Fighter planes are military planes which are used for fighting with the enemy’s planes in the air during the war. These planes are altogether different from the bomber planes which drop bombs on the ground. These planes are generally faster than other planes and are smaller in size.
Some of the fighter planes have dual role which means that they are fighter as well as bomber planes. Fighter planes act as a major component in the victory as it provides superiority over enemy during the war. Combat planes became basic necessity after 1915, after the German pilots fitted a machine gun with their Fokker E1 plane. During World War I, combat aircrafts became airborne and Sopwith Camel fighter plane was the most successful plane in the World War I. This plane had shot more than 1200 enemy planes in the war. During World War II, fighter planes became a major military tool and at the same time Spitfire was the most modern plane which could fly with the speed of 360 miles per hour. This plane was the ultimate key for Britain’s survival in the World War II.
After World War II, the air dominance race accelerated after the American development of high speed fighter planes which broke sound barrier. At the same time, Russia developed supersonic Mig 19 fighter planes, which created panic among American leaders, hence US replied by developing F – 14 Tomcat, which could travel double the speed of that of the sound, and this plane became the greatest tool in the Cold War.
Developments in the technology of fighter planes can be categorized in Earlier Generation and Later Generation. Earlier generations of Fighter Planes comprises of first, second and third generations; which are described below:
First Generation of Fighter Planes (1945 to 1955):
First generation of fighter planes were introduced at the end of the World War II, which were subsonic fighter jet planes with unswept wings and armed with guns. Their speed was substantially increased due to the introduction of piston powered turbojet engine. The first jet fighter plane of this generation was Me 262, which was developed during World War II. At the same time Britain developed Gloster Meteor, which was faster than the available piston fighter engine planes. Sooner, Ryan FR Fireball was introduced, which was developed by propulsion of jet engine and piston. Jet fighter planes were initially used by Americans after the World War II. Later Britain designed a series of jet fighter planes which included de Havilland Vampire, which was purchased by a number of nations. America developed Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, which was faster but lesser stylish than Me 262. Soviet purchased the Rolls-Royce Nene technology from Britain and then developed Mig 15 fighter planes which used swept wings for the first time in fighter planes. Americans responded by developing F – 86 sabre fighter plane, which was somewhat similar to the MIG fighter planes in performance. After the Korean War, many aircrafts were developed such as Dasault Ouragan, Saab Lansen, Supermarine Attacker and Havilland Vampire.
Second Generation of Fighter Plane (1955 to 1960):
After the Korean War, the threat of nuclear warfare was the utmost focus in the development of second generation of fighter planes, which used area ruled fuselages, delta wings and swept wings. It used the latest development in building material (aluminum alloy), propulsion and aerodynamics. Developments in the field of electronics technology reduced the size of the radar which was then used in the second generation to trace enemy spots or aim enemy’s aircrafts which were generally invisible through normal eyes. Guided radar and guided infrared missile technology were also introduced in the second generation of planes, which also focused on the possibility of 3rd World War. Nuclear carrier bombers were developed such as Su – 7 Sukhoi and Thunderchief F – 105 Republic; and nuclear fighter planes such as Mig 21 and English Electric Lightning were developed in this generation. Aircrafts of this generation improved their ground attacks, air attack, nuclear attack and powerful radar attack.
Third Generation of Fighter Planes (1960 to 1970):
Third generation of fighter planes carried multiple roles improving ground attacks and air attacks. In this generation stream gauge cockpits were replaced by Analog Avionics along with new enhancements such as blown flap, powered slats and canards. Third generation planes were armed with guns, improved radar and RF AAM’s of medium range. After the Vietnam War, a fighter weapon school called as ‘Topgun’ was established by US Navy to provide graduation degree for fighter pilots. Some of the famous third generation fighter planes are Super Dassault Etendard, Mirage Dassault F1, Su-15 Sukhoi, Mig 25, Mig 23, F – 5 Northrop and F – 4 Pantom.
