The Camel's Clerget runs at full power constantly — there is no throttle, only a blip switch and mixture control. Its gyroscopic torque makes right turns snap faster than any aircraft on the Front and left turns sluggish in comparison. In trained hands, the Rotary Snap reversal is effortlessly natural — as much a product of the engine as of the pilot. No Allied type scored more aerial victories in the war.

• ✦Rotary Snap — tight slow reversal; not an advanced move, so it never counts against consecutive-turn limits
• ✓High agility — up to 4 consecutive slow turns
• ○Standard firepower — twin synchronised Vickers

France's definitive answer to German air superiority, built around the liquid-cooled Hispano-Suiza 8C. Faster and more stable as a gun platform than any rotary-engined opponent — and its close-timbered wooden fuselage absorbs punishment that would destroy a lighter machine. Eddie Rickenbacker flew one from his first victory to his last.

• ✦Structural resilience — structural parts can be damaged once but cannot be destroyed by a second hit to the same location; no catastrophic failure
• ✦Weave Chain — weave moves do not count as "advanced" and may be chained back-to-back
• ✗No rotary maneuver — inline engine; no Snap reversal
• ○Moderate agility — up to 3 consecutive slow turns
• ○Standard firepower — twin synchronised Vickers

Three stacked wings generate exceptional lift at low speeds, letting the Dr.I hold turns that drag opponents into overshoots. Von Richthofen flew one until his last sortie; Werner Voss kept seven SE.5s at bay for ten minutes over Poelcappelle. Modest top speed — irrelevant when you refuse to fly level.

• ✦Rotary Snap — tight reversal maneuver available at slow
• ✦Weave Chain — rotary weave moves may be chained back-to-back (tail damage disables this)
• ✓High agility — up to 4 consecutive slow turns
• ○Standard firepower — twin synchronised Spandau

When the Albatros D.V appeared over the Front in spring 1917 it forced an immediate crisis in Allied aviation. The RFC's best machines were obsolete overnight; France accelerated the SPAD programme; Britain rushed the Sopwith Camel to the lines. Every aircraft in this field guide exists in part as a direct answer to the Albatros — the benchmark against which all of them were measured.

• ○Inline engine — 180 hp Mercedes D.IIIa; no rotary torque or quirks
• ✗No rotary maneuver — inline engine; no Snap reversal
• ✦Weave Chain — weave moves do not count as "advanced" and may be chained back-to-back
• ○Moderate agility — up to 3 consecutive slow turns
• ✦The benchmark — no special tricks or weaknesses; outcome is pure pilot skill