along with other not-so-big names helped launch a hydrogen-filled balloon in Paris (became the craze of ballooning in the early 1780s) capable of 20lb payload in 1783.

First aeronautical fatality in trying to cross the English Channel in the balloon

first to indentify lift, drag, and thrust

5 monoplane and 2 biplanes he tested; interested in bird capabilities; theories centered around the need to flap the wings to achieve lift – died in a crash

Published “Progress in Flying Machines” in 1894 on heavier-than-air experimentation; interested in Lilienthal models and was fascinated with the “biplane” concept

achieved powered flight with an unmanned aircraft, as well as sustained powered flight with such a craft in June 1903. Failed to launch manned flights before the Wright brothers in December of 1903

achieved powered, sustainable, and controlled flight in Kittyhawk, NC for 120 feet for 12 seconds.

first demonstration of controlled manned flight in Europe, many believe he was the first to fly

Forms the first “aeroplane company,” drops dummy bombs on the outline of a battleship to prove that he could, and flies the first “hydro-plane” (floatplane)

First flight across the English Channel in his Bleriot IX

highest scoring ace of WWI, with 80 confirmed kills. German ties, was given his own wing of pilots and planes to command, known for attacking stragglers and inexperienced pilots, was a sensation in the media, but once he died, his death was a large blow to the German population – this showed the double-edged sword of the media in wartime

he worked to perfect it. Because of his work and the creation of the first Curtiss Hell Diver, dive bombing spreads throughout the Navy – the need to aim at a ship as moving targets makes level bombing nearly impossible

“The Detection of Aircraft by Radio Methods” and is attributed to discovering radar

Wrights complete the famous manned, controlled, sustained, and powered flight in Kitty Hawk, NC

dropped several small bombs on Turkish troops – the first attack from air power planes and not balloons – not very effective because of targeting fails

Curtiss plane model was used for aerial reconnaissance to gain information on the government’s efforts in capturing Poncho Villa.

·      1914 WWI

o   Opening of WWI: Planes were used mainly for scouting – targeting certain places of interest was ambiguous and had little criteria to determine such content. Pilots for war were mainly civilian-trained or military-trained aviators with little to no knowledge of their expeditions or general navigational techniques of flight.

First real use of a recon expedition: Brit and French aircraft gathered info on German army unit positions during the operation of the German Schlieffen Plan on Paris. Allowed allied ground forces to effectively cut off the Germans from advancing on Paris.

Concept of “Command of the Air”: Came from experience within combat – idea of preventing enemy reconnaissance while maintaining your own information collection methods. Forward shooting capabilities in the air were superior at the time.

Creation of the Synchronization-Interrupter: Anthony Fokker created a gun that fires through the propeller arc by interrupting the fire when the blade is in front of the muzzle

o   Allied rethinking: Shift towards employing all reconnaissance missions with fighter aircraft.

o   Increase and dependency on aircraft: Aircraft production and technology rapidly increased during the war, but costs were extremely high along with the training and availability of pilots. Airpower was deadly, with a high turnover rate of pilots needed.

·      1916 WWI

German offensive at Verdun: 3 zeppelins, a dozen observation balloons, almost 150 reconnaissance aircraft, and 21 of the Fokker E III’s. Clearly a shift in the normal “allied on the offense” mindset as the Germans were advancing – basically the German idea failed though, as they tried to control the air over German offenses – the result was ultimately a lack of aircraft support for ground forces.

o   French development of aerial photography: high promotion, expanded among all in the war

o   German creation of an Air Force with a doctrine: first mission was to develop fighters and to use them to control the air above the battle area. 14 aircraft piloted by the best 14 pilots. Large technology shift in favor of the Germans in 1916.

o   First attempts to attack German U-Boats: allied planes dropped bomb in Belgium on u-boats

·      1917 WWI

Bloody April: infamous British military aviation month – 151 losses versus the 70 of Germany. This was caused by the need for the allies to constantly be employing planes for the reconnaissance of the Hindenburg Line.

o   American Entry in the War: big expectations from the Allies, US had strongest economy in the world, despite this the US contributions were minimal

o   German organizational changes: centered on the creation of the “wing” – mass movement within the air aided the effects of primitive communication systems and fighter formation

o   Impact: Despite potential weather issues on the validity of having air reinforcements, the British RFC maintained control of the air as well as the pursuit of new technologies against the enemy foces.

o   The Ace Phenomenon: technology was not the only force that was of great importance; the focus of the individual pilots became extremely important – the issues of morale and “hype” among pilots alongside the idea of working towards a goal (gaining ace status for the number of enemies shot down)

o   Flaming Coffins and US Army American Expeditionary Force Air Service involvement in the war

·      1918 WWI

Creation of Royal Air Force: Convergence of the British Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service as recognition of the complexity of air operations

o   Results of this: Strategic bombing became a small, but relevant interest area for many of the involved countries – some established separate task forces to solely create strategies for bombing raids

o   Close of the War: Germans possessed 2390 aircraft, France with 4511 aircraft, US 1481, British nearly 20,000 worldwide. Over 50,000 airmen were killed in WWI.

·      German Zeppelin Raids: problematic because of weather, payload, speed, and vulnerability in strategic bombing

·      Allied Strategic Bombing Raids: planned against German airship and naval bases, railheads, and munitions factories. Limits on technology.

§  Focus on strategic bombing (emphasis on moral effect)

Strategic bombing designed to destroy industrial and economic abilities to wage war

§  Tactical doctrines – dominated by ground commanders

§  Belief in the role of air supremacy and command of air, but limited development of strategic bombing capabilities

§  Tactical airpower tested in Ethiopia and had positive results

§  Strategic concepts limited by resources, death of General Wever, and technical “imperatives”

§  Tactical tied to armor and mechanized theories, known as Blitzkrieg

§  Technology was impressive, but underestimated in the West (ethno-centrism “mirror-imaging”)

§  Strategic bombing concepts limited by the distance

o   British Imperial Policing:

§  Airborne intervention was instrumental in success of operation British Somoliland

§  Gave the idea that you don’t have to put people on the ground to occupy another land, but rather control the airspace above the territory

§  Pros: Mobility, Intelligence, Psychological Effects

§  Cons: Limited objectives, duration, and capabilities

o   US Marines pioneered the first air evacuations