation four stamps dedicated to domestic military equipment. The stamps depict: Ilya Muromets bomber; 7.62 mm Mosin rifle; 76.2 mm field rapid-fire gun; destroyer "Novik"
The years of the First World War were marked by the complication of combat tactics, the appearance and use of new types of weapons and equipment on the fronts - aviation, tanks, automatic weapons, powerful artillery.
Destroyer "Novik"- joined the Baltic Fleet in October 1913. Its creation and the construction of subsequent ships of this type is one of the brightest pages in the history of domestic military shipbuilding. In the history of the Russian Navy, it was the first turbine warship. Set a world speed record. The destroyer could take on board 50 anchor mines. By the beginning of the First World War, it was the best ship in its class, served as a world model in the creation of destroyers of the military and post-war generation. None of the newest German destroyers could compete with the Novik. The destroyer "Novik" and subsequent ships of this series have passed a glorious battle path, showing an enviable longevity. After the end of the civil war, the Noviki, along with other warships, became part of the Soviet Navy. The Novik itself was named Yakov Sverdlov. With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he entered the fight against the fascist fleet. "Yakov Sverdlov" died on August 28, 1941, blown up by a mine, during the transition of warships and transports from Tallinn to Kronstadt. In total, ten of the seventeen Noviks died during the war.
"Ilya Muromets"- the common name for several series of four-engine all-wood biplanes produced in Russia at the Russian-Baltic Carriage Works during 1913-1918. The aircraft set a number of records for carrying capacity, number of passengers, time and maximum flight altitude. The aircraft was developed by the aviation department of the Russian-Baltic Carriage Works in St. Petersburg under the leadership of I. I. Sikorsky. "Ilya Muromets" became the world's first passenger aircraft. By the beginning of World War I, 4 Ilya Muromets were built. By September 1914 they were transferred to the Imperial Air Force. For the first time, the squadron aircraft flew on a combat mission on February 14 (27), 1915. During the war years, 60 aircraft entered the troops. The squadron made 400 sorties, dropped 65 tons of bombs and destroyed 12 enemy fighters. At the same time, during the entire war, only 1 aircraft was directly shot down by enemy fighters (which was attacked by 20 aircraft at once), and 3 were shot down. On November 21, 1920, the last sortie of Ilya Muromets took place. On May 1, 1921, the Moscow-Kharkov postal passenger airline was opened. One of the mail planes was handed over to the aviation school (Serpukhov), where about 80 training flights were made on it during 1922-1923. After that, the Muromets did not rise into the air.
Field rapid-fire gun model 1902, also known as the "three-inch", was developed at the Putilov plant in St. Petersburg by designers L. A. Bishlyak, K. M. Sokolovsky and K. I. Lipnitsky, taking into account the experience in the production and operation of the first Russian gun of this caliber. It was actively used in the Russo-Japanese War, World War I, the Russian Civil War and in other armed conflicts involving countries from the former Russian Empire (Soviet Union, Poland, Finland, etc.) Modernized versions of this gun were used at the beginning of World War II war. For its time, the gun included many useful innovations in its design. These included recoil devices, horizontal and elevation guidance mechanisms, precision sights for firing from closed positions and direct fire. According to its characteristics, it was at the level of French and German guns similar to it and was highly appreciated by Russian gunners. In some cases, the gun was used as an anti-tank weapon.
7.62 mm rifle model 1891(Mosin rifle, three-ruler) - a repeating rifle adopted by the Russian Imperial Army in 1891. It was actively used from 1891 until the end of the Second World War, during this period it was modernized many times. The name "three-ruler" comes from the caliber of the rifle barrel, which is equal to three Russian lines (an old measure of length equal to one tenth of an inch, or 2.54 mm - respectively, three lines are equal to 7.62 mm). The Russian Mosin rifle received its first baptism of fire during the suppression of the uprising of Chinese boxers in 1900. The rifle proved to be excellent during the Japanese war of 1904-1905. It was distinguished by relative simplicity and reliability, range of aimed fire. The rifle was produced by the Soviet army almost until the very end of the war and was in service until the end of the 1970s.
