Before the First World War, flying had barely caught the imagination of the public, yet within the short space of just a few years all of the major nations were developing aircraft. The very nature of war itself was rapidly undergoing a transformation, with new techniques in artillery, military tactics and the armament of aircraft. Consequently, this was the first war which involved a struggle for control of the air, which developed into another battlefield alongside the battlefields of land and sea. In this documentary the fascinating advances in technology and the innovations of the fighting aircraft of World War One are explored, highlighting their strategic use and many of the brave military personnel deployed to fly them.