The DH.2 Ends the Fokker Scourge

In early 1916 a new British fighter, the Airco DH.2, entered service on the Western Front and helped break the period of German air superiority known as the "Fokker Scourge." Designed by Geoffrey de Havilland, the DH.2 was a single-seat pusher biplane, with the engine and propeller mounted behind the pilot so that a forward-firing machine gun could be carried without the need for an interrupter mechanism to fire through the propeller arc.

This layout gave the DH.2 a clear field of fire and made it a dangerous opponent for the Fokker Eindecker monoplanes that had dominated the skies through late 1915. Flown by squadrons of the Royal Flying Corps, the type proved nimble and effective, and by the spring and summer of 1916 it had wrested control of the air back from the Germans.

The DH.2 was one of the first true single-seat fighters to be operated in dedicated fighting squadrons, and its success marked an important step in the rapid evolution of air combat during the First World War. It held its frontline place until the arrival of newer German scouts later in 1916.