In carefully standardizing those first airplanes there was one point which the crafty Germans overlooked: which is, that you can't make a dray horse run fast, nor a race horse draw heavy burdens. The same thing holds good with the "steeds" of the air. A plane which is designed for great speed is never as good a burden bearer as one which is built to lift heavy weights at the expense of swiftness in flight. As soon as the duties of the airplane began to be specialized, the airplane itself began to appear in certain definite types. Now of course the duties of the airplane in wartime are numberless, but out of the early confusion _three_ types of machines were finally evolved, which, with the addition of equipment, such as a camera, machine guns, etc., are suitable for practically any sort of work over the land. They are: 1. The high speed fighting machines. 2. The reconnaissance machines. 3. The bombing machines (including the day and the night bombers). Of all military airplanes there is none so fond of "aliases" as the high speed fighting machine. Possibly in order to baffle the uninitiated, or to surround itself with an atmosphere of uncertainty and romance, it goes by first one title and then another. Most often we hear it called a _speed scout_, perhaps for the reason that _it does no scouting!_ At other times it masquerades proudly under the fine French titles of "Avions de Chasse" or "Avions de Combat." It is referred to as a "chaser," a "pursuit machine," a "battle plane" and a "combat machine"--but whatever it is _called_, in type it is the small, fast airplane, usually a single seater, quick in climbing, agile as an acrobat, able to "go" high and far,--for its duty is to run every enemy machine out of the sky and sweep the board clean before the heavier service machines begin their tasks of the day. It should be able to reach a height of from 18,000 to 23,000 feet, or in the language of the air, it must have a high "ceiling." From altitudes so tremendous that they awe the mere earthly pedestrian it swoops down upon its unsuspecting victim, opening upon him a stream of machine gun fire. For its pilot is also a skilled gunner and a crack shot. Upon his ability to maneuver his machine swiftly and cleverly and hit his target unerringly depends his own life and the life of a costly military airplane.