Warplanes: WWI Fighters offers a nice selection of historical airplanes to choose from. But you have to spend your hard-earned points to unlock them, and their potential isn't always reflected by their stats. Here is some more info to help you outfit your squadron in the Central Powers campaign of Warfighters.

This guide is a work in progress, and I will add to it in time to make sure it's complete.

The Fokker E.I 'Eindecker' was the first aircraft to be equipped with an interrupter gear for the machinegun, that allowed it to fire straight ahead without shooting off its own propellor. This technology gave the Central Powers a huge edge in air combat, and Entente pilots gained the dubious nickname 'Fokker-Fodder'. Unfortunately, other than its firepower, the aircraft had very few qualities.

Flying the Fokker E.I:
This plane is slow, and the controls are sluggish - just what you would expect from such an early machine. There is absolutely no reason to choose this as your ride over the Fokker D.VIII that you start out with.

While the Fokker E.I was one of the first fighters to be introduced in the war, the D.VIII was one of the last. After designing biplanes and triplanes, for the D.VIII the Fokker company returned to a monoplane design - a single wing. This wing provided a lot of lift, and it was strong enough that it didn't need any cables to hold it up. This made the airplane very light and aerodynamic, which compensated for the fact that it had a rather weak engine.


Flying the Fokker D.VIII:
The Fokker D.VIII is the perfect all-rounder. It is reasonably fast and manoeuvrable, although it doesn't particularly excel at either. You can make turns and change direction without losing a lot of speed. It has good firepower, and the combination of flares and bombs allow you to attack any kind of target. There is no mission where the D.VIII is a bad choice. A full squadron of these is a sight to behold, or to fear depending on your point of view.

The Fokker D.VIIIB carries a heavy bomb load, more than enough to deal with any objective the game might throw at you. In return, it sacrifices a lot of performance and firepower. This is no longer a machine fit for dogfighting or for hunting bombers. However, it can still hold its own in a fight when it needs to.

With its low cantilever wing and metal construction, the Junkers D.I was far ahead of its time. Arguably, it was a little too far ahead, since the Germans lacked an engine that was strong enough to make use of this clean but rather heavy design. Only in the 1930's would the rest of the world's airplane designers see how superior these ideas were to the wood and canvas biplanes that had until then ruled the skies.


Flying the Junkers D.I and D.II:
You trade low manoeuvrability and a low climb rate for a high top speed. This dictates the tactics that you want to use with the Junkers: you make a high speed pass at the enemy, fire your shots, and quickly fly away to safety to set yourself up for the next pass. If you try to turn with the enemy, or climb above them, their guns are sure to find you. While the D.I offers slightly superior flight characteristics, it lacks the firepower to utilise the brief opportunities you create to fire at your enemies. Choose the D.II and cause maximum carnage against enemy bombers, taking down two or three during a single pass.

After the success of the British Sopwith Triplane, the Germans were desperate for a triplane of their own. Fokker answered the call with the famous Dr.I 'Dreidecker'. By that time, the triplane design was already obsolete: it offered great climb rate and manoeuvrability, but the focus of fighter design had moved to speed - something the Dr.I completely lacked. There are theories that this only contributed to the airplane's mythical status: once you entered a dogfight with the Dreidecker, you had to be absolutely dedicated to shoot every single enemy out of the sky, because there was simply no way to disengage and run away. Its high manoeauvrability was offset by its instability, making it very difficult to fly. Manfred von Richthofen, the famous Red Baron, was only one of several ace pilots who considerably raised their tally while flying the Fokker Dr.I - only to ultimately lose their life in one.

Flying the Fokker Dr.I:
The Fokker Dr.I in Warplanes stays true to its real life counterpart, and it's absolutely the best tool to have in a dogfight. It turns tighter than your enemies, making them easy prey to your guns, and when they get a shot at you you can use your climbrate to stay out of their way. The fast rollrate means you can quickly switch from one target to another, allowing you to keep a whole squadron of enemies busy while you whittle them down one by one. While this is a highly specialised furballing machine, you'll find its slow speed a serious drawback when you're hunting down enemy bombers. Bo be sure to bring along some faster planes in your squadron, to equip yourself to better deal with a variety of targets.

Once the Entente had found a way to match the Fokker E.III's firepower, the Germans quickly lost air superiority. Their answer came with the introduction of the Albatros, which had not one but two forward firing machineguns. This set the standard for fighter armament for the rest of the war. Its monocoque construction with a plywood shell meant that it could take a beating as well as dish it out. Its Mercedes 6 cilinder in-line engine was strong and reliable, but also rather heavy compared to the rotary engines that had until then been the norm. It was so succesful that iterations of the Albatros design formed the backbone of the German Luftstreitkräfte until the end of the war.

Flying the Albatros D.II:
Even though it looks very streamlined, the Albatros certainly isn't, and it lacks the engine power to compensate for that. It feels manoeauvrable and responsive to your inputs, but it loses a lot of speed and altitude as soon as you start throwing it around. It's good for hunting DH.2's in 1916, something that Manfred von Richthofen was rather succesful at. But it has no business going against later designs. Its only redeeming factor is the large amount of flares that it carries. This makes the Albatros effective against balloons, but also against buildings and boats. You can carry an Albatros in your squadron, and quickly switch to a more capable fighter once these targets have been destroyed.

Before they started producing their famous line of fighters, the Albatros company was known for its two-seaters. These were rugged, reliable workhorses that fulfilled the true purpose of aviation in the war: reconnaisance, artillery spotting, and attacking ground targets. At first, their presence in the sky was barely contested, but when more and more fighter aircraft came into service, they relied on their defensive machinegun and fighter escorts for safety.

Flying the Albatros C.III:
If you've fought against enemy two-seaters in Warplanes before, you know how dangerous their 'sting in the tail' can be. The Albatros C.III gives you the chance to be on the serving end rather than the receiving end of this weapon. Indeed it can be quite effective againt both enemy planes or soft ground units. Unfortunately, the C.III is a slow and lumbering beast and you will find yourself an easy target for the enemy. On top of that, it lacks the payload to perform the role of ground-pounding, since you carry no bombs and only a few flares. Fly this one for novelty purpose only.

The AGO C.I was an early German observation aircraft. Its twin-boom layout with a pusher engine allowed the observer to sit in the front of the aircraft, with an excellent view over the battlefield. It also allowed him to freely fire his defensive machinegun without the propellor getting in the way. However, the placement of the observer in the front left the aircraft very vulnerable to attack from the rear. The position of the engine also carried some risk for the pilot, who would often refuse to wear a seatbelt: in case of a crash landing, it's safer to be thrown from the plane, than it is to be crushed by the motor block.

Flying the AGO C.I:
For such an old and underpowered machine, the C.I is surprisingly nippy. You can perform a bombing run on a target, and quickly turn around and reposition for a next attack. The large amount of bombs means that you can choose to fly over the target at great height, and just chuck exposives over the edge of the cockpit without restraint: you're sure to do some good damage! Alternatively, you can dive down to the deck and get a bit closer to your targets for greater accuracy. Still, is there a good reason to bring such a big lumbering machine on a mission that might as well be completed with a Fokker D.VIII(B) or the flares on your Albatros DII? Perhaps not, but some people might argue that the defensive machinegun helps to keep enemies away, allowing you to completely focus on the job. Also, it's just plain cool. Still, is that worth sacrificing your precious flares and forward firing machinegun for?