The protectors of the sky, fighter planes were effective for defending against air raids and other avian threats. Known for being small, fast, and powerful, fighter planes played an important role during WWII. The fighters were armed with heavy machine guns, capable of damaging even the strongest of bomber planes (which were meant to withstand extreme damage). An interesting fact about fighter planes, and most aircraft with attached machine guns, is there are special gears under the hood of the plane that only allow the intake of ammunition to occur as the propeller fin is in front of the barrel of the gun. Because of this, when the gun actually fired the rounds, they would go through the gap of the fins.
Fighter planes were used for their obvious speed and maneuverability during such fights as enemy supply interference, dogfights (now known as Air Combat Maneuvering, or ACM) and escorting friendly units. During battle, fighter planes helped ground troops by destroying heavy infantry or trenched enemies, and also were armed to destroy other airplanes. Since bombers were heavily used during WWII, fighter planes were the main defense and were used to destroy bombers/cargo ships. Another large role of fighter planes was the escorting of large bomber ships that were usually slow and unable to maneuver out of enemy fire. A famous and well known fleet was the Tuskegee Airmen, which were all black males that protected bomber planes and other large vessels during the war. Fighter planes were so effective that during all of the Tuskegee escorts, no bombers were downed or destroyed. Because of the brave and powerful Tuskegee airmen, advancements in the war were great. Because of their escort missions, heavy bomber planes actually had a fighting chance by the time they arrived to the battlefield. The use of fighter planes was an essential part of the warfare during WWII.