During the Battle of Fleurus, in 1794, a balloon was used in battle for the first time.  The balloon was used to watch the battlefield and helped the French commander position his troops.

The Sopwith Camel was the most successful airplane used during World War I.  Pilots who flew the Sopwith Camel shot down almost 1,300 enemy planes.  The Sopwith Camel gets its name from the large hump in the fuselage needed to hold engine.

Introduced in the 1918, the Fokker D-VII was a very fast and maneuverable airplane.  The Fokker D-VII could also fly higher then most other fighter planes of its time.  After the war ended, the Allies required the Germans to hand over all of their supply of Fokkers because the airplanes were so highly regarded.

The Messerschmitt 109 was one of the most advanced fighter planes in the world when it first flew in 1935.  The Germans built more then 30,000 of these planes during World War II.  This plane’s major flaw was its limited range because of its small fuel tanks.

The P-51 Mustang was considered to be the best piston-engine fighter of World War II. It had a top speed of 439 mile per hour and was equipped with six machine guns in its wings.  Two 75-gallons fuel tanks could be added to this airplane making it possible for the P-51 Mustang to protect the Allied bombers all the way to their targets and back.

The Enola Gay was a B-29 bomber produced by the United States during World War II.  The Enola Gay is famous because it was the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

The B-2 can fly more then 6,000 miles before refueling and more the 10,000 miles with one refueling and carries more then 40,000 pounds of weapons.  The B-2 is able to enter enemy airspace without being discovered due to its construction and its flying wing design.

The Global Hawk is an unmanned aircraft that provides the U.S. Military with high-quality images of the battlefield.  The Global Hawk has a 12,000 mile range and can stay in the air for 35 hours.  Its maximum altitude is 65,000 feet.