fighting was required. In August, 1914, the aeroplane's armament
consisted simply of rifle, or carbine, and revolver, but our pilots
nevertheless attacked hostile machines whenever the opportunity
occurred. The first German machine to fly over us was at Maubeuge on
August 22nd, 1914, and, though fighting on an extensive scale did not
take place until 1916, as early as August 25th, 1914, there were three
encounters in the air in which two enemy machines were driven down. One
interesting report of an early fight is that between a B.E. and a German
machine on December 20th, 1914.

"A German aeroplane with one passenger and pilot being encountered
over Poperinghe, we followed to Morbecque and then to Armentieres.
The passenger of the B.E. fired 40 rounds from his rifle and the
German passenger replied with some rounds from his revolver. The
B.E. crossed the bows of the German machine to permit the pilot to
use his revolver. The German switched off and dived below the B.E.,
and is believed to have landed somewhere north-west of Lille."

Another instance of the early air combats was when Holt, single-handed,
and armed only with a rifle, lashed to a strut of his machine, attacked
ten Germans near Dunkirk, causing them to drop their bombs in the field
and make off to their own lines.

We managed to bring down a number of German machines, mainly by rifle
fire (five had already been brought down by September 7th, 1914), but
our great difficulty early in the war was to get the enemy into action,
and, although during October and November, 1914, there was a certain
amount of fighting, as a rule the German when attacked made for his own
lines and the protection of his anti-aircraft guns. This, though
offensive carried to the extent of wastefulness of life is equally bad,
was a serious mistake in all ways from his point of view, entailing as
it did a tendency for the confidence of the troops and the morale of the
air service to be undermined from the outset. The error was rectified,
but only temporarily, at the Somme.

As the specialized duties of aircraft increased, the Corps machines
engaged in them needed protection and it was realized that the best
method of protection was the development of the air offensive. This was
rendered possible by the adaptation of the machine gun to the aeroplane.
Early in 1915 the invention of the "synchronizing gear" enabled a
machine gun to fire through the propeller, an