The term
scout, as a description of a class of military aircraft, came into use shortly before the First World War, and referred to a light (usually single-seat)
reconnaissanceReconnaissance is a military and medical term denoting exploration conducted to gain information. Militarily, its shorthand Canadian and British form is recce , its American usage form is recon...
aircraft, initially unarmed. "Scout" types were generally adaptations of pre-war racing aircraft - although at least one (the
Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.2The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.2 was an early British single-seat scout aircraft. Designed and built at the Royal Aircraft Factory in 1913 as the B.S.1, the prototype was rebuilt several times before serving with the Royal Flying Corps, being operated over the Western Front in the early months of...
) was specifically designed for the role. At this stage the possibility of air-to-air combat was considered highly speculative, and the speed of these aircraft relative to their contemporaries was seen as an advantage in gaining immunity from ground fire and in the ability to deliver timely reconnaissance reports.
Almost from the beginning of the war, various experiments were carried out in the fitting of armament to scouts to enable them to engage in air-to-air combat - by early 1916 several types of scout could fire a
machine gunA machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rifle bullets in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute...
forwards, in the line of flight, thus becoming the first effective single seat
fightersA fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets by dropping bombs. Fighters are small, fast, and maneuverable...
- in effect, an entirely new class of aircraft.
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The term
scout, as a description of a class of military aircraft, came into use shortly before the First World War, and referred to a light (usually single-seat)
reconnaissanceReconnaissance is a military and medical term denoting exploration conducted to gain information. Militarily, its shorthand Canadian and British form is recce , its American usage form is recon...
aircraft, initially unarmed. "Scout" types were generally adaptations of pre-war racing aircraft - although at least one (the
Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.2The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.2 was an early British single-seat scout aircraft. Designed and built at the Royal Aircraft Factory in 1913 as the B.S.1, the prototype was rebuilt several times before serving with the Royal Flying Corps, being operated over the Western Front in the early months of...
) was specifically designed for the role. At this stage the possibility of air-to-air combat was considered highly speculative, and the speed of these aircraft relative to their contemporaries was seen as an advantage in gaining immunity from ground fire and in the ability to deliver timely reconnaissance reports.
Almost from the beginning of the war, various experiments were carried out in the fitting of armament to scouts to enable them to engage in air-to-air combat - by early 1916 several types of scout could fire a
machine gunA machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rifle bullets in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute...
forwards, in the line of flight, thus becoming the first effective single seat
fightersA fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets by dropping bombs. Fighters are small, fast, and maneuverable...
- in effect, an entirely new class of aircraft. In French and German usage these types were termed "hunters", but in the
Royal Flying CorpsThe Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery cooperation and photographic reconnaissance...
and early
Royal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world. Formed on 1 April 1918, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts.The RAF operates almost 1,109...
parlance "scout" remained the usual term for a single seat fighter into the early 1920s. The term "fighter" was already current, but in this period referred specifically to a two-seater fighter such as the
Sopwith 1½ StrutterThe Sopwith 1½ Strutter was a British one or two-seat biplane multi-role aircraft of the First World War. It is significant as the first British-designed two seater tractor fighter, and the first British aircraft to enter service with a synchronised machine gun...
or the
Bristol FighterThe Bristol F.2 Fighter was a British two-seat biplane fighter and reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War flown by the Royal Flying Corps. It is often simply called the Bristol Fighter or popularly the "Brisfit" or "Biff". Despite being a two-seater, the F.2B proved to be an agile aircraft...
.
This usage ("scout" or sometimes "fighting scout" for "single seat fighter") can be found in many contemporary accounts, including fictional depictions of First Word War air combat such as the
BigglesJames Bigglesworth, better known in flying circles as "Biggles", is a fictional pilot and adventurer created by W. E. Johns.He first appeared in the story "The White Fokker", published in the first issue of Popular Flying magazine, in 1932. The first collection of Biggles stories, The Camels are...
books. These often refer to French or German "scouts" as well as British ones.
The usage also survives in some much later non-fictional writing on First World War aviation.