Air Warfare Begins

The first aircraft used in warfare was the tethered balloon. It was used for obser­vation, rising above battlefields so observers could get a view of the action below. The balloon was later developed into the airship, and airships were also used by the military for observation.

The first gasoline-powered military airplanes were known as scouts because reconnaissance (flying on missions to gather information) was their chief pur­pose. Other uses were soon found for military airplanes. They dropped bombs, fired at enemy ships, and shot down enemy aircraft. Special airplanes, most­ly biplanes, were built for these tasks.

The first air combat took place dur­ing World War I (1914-1918). Pilots shot at one another with pistols, shot­guns, and machine guns. The next step was to attach a machine gun, which the pilot aimed at an enemy, to the airplane itself. By 1915 fighter planes had been developed with synchronized machine guns that fired bullets between the whirling propeller blades. Celebrated fighter pilots, known as aces, created successful air fighting tactics.

By the end of World War I, there were two main types of military air­plane. Fighters flew at around 125 miles per hour (200 kilometers per hour) at heights of up to 22,000 feet (6,700 meters). Larger, heavier bombers flew more slowly, around 100 miles per hour (160 kilometers per hour), but they could fly for up to 8 hours.

In the 1930s the agile biplane was replaced by the much faster monoplane. This new kind of aircraft had an enclosed cockpit, a streamlined metal body, and a high-performance engine. Fighter planes such as the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Curtiss P-40 had a top speed of over 350 miles per hour (563 kilometers per hour). Bombers, such as Boeing’s B-17, were slower at around 280 miles per hour (450 kilo­meters per hour), but they could fly for 2,000 miles (3,220 kilometers). The bombers carried 6,000 pounds (2,725 kilograms) of bombs that could be dropped accurately on city targets.

O (From left) An A-10 Thunderbolt II, F-86 Sabre, P-38 Lightning and P-51 Mustang fly in a flight formation during an air show at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, on May 21, 2004. The formation displayed four generations of U. S. Air Force fighters.

THE VERACRUZ INCIDENT

The first military operation involving U. S. airplanes was during the Veracruz Incident, a dispute between the United States and Mexico that began in April 1914. Five Curtiss flying boats were carried into the Mexican port of Veracruz by U. S. naval ships. The aircraft flew mis­sions to search for mines in the harbor. On May 6, 1914, the airplane flown by Lieutenant Patrick N. L. Bellinger (1885-1962) was shot at from the ground by Mexican forces.

This was the first time that a U. S. military plane was hit by enemy fire while on active service. Bellinger survived and went on to become a distinguished admiral.

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