Dart

A Dart (French—Flêchettes; German—Stahlpfeil) was a device used in the earlier part of the war for attacking troops from a aeroplane. These darts were made of steel, about the size of a pencil, grooved, sharp-pointed and were dropped in clusters with deadly effect. On one occasion one dart from a French aeroplane killed a German General and his horse, the dart passed through both bodies into the ground. In March 1915, a British merchant ship in the North Sea, the Teal, was attacked by a German aeroplane, the darts striking the decks and giving the appearance, as spoken by someone on board, "pins in a pincushion." Dart is also the name of a type of small and very fast aeroplane, intended for attacking warships by driving down at high speed and dropping a torpedo when at close range and just clear of the water.

References / notes

The above term is listed in our Compendium of the Great War.

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