Dogfighting became widespread in World War I. Aircraft were initially used as mobile observation vehicles and early pilots gave little thought to aerial combat. The new airplanes proved their worth by spotting the hidden German advance on Paris in the second month of the war.
Enemy pilots at first simply exchanged waves, or shook their fists at each other. Due to weight restrictions, only small weapons could be carried on board. Intrepid pilots decided to interfere with enemy reconnaissance by improvised means, including throwing bricks, grenades and sometimes rope, which they hoped would entangle the enemy plane's propeller.
Pilots quickly began firing hand-held guns at enemy planes, such as pistols and carbines. The first aerial dogfight of the war occurred during the Battle of Cer (August 15-24, 1914), when Serbian aviator Miodrag Tomic encountered an Austro-Hungarian plane while performing a reconnaissance mission over Austro-Hungarian positions. The Austro-Hungarian pilot initially waved, and Tomic reciprocated. The Austro-Hungarian pilot then fired at Tomic with his revolver. Tomic managed to escape, and within several weeks, all Serbian and Austro-Hungarian planes were fitted with machine-guns.
In October 1914, an airplane was shot down by a handgun from another plane for the first time over Reims, France. Once machine guns were mounted to the airplane, either on a flexible mounting or higher on the wings of early biplanes, the era of air combat began.
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