Before planes were even invented, many people attempted to fly. There were even legends from the Greeks and other cultures of flying. The Greek used very unique ways to create sources of power at a very early time. After the Wright brothers' success, planes started to become a new time of technology. By the time WWI started, many people knew how to fly planes and there were quite a few plane-dedicated companies. However, that was not the first time planes were used for battle. They were used on October 23, 1911 by Italian Captain Carlo Piazza as a reconnaissance mission in the Italo-Turkish War.
The myth says that Daedalus, a brilliant inventor, created a Labynth and trapped a monster called the Minotaur inside. After some time, the King of that land, King Minos, imprisoned Daedalus and Icarus in a tower. They made wings from feathers and wax. Daedalus warned his son not to fly too high so the wax wouldn't melt and not to fly too low to avoid the sea's moisture. Icarus, being too excited, took off and flew too high. He tragically fell into the ocean while Daedalus reached his destination safely. This myth was one of the first flying myths.
The discovery of the kite got people to think about flying. These kites led to balloons and gliders.
Two French brothers named Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier successfully demonstrated the first hot-air balloon flight with no passengers in the 1700s. This was followed by flights carrying animals, and finally, flights with humans in the air. The first free flight with human passengers took place on November 21, 1783.
This era was full of people exploring and testing planes. It started when the Wright Brothers' plane flew and ended when World War 1 started.
by the Library of Congress at Wikimedia Commons
The Wright Flyer of 1903 was the first powered airplane to demonstrate a sustained flight in the air under full control of the pilot. It was designed and constructed by Wilbur and Orville Wright in Dayton, Ohio. After failing on December 14, it was flown on December 17 for 4 times with distances of 36.5, 53.3, 61, and 260m, (120, 175, 200, 852 feet), respectively. After those four flights, that plane never flew again. It set the start of the Pioneer Era and all of the eras connected to planes.
The Wright Flyer was proving flight, but the Wright Flyer 3 was the first practical airplane. It was the first truly successful plane. Wilbur Wright flew circles for 39 minutes, covering 24.5 miles, more than all their previous flights combined. This showed that planes could now be in a controlled flight, and not just hopping over land.
This airplane emerged in the summer of 1909. It grew in popularity when Louis Blériot crossed from France to England in the Blériot XI over the English Channel. It proved that aircraft could overcome major geographical barriers. This famously led to one newspaper typing as a headline "Britain is no longer an island." This was the first mass-produced aircraft.
At the start of WWI, planes were just reconnaissance aircraft. At the end of the war, they were full of fighter jets. The site The Aerodome really helped a lot with the research in this category.
At the start of WW1, planes were less than a decade old and were primarily unarmed scouts. They were only used as "Eyes in the Sky". They used weighted bags to communicate with ground troops.
In 1915, the planes switched from scouting tools to "killing machines." This was mainly from the invention of the synchronization gear, which allowed a pilot to fire a machine gun through their own spinning propeller without hitting their own blades. Before the invention, many had machine guns on top of the upper wing of their biplane, but this was a problem since it was hard to reload at that position. In 1915, the first Fokker E.I Eindecker was used in fighting; it was the first true fighter plane. Fokker became a major air company in the war, and they flew for Germany. (It was known as much as how we know the words Boeing and Airbus.) In April 1915, French pilot Adolphe Pégoud became history’s first "ace" by scoring his fifth aerial victory. 1915 also came with the first heavy bomber.
By 1916, the air war became a true battle for air superiority. The Allies finally ending Fokker domination. In 1916, the Nieuport 11 "Bebe" entered the war. It could outmanuever any Fokker. Formed officially in APril 1916, this was a squadron of AMerican volunteer pilots who fought for France befor the U.S. officially entered the war. They had 39-57 confirmed kills from their 3,000 combat sorties and suffered 9 pilots killed in action. Raoul Lufbery led the squadron with 17 confirmed victories. The book Above the Trenches by Nathan Hale is a great book that discripts this.
1917 is best remembered for "Bloody April." It was named this because of the mounting losses of the British army. In one month alone, the British lost 245 aircraft and 316 aircrew. The average life expectancy of a new British Pilot dropped to just 11 days. The Red Baron got 21 kills in one month alone. The Sopwith Camel entered service in June 1917. It became the highest scoring Allied fighter. The Briston F.2 Fighter was a rare success for a two-seater and it could be flown like a single seater while the rear gunner defended the tail.
In 1918, the British Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service merged to create the Royal AIr Force. It was the first air force to be independent from the army and navy. The "Best Fighter of the first World War came in the spring of 1918. The Fokker D.VII is so effective that it was the ONLY weapon mentioned at the Treaty of Versailles, which made the Germans surrender all models to the Allies. During the Hundred Days Offensive, thousands of Allied planes flew at low altitudes to provide support to tanks and infantry, a key to winning the war.
In 1914, planes were biplanes with wood and fabric on engines. By 1918, they had become much faster, metal framed, multi-gun machines that paved the way for the golden age of aviation.
by The National Air and Space Museum and the Smithsonian Museum
