| 1915 During the year -- The first true fighter aircraft begin appearing in the skies over Europe. January 19 -- First air raid on Great Britain -- bombs dropped from Zeppelin airships. February 5 -- Adolphe Penaud, flying a Morane Parasol skillfully through one aerobatic maneuver after another, gets so close to German aircraft that his observer dispatches two of them with six rifle shots. March 3 -- The Langley Aeronautics Laboratory (formerly attached to the Smithsonian) becomes a separate entity, NACA -- the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. This is the forerunner of NASA. April 1 -- Frenchman Roland Garros becomes the first fighter pilot to shoot down an airplane in air-to-air combat. Shooting a machine gun through the propeller of his Morane-Saulnier, he downs a German plane. The propeller was covered with armored plates to deflect any bullets that might hit it. April 19 -- Swiss engineer Franz Schneider is working in Berlin and is aware of the deflector plate method employed by the French. To counter it, he devises a synchronized machine gun that fires through the propeller arc when no blade is in front of the muzzle. May -- Anthony Fokker adapts Schneider synchronizer to a Fokker M.5K, creating the Fokker E.1, the first fighter plane with a forward-firing synchronized machine gun. June 7 -- The first Zeppelin is destroyed in the air over Belgium by Flight Lieutenant R.A.J. Warneford of the Royal Navy, flying a Morane-Saulnier Parasol. August -- Orville Wright sells the Wright Company to group of New York investors and washes his hands of the airplane business. However, he remains active in aeronautics as an independent scientist and consultant. August 1 -- Lieutenant Max Immelman shoots down the first Allied aircraft, flying a Fokker E.1 equipped with synchronized machine gun and propeller. December 12 -- The Junkers J.1, the world's first practical all-metal airplane, flies for the first time. | |
| 1916 All during the year -- The allies introduce capable fighters with synchronized guns and propellers, including the Nieuport 17 and the Spad 13. These are no more technically advanced than German fighters, but the sheer numbers of them give the Allies air superiority by year's end. Early in the year -- Major General Hugh M. Trenchard, recognizing that the airplane was most effective when used as an offensive weapon, instructs his squadrons fly in formation for protection and discipline during attacks. Formation flying proves so effective that it becomes a basic part of air tactics. March 15 — The U.S. Army uses airplanes (Curtiss Model J's) in a military operation for the first time. They are used to support punitive operations against Mexico. April -- The Lafayette Escadrille is organized in France -- volunteer American pilots flying for the Allies. May 31 -- A British naval seaplane spots artillery for the British fleet at the Battle of Jutland. This is the first use of aircraft in naval operations. September 12 -- The Hewitt-Sperry biplane, the world's first radio-guided flying bomb, is tested. It can fly 50 miles carrying 308 pounds of explosives. September 16 -- Lieutenant Manfred Von Richthofen -- the Red Baron -- shoots down his first Allied plane flying an Albatross D.II. October 5 -- George Holt Thomas organizes the first British airline, Air Transport and Travel, Ltd. | |
| 1917 During the Year -- For the first time, heavy bombers are used by both the Allies and the Axis powers -- the Britsh fly the giant Handley-Page, while the Germans use the Gotha. April 6 -- Inflamed by German subs sinking American ships, the United States enters the war on the side of the Allies. American politicians promise to "darken the skies of Europe" by sending 20,000 American planes to the front. Congress votes $640 million to build the planes, the largest sum it had ever appropriated for a single purpose. At that time, the entire United States Flying Service had only 250 airplanes. June 13 -- Fourteen German Gotha bombers make the first daylight bombing raid on London, England. August 2 -- Squadron Commander E.H. Dunning lands his Sopwith Pup on a British ship, the H.M.S. Furious, while the ship is under way. It's the first time anyone has landed an airplane on a ship that wasn't at anchor. | |
| 1918 Winter -- Captain Sarrat of the French Air Force become the first pilot to parachute from his stricken plane in combat. March 11— The first regularly scheduled air mail service begins, flying between Vienna and Kiev. March 19 -- Airplanes built in the United States are used in aerial combat for the first time over France. March 21 -- The Germans launch a determined offensive south of Arras, throwing 6000 cannon and 730 planes against the Allies. The offensive is strangled, however, when Allied bombers destroy bridges behind the advancing German Army and cut off their supplies. April 1 -- The British Royal Air Force is formed, combining the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service. Major General Hugh Trenchard becomes the RAF's first chief of staff. April 13 -- Lieutenant Luis C. Candelaria makes the first flight across the Andes Mountains, flying from Argentina to Chile. April 14 -- For the first time, American-built airplanes down two German airplanes. April 21 -- Canadian pilot Roy Brown shoots down Manfred Von Richtofen over France. At the time of his death, the Red Baron was credited with shooting down 80 Allied airplanes. April 29 -- American pilot Eddie Rickenbacker scores his first kill, shooting down a German Pfalz. He will eventually shoot down 26 German aircraft. June 24 -- Captain B. A. Peck flies the first official mail flight in Canada, flying from Montreal to Toronto in a Curtiss Jenny. August 12 -- The first regular mail service in America begins, flying between Washington, DC and New York, NY. November 10 -- Germany and the Axis powers surrender to the Allies. At the time of surrender , only 400 of the promised 20,000 American airplanes had made it into combat. |