Figure 1.--People in Europe and America were fascinated at the early advances in aviation. We note many postcards with children in mock-up aircraft. After the Wright Brothers success, France emerged as an early leader in aviation.

The first heavier than air flight was conducted by the Wright brothers in America (1903). People in Europe and America were fascinated. We note many postcards with children in mock-up aircraft. We note Other individuals were working on flight at the time. The Wrights managed to figure out how to conttrol a plane in flight. This put them several years ahead of other designers. The American military gabe little attention to aviation. Thus when American entered World War I (1917), American aviators had to use French planes. Early planes were dangerous because they lacked the flight controls the Wrights developed. Individuals in all the major European countries were working on aviation. One of the most active countries was France. Some of the designs which followed the Wright brothers were rather fancifal. France emerged as a leader in the aviation industry. It had active designers and was the first country where independent companies were formed to building aircraft. Gabriel Voisin and Ernest Archdeacon's organized the Syndicat d'Aviation (1905). Voison's early planes were not very successful and could not compete with the Wright flyers. Gradually Voison and other designers improved their designs. Voison built planes during the War not only for France, but also Belgium, Britain and Russia. Henri Farman also established an aircraft plant begining with a Voison plane. His plant negan production (1909). He perfected controls and added a50-horsepower Gnôme rotary engine. His plane would be the most widely used aircraft in the years before World War I. Farman partnered with his brother Maurice creating the Société Henri et Maurice Farman. The Farnham plant was the largest aircraft plantvin the world and as a result, their planes were the most widely used during the war. They produced both reconnaissance planes and bombers. Louis Breguet began with “gyroplanes” (1907), but soon turned to fixed-wing aurcraft. The Breguet Bre. 14 was rolled out during the War (1917). Aviation expers judge it the best French design of the War. Edouard de Niéupor founded the Société Anonyme des Establissements Nieuport (1910). It was another important French aircraft company. A Nieuport plane was one of three planes chosen by the French Air Forces (1911). The plane was the first aircraft fitted with a permanently installed machine gun (1912). Nieuport 11s and 17s were extensively used used in the War by both the French and the American Expeditionary Forces. They were also used by Belgium, Britain, Italy, and Russia. Anthony Fokker in the Netherlands built and flew his first plane (1910). The Germans who were behind the French turned to Fokker to help them catch up. The British War Office established a research establishment at Farnborough. The resulting state monopoly had disastrous consequences for aircraft development in Britain. The result was that the Royal Flying Corps began the War with inferior aircraft which led to the Fokker Scourge (1915).

Public Interest

People in Europe and America were fascinated. We note many postcards with children in mock-up aircraft

Country Aviation Trends

Individuals in all the major European countries were working on aviation. The first heavier than air flight was conducted by the Wright brothers in America (1903). The Wrights were bicycle mechanics without formal engineering training. Europeans who were working on aviation were shocked that two American bycicle mechanics had achieved the first flight. The Wrights were seeral years ahead of the Europeans. The American and European aviation industries, however, began to develop at about the same time. It was Europe took the first major steps to establish dedicated aircraft companies. The Wrights efforts at aecrecy and patentbprorectiin wa a factor on limiting earky commercial steos. During this time, there was a shift from aircraft designers, builders, and pilots all being the same people to having entrepreneurs who ran the business and built the planes and others who flew them. Early air craft were dangerous because they lacked the flight controls the Wrights developed. Gradually the Europeans closed the gap. The French in particular led the way in early developments. The British War Office established a research establishment at Farnborough. The resulting state monopoly had disastrous consequences for aircraft development in Britain. The Germans who were behind the French turned to Anthony Fokker in the Netherlands to help them catch up. Thuswhen the War broke out, planes were in thechands of the combstant nations, but not were equipped for combat, either fighters with machine guns or bombers.

America

The first heavier than air flight was conducted by the Wright brothers in at Kitty Hawk, North Carolinaa (1903). The Wrights were Ohio bicycle mechanics without formal engineering training. The Wrights after their success, dismatled their flyer and kept their design a scret. This did preent Europeans from copying their desisn. It also impaired their efforts to sell their dlyers. Europeans who were working on aviation were shocked that two American bicycle mechanics had achieved the first flight. The Wrights managed to figure out how to conttrol a plane in flight. This put them several years ahead of other designers. The American military gave little attention to aviation. Europeans were involved in an arms race. Thus the Wrights turned to Europe to sell their planes. Military spending in Europe mean that after the Wrights, most early aviation advances occurred in Europe. Thus when American entered World War I (1917), American aviators flying in the United States Air Service had to use French planes. Several American aviators are well known, including Eddie Rickenbacker, Raoul Lufbery, Quentin Roosevelt, Frank Luke, Joe Werner, Carl Spaatz, Everett Cook, Billy Mitchell and others. The United States Air Service deployed 45 fighter, bomber and observation squadrons. They participated in seven campaigns and shot down 781 enemy planes and 73 balloons. They dropped 140 tons of bombs in 150 bombing runs. They lost 289 planes and 48 balloons and 237 men.