Issue form: in sheets with decorated margins (3×4) of 11 stamps and a coupon
Stamp size: 50×37 mm
Sheet size: 170×180 mm
Circulation: 396 thousand copies of each stamp (36 thousand sheets each)
The First Day Cancellation will take place on September 10, 2015 in Moscow and St. Petersburg
In addition to the issue, the Russian Post issued an art cover, inside - postage stamps and efficiency.
For release by the company Peterstamps prepared maximum card and stamp card
maximum cards issued by Prtrerstamps
Stamp card issued by Peterstamps
The First World War was a turning point of the 20th century - it radically changed the political map of Europe, destroying four huge empires and giving rise to a number of nation-states. Many historians agree that it was she who marked the end of the "political nineteenth century" in Europe. The First World War lasted four years and three and a half months (from July 28, 1914 to November 11, 1918) and became the largest military conflict that the history of mankind knew at that time. During this global confrontation, military equipment was rapidly developing in the world - automatic small arms were actively modernized, armored vehicles appeared on the battlefields, and a war of airplanes began in the sky. More than 70 million people were mobilized into the armed forces of the countries participating in the First World War.
The unprecedented scope of the First World War required the mobilization of the efforts of all categories of the population of the warring states, thereby largely blurring the line between the army and society, which was previously quite clear. It is not surprising that already in the first days of the war, in the public space and official propaganda of many countries, the concept of “people's war” was brought to the fore, implying the struggle of the whole people in the name of protection from external aggression, achieving final victory over the enemy and “just eternal peace” . In many ways, this explains the enthusiasm with which the news of its beginning was perceived in the countries that entered the war. The American historian and sociologist Georgy Derlugyan gives a typical example: “In the summer of 1914, all the powers that entered the war habitually prepared to catch many deserters - which were then surprisingly few. Such was the power of modern patriotic propaganda.” Interestingly, even in the multinational European empires - for example, the Russian, as well as the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary (Austria-Hungary) - the mobilization of 1914 took place without serious problems.
In the "Great War", which history did not know before, not only the armies and the political establishment, but also scientists, writers, artists, and the clergy actively participated. In particular, the propaganda apparatus of the warring states has become an important participant in the global conflict. Today, many experts believe that the First World War can be regarded as the first great media war in history. In terms of its influence on the future of Europe, this “war of ideas” was not inferior to the “war of armies”, destroying the socio-economic prerequisites that had appeared earlier for launching the process of European integration, giving rise to a number of totalitarian ideologies, mass political movements guided by them, as well as projects for a radical redivision of Europe and peace.
The results of the First World War were, without exaggeration, revolutionary - it became obvious that henceforth large-scale conflicts would be in the nature of a total war, which implies the involvement of almost the entire population in them and the use of all the economic resources of the warring states. One of the most important consequences of the First World War was the radical territorial changes carried out by the victors - most often this was done on an ethno-cultural basis. At the same time, this principle was inapplicable to many parts of Europe due to the dispersed settlement of many ethnic groups. In addition, many new borders were not recognized: for example, Romania and Hungary entered into a protracted political conflict over Transylvania, Czechoslovakia and Poland over the Teshin region, Romania and Bulgaria over Dobruja.
On the Warspot portal you can find publications about the First World War and its participants.
Fighters and bombers, submarines and dreadnoughts, armored vehicles, tanks and other weapons - everything that today seems to us simple and ordinary for the First World War, was, in short, the last word in technology and scientific thought. This war really was the first. And not only because there were no such large-scale military conflicts before it, but also because a lot was done for the first time during it.
Cars
Of course, cars for military needs were used even before the start of the First World War, but during the years of this confrontation, their transport capabilities began to be fully used. So, in 1914, finding themselves in a practically hopeless situation, when it was necessary to transfer a new soldier division to the Marne in order to stop the rapid advance of the German troops, the French command chose a car as a means of transfer. Then the Parisian taxis brilliantly coped with this mission.
