Another very useful innovation came from the French: a De Dion-Bouton lorry with searchlights mounted atop it and trailers towed behind, power coming from the engine via a dynamo and cables.
Of course, combustion engines had also given rise to aeroplanes, and just 10 years after the very first heavier-than-air flight, men were shooting at each other in the skies.
Victory was very hard to achieve with a pistol or rifle (the propeller-synchronisation gear for a machine gun wasn’t invented until 1915) and bombing – by hand! – also wasn’t practical yet, as 4000ft was needed for safety from rifle fire. Therefore recon and the downing of airships were planes’ primary purposes.
“The Royal Flying Corps’ skill, energy and perseverance has been beyond all praise,” British Expeditionary Force commander Sir John French told parliament. “They have furnished me with most complete and accurate information, which has been of incalculable value in the conduct of operations. Further, by actually fighting in the air, they have succeeded in destroying five of the enemy’s machines.”
