"Cub Driver" wrote in message
...

They do useful things like confirming that the test aircraft's wheels
are down (or up, as the case may be).

When I read the subject heading of your post, I thought you were
talking about WWI French fighters, which went by the name of chase.

That would be 'avions de chasse'; lit 'hunting planes'. 'Jagtflugzeuge' in
German is similar.

Similiarly, U.S. fighters in the inter-war period were called pursuit.

Wonder just when and why the term changed to 'fighter' planes? After all,
bombing and even recce planes 'fight' too, in a sense.

John