In the second year of the war air combat became much more common in the skies over the trenches. The English began to use aircraft specifically designed for air combat, such as the Vickers F.B. 5, while the French relied on types such as the Morane-Saulnier L.

The Vickers F.B. 5 was a pusher that had a dedicated position for a gunner, which earned it the nickname as the "Gunbus."

The Morane-Saulnier L had a machine gun that fired through the propeller. To protect the propeller from damage, metal deflector plates were placed on it. 

These aircraft gave the allies an advantage until July of 1915 when the Fokker E.III was introduced. The "Eindecker" utilized a synchronization gear that allowed the machine gun to fire through the propeller without hitting the blades. Although it did not perform exceptionally, the ability to shoot straight ahead unimpeded gave the Eindecker a distinct advantage over its foes, starting the period known as the "Fokker Scourge."

 The San Diego Air & Space Museum's Fokker E.III was built by volunteers and took over five years to complete.

Although the "Fokker Scourge" was very important in raising German morale, in actuality losses incurred by France and England were not that great, with the British having 120 aircraft shot down by the Eindecker. Compared to the carnage on the ground, where causalities were into the tens of thousands in 1915, air combat still seemed minor. Yet the role of aircraft as observation platforms remained of vital importance, as the war spread to all parts of the globe. At the Battle of Gallipoli in the Dardanelles, both Allied and Ottoman forces used aircraft to pinpoint the location of each other's forces.

Some of the fiercest fighting of 1915 occurred in Gallipoli as the Allies looked to expand the war into the Ottoman Empire. 

Meanwhile, the Germans continued their offensive of bombing the allies with airships, but moved on to a new target: England. With London as the main target, the Zeppelins carried out several raids throughout 1915, killing hundreds, spreading panic and making the English reallocate resources. These raids would continue throughout the war.

The English attempted to make the Zeppelin raids against London a focal point to rally civilians to fight back against the Germans. 

By the end of 1915, new aviation technologies were emerging but so was the realization that the war was not going to be over anytime soon.