Aviation in World War II were struggling to re-equip with similarly modern types and to train up aircrew. Early German successes, with the notable assistance of the Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka" dive-bomber, overran Europe and left Britain open to attack. During the ensuing Battle of Britain, the British fighter squadrons had to quickly relearn the old tactical lessons from the first war. Initially the RAF fighters flew in a tight three-fighter arrowhead formation, soon changing to the looser four-aircraft arrangement which the Germans called the "finger-four." They soon also relearned the value of climbing above your opponent before attacking. At the same time, the development
Junkers J 1 end of January 1916, Junkers had been given a contract to further develop his all-metal concept, and the later Junkers J 2 single-seat fighter, which would never see frontline service, was the follow-on to the J 1. The J 2 would only bear a superficial similarity to the J 1, being more aerodynamically refined and slightly smaller in scale, yet nonetheless the two aircraft shared an essentially similar structure. It is believed that the Junkers J 1 was not flown again after January 1916. However, it survived the First World War, and was placed on static display in 1926 at