PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - The Wright brothers just glided in 1903. They flew in 1908.
Old 4th Jun 2014, 10:39
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Haraka
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
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Devil Early uses of the Aeroplane in war

Include:

"November 1 1911 Lieutenant Giulio Gavotti flew an Austrian-designed Taube aircraft over the Taguira Oasis on the Turkish front. Extracting the pins with his teeth, he threw four 4.5lb grenades from about 300ft onto the troops below. The grenades managed to achieve very little but the incident caused an international enquiry and provoked protests from the Turks about the indiscriminate nature of the attack. The first true bomb, with fins and a detonator, was designed by a Bulgarian soldier, Simeon Petrov, in 1912. In the Balkan War against Turkey that autumn, two bombs were dropped on a Turkish railway station from an Albatros aircraft. This was the first bomber aircraft and the first true bombs, whose design became standard during the World War I."

Not one of my usual sources (!) , but in this case I think fairly reliable and easy to hand:
Ten of the greatest: Aerial engagements | Mail Online

On U.S. Naval Aviation:

" However, not until 1934 was the first carrier commissioned that had been built from the keel up for that purpose"
(Unites States Navy and Marine Corps Fighters 1918-1962. Ed Bruce Robertson.Harleyford 1962.)

Last edited by Haraka; 4th Jun 2014 at 11:06.
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