Britain

The Aeronautical Society was wirjing on flight even before the Wright Flyer made the first fligh in America (1903). Oys work was mostly scientific and theoretical work. There were cists involved in building and preoaring a flight. It took some 5 years after the Wright Flyer made its first flight for a British team of A.V. Roe and Cody to achieve a heavier than air flight (1908). The Short brothers (Horace, Albert, and Hugh) wee experienced balloon-makers. They established the first British airplane manufacturing company (1908). After two unsuccessful effirts iof their own planes, Albert purchased a license from Wilbur Wright (February 1909) to manufacture six Wright Flyers. The Short Company thus became the first enterprise to produce a series of aircraf rather than a one of a kind model. The Shorts subsequently began to design and build their own aircraft. Horace designed their first successful plane, the Short biplane No. 2. Just before World War I, they also produced a seaplane with folding wings that allowed the plane to be parked on a ship -- an aobvious military application. Flying became a part of the duty of the military and naval forces of the Crown (1912). This made important resources available. Lt. Cdr. F. W. Merriam was the first British pilot to fly through cloud in a Bristol Box-kiteb(1912). Later, as manager and chief instructor of the Bristol Flying School at Brooklands, he reau=ined aviarirs whi would become famous, including Air Chief Marshal Sir Philip Joubert de la Ferte and A. Cdre. P. F. M. Fellowes who headed the aerial Houston Everest Expedition. The British War Office established a research establishment at Farnborough. The state monopoly on aviarion had disastrous consequences for aircraft development in Britain. The result was that the Royal Flying Corps began the War with inferior aircraft which led to the Fokker Scourge (1915). [Driver] A.V. Roe also founded a comoamy (1910). The compamy was remaned Avro built some of the first planes with enclosed fuselages and celluloid windows for the pilot. The 1912 Avro F was the world's first cabin aircraft to fly. The company began building the 504 series (1913). Avro would playban importanr role in bith World War I and II.

France

One of the most active countries was France. Some of the designs which followed the Wright brothers were rather fancifal. France emerged as a leader in the aviation industry. It had active designers and was the first country where independent companies were formed to building aircraft. Gabriel Voisin and Ernest Archdeacon's organized the Syndicat d'Aviation (1905). Voison's early planes were not very successful and could not compete with the Wright flyers. Gradually Voison and other designers improved their designs. Voison built planes during the War not only for France, but also Belgium, Britain and Russia. Henri Farman also established an aircraft plant begining with a Voison plane. His plant negan production (1909). He perfected controls and added a50-horsepower Gnôme rotary engine. His plane would be the most widely used aircraft in the years before World War I. Farman partnered with his brother Maurice creating the Société Henri et Maurice Farman. The Farnham plant was the largest aircraft plantvin the world and as a result, their planes were the most widely used during the war. They produced both reconnaissance planes and bombers. Louis Breguet began with “gyroplanes” (1907), but soon turned to fixed-wing aurcraft. The Breguet Bre. 14 was rolled out during the War (1917). Aviation expers judge it the best French design of the War. Edouard de Niéupor founded the Société Anonyme des Establissements Nieuport (1910). It was another important French aircraft company. A Nieuport plane was one of three planes chosen by the French Air Forces (1911). The plane was the first aircraft fitted with a permanently installed machine gun (1912). Nieuport 11s and 17s were extensively used used in the War by both the French and the American Expeditionary Forces. They were also used by Belgium, Britain, Italy, and Russia.

Germany

The Germans who were behind the French turned to Fokker to help them catch up.

Italy

The Netherlands

Anthony Fokker in the Netherlands built and flew his first plane (1910).

Russia

Experiments with aviation began with theoretical projects (1880s). Prominant scientists were Nikolai Kibalchich and Alexander Mozhaisky. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky continued their work (1890s). Nikolai Zhukovsky set up the world's first Aerodynamic Institute in Kachino near Moscow (1904). The Imperial Russian Air Force (Императорскiй военно-воздушный флотъ) was founded as part of the engineering branch of the Army (1910). The Imperial Russian Army purchased French planes and began training the first military pilots. Preliminary experiments with synchronised machine guns were carried out before the war in different countries. An early Russian gear was designed by a Lieutenant Poplavko. The history of military aviation in Russia is strongly associated with Igor Sikorsky. He built the first "giant" plane just before the outbreak of World War I (1913). It was a four-engine plane--the Russky Vityaz, and his famous bomber aircraft, the Ilya Muromets., These were the forerunner of the multiengine strategic bombers. Dmitry Grigorovich built “flying boats” for the Imperial Russian Navy (1913). Russian aviators conducted the first flights in the Arctic, a challenge in the primitive planes then availavlke (914). They were looking for polar explorer Georgy Sedov's lost expedition. Russi entered World War I second in aize only to France. Many of the Russian planes were bought in France and older models. The Russians used aplanes for reconnaissance and coordination of artillery fire and were slower than the ermans to equip planes for combsat. A squadron of Sikorsky's Ilya Muromets bombers was deployed and used to attavk German and Austro-Hungarian military targets (December 1914). Pyotr Nesterov conducted the first aerial suicide attack. Russia's leading fighter ace was Aleksandr Kazakov, who shot down 32 enemy planes. The Imperial Russian Air Force was made became a separate branch of the army directly under command of the Stavka (commander-in-chief's HQ) (1915). Russian aircraft prodction coukld not keepo up with the Germans as the military reverses began to affect the economy. The Russians produced about 5,000 planes in contrast to 45,000 in Germany. Of course the Germans could deploy only a fraction of their production on the Eastern Front. Sikorsky produced an advanced four-engine bomber called Alexander Nevsky (1916). He was unable to massd produce it, however, with the onset of the Revolution and the collapse of the Russian economy (1917). He emigrated to the United States (1919).

Sources

Driver, Hugh. The Birth of Military Aviation: Britain, 1903-1914 (Royal Hisatorical Society Stidies in History, 1997).

Created: 3:37 AM 12/4/2006
Last updated: 5:07 PM 5/7/2020