The Syrian airfield prepare for reception of military aircraft of China
The latest news about fast emergence in borders of Syria of navy of China encouraged Syrians and res[...]
1912
January 20—22 In Augusta, Georgia, the Signal Corps air detachment is visited by Wilbur Wright, who is seeking feedback to be used in the construction of a follow-on aircraft for the U. S. Army. In this capacity he thoroughly grills Captain Charles DeForest Chandler and Lieutenant Henry H. Arnold.
January 25 Over Augusta, Georgia, Army Lieutenant Henry H. Arnold establishes an altitude record by reaching 4,674 feet; it took him 59 minutes to reach that altitude in his Wright Flyer.
January 27 Clarence H. Mackay commissions the annual aviation trophy in his name, stipulating that it can be awarded by the War Department for the most meritorious flight of the year.
February 17 The U. S. Army publishes
its first physical examination requirements for pilots.
February 23 In Washington, D. C., as the Army becomes more firmly wedded to airplanes, it issues War Department Bulletin No. 32 to establish new ratings for “military aviator,” which also stipulate that prospective candidates must reach and hold an altitude of 2,500 feet in a 15 mile per hour wind, and also make a dead-stick landing within 150 feet of designated areas.
MARCH 1 Over Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, Captain Albert Berry jumps from a Bleriot pusher airplane and deploys a parachute for the first time; he lands safely from an altitude of 1,500 feet.
MARCH 11 In the Philippines, Lieutenant Frank P. Lahm opens an air school at Fort McKinley and accepts in two volunteer pilots, Lieutenant Moss L. Love and Corporal Vernon L. Burge, as his initial students.
MARCH 21 Over Fort William McKinley, the Philippines, Lieutenant Frank P. Lahm is the first American military pilot to fly in his Wright Model B, Signal Corps No. 7. Lahm commences instruction at the first air school in that region by taking Lieutenant Moss L. Love and Corporal Vernon L. Burge as students; the latter is the first enlisted man to receive flight training.
APRIL 15 In Marblehead, Massachusetts, the Burgess Company receives its first airplane order from the U. S. Army Signal Corps.
May 6 Over Maryland, three Signal Corps aircraft fly from College Park to Chevy Chase in the first multi-plane cross-country mission.
May 7 At College Park, Maryland, a Wright Flyer flown by Lieutenant Thomas DeWitt Milling is armed with a Lewis machine gun for the first time and Lieutenant Charles DeForest Chandler serves as his gunner.
June 1 Over College Park, Maryland, Captain Charles DeForest Chandler performs the first official night flight. Concurrently, Lieutenant Henry H. Arnold also takes his Burgess-Wright biplane to a record-breaking 6,540 feet.
June 5 In Augusta, Georgia, Lieutenant Colonel Charles B. Winder of the Ohio National Guard becomes the first guard officer to receive flight training.
June 7 Captain Charles DeForest Chandler becomes the first person to fire an automatic weapon in flight when he looses off several rounds from a Lewis machine gun while flying with Lieutenant Thomas DeWitt Milling. However, the U. S. Army never adopts the flexible Lewis as a standard weapon.
June 11 A Wright C pusher aircraft crashes, killing Lieutenant Leighton W. Hazelhurst and civilian Arthur L. Welsh. This is the earliest-known accident attributed to stalling.
June 14 In the Philippines, Army Corporal Vernon Burge is the first American enlisted man to qualify as a pilot after passing through the Army Air School.
July 5 Captain Charles D. Chandler and Lieutenants Thomas D. Milling and Henry H. Arnold become the Army’s first “Military Aviators,” the first recipients of a new golden badge. Arnold becomes closely associated with the growth and maturation of American military air power in subsequent decades.
July 29—August 1 Lieutenant Benjamin D. Foulois, flying a Wright B Flyer, successfully concludes a series of airborne radio transmission tests, whereby his signals were received at distances of up to 10 miles away.
AUGUST 10—17 Over Bridgeport, Connecticut, Lieutenants Benjamin D. Foulois and Thomas DeWitt Milling participate in army maneuvers. This is the first time that aircraft have flown in conjunction with ground forces. Specifically, the craft is tested as a radio and reconnaissance platform for close cooperation with troops below.
September 28 Over College Park, Maryland, the first fatal accident occurs when Signal Corps No. 4 (Wright B Flyer) crashes, killing Lieutenant Lewis C. Rockwell and Corporal Frank S. Scott, the first enlisted man to die in an airplane accident.
OCTOBER 1 A Wright Flyer flown by Lieutenants Henry H. Arnold and Alfred L. P. Sands experiences a series of stalls and nearly crashes, but pilot Arnold pulls out at the last minute and lands safely.
OCTOBER 9 At College Park, Maryland, Lieutenant Henry H. Arnold wins the first Mackay Trophy by successfully completing a triangular reconnaissance course. He comments that the trophy is so large it could easily hold four gallons of beer!
NOVEMBER 5—13 Over Fort Riley, Kansas, several aircraft employ direct communications (by radio, dropping cards, or smoke signals) in concert with artillery units; this is the origin of artillery “spotting.”
NOVEMBER 27 The Army Signal Corps acquires three Curtiss F biplane flying boats; these also serve in the Navy under the designation C-1.
December 8 At San Diego, California, the flying school established by Glenn H. Curtiss officially becomes the U. S. Army Signal Corps Aviation School. The first personnel to arrive there have all trained on Curtiss aircraft and are jocularly known as the “Curtiss Contingent.”