But the British used their "proprietary" double-decker buses to transport the military.
A great help was the use of cars in many operations of that war. For example, in May 1915 in Galicia and later on the Styr River, Russian troops were provided with weapons in a timely manner only through the use of motor vehicles.
The so-called machine-gun vehicles were widely used - vehicles with machine guns mounted on them (the British first experienced such a system during the Boer War).
Also, during the war years, the first Russian self-propelled anti-aircraft guns were successfully tested. Even a year before the start of the war, one of the engineers of the Putilov Arms Plant proposed installing swinging anti-aircraft guns on the platform of a powerful truck. The first prototypes of this technique were received for testing at the end of 1914. And a few months later they were already put into operation. So, in the summer, new machines have already successfully repelled an air attack by 9 German airplanes, and a little later they shot down two enemy aircraft.
In parallel, the development of armored vehicles went on. The first Russian armored cars, for example, were developed in Russia, but they were put on wheels at the Renault factories.
According to statistics, by the end of 1917, almost 92,000 vehicles had successfully landed in the French army, 76,000 in the British, more than fifty thousand in the German, and about 21,000 in the Russian.
tanks
Truly, the tank became an innovative technique on the fields of the First World War. In short, it was his debut. And a successful debut. Tanks first appeared on the battlefield in 1916. It was the British Mk I. The first tanks were produced in two versions. Some with cannon weapons, others with machine guns.
The thickness of the armor of the first tanks did not protect its crew even from armor-piercing bullets. The fuel system was also imperfect, which is why the first cars could stop at the most inopportune moment.
"Schneider SA 1" became the first French tank, which also received its baptism of fire on the fronts of the First World War. Compared to the English tank, he had several advantages, but he was far from perfect, in particular, he was absolutely not adapted to moving over rough terrain. But the French themselves, however, considered him a miracle of technology and were proud of their tank.
Seeing that the French and the British were successfully using new equipment in battle, the German designers also took care of creating their own masterpiece. As a result, in the fall of 1917, the German A7V appeared on the battlefields.
ships
The experience of previous wars at sea demonstrated the need to strengthen weapons and dictated new requirements for the equipment and construction of ships. As a result, in 1907, the first battleship of a new type, called the Dreadnought, was launched in Great Britain.
Increased displacement, power and speed, as well as enhanced armament made it more reliable and dangerous for the enemy.
Germany and England paid the greatest attention to the development of the fleet on the eve of the First World War. Actually, it was between them that the main rivalry at sea unfolded. It is worth noting that each of the countries approached equipping their fleet in different ways. The German command, for example, paid more attention to strengthening armor and increasing the number of guns. The British, in turn, made efforts to increase the speed of movement and increase the caliber of the guns.
Aircraft
Another technique that was used specifically for military purposes in the First World War, in short, was aircraft. At first they were used for reconnaissance, and then for bombing and destroying enemy air forces.
The Germans were the first to use aircraft to attack strategic rear targets of the enemy. It is worth noting here that by the beginning of the war, this country had the second largest air fleet. At the same time, almost all of his cars were outdated mail and passenger airplanes. However, already in the first war years, realizing the importance of aviation technology, Germany launched the production and equipment of newer and more modern aircraft. As a result, for a long time, German pilots literally reigned in the sky, causing significant damage to the allies of the Entente.
Russia, in turn, was the first country in the world in terms of the number of aircraft. By the beginning of the war, she even had 4 of the latest and only multi-engine aircraft in the world at that time. However, despite this, in general, the level of development of Russian aviation was lower than that of the British, French and Germans.
Great Britain was the first country to decide to install a machine gun on an airplane. And many innovations and inventions related to the improvement of the aircraft of the First World War belonged to the French.
Another country that intensively developed its fleet during the war years was Italy, which, along with Russia, began to use multi-engine aircraft.