The Early Days of Flight

 By Bruce Shawkey

Found this interesting magazine online devoted to the early years of the airplane. The magazine was called "Flight" and was published in Britain, though coverage was also given to developments in America, notable the Wright brothers. Note that flight lengths were stated in "meters," not miles.

Later issues covered the dawn of commercial and military aviation.

The Wright brothers' success in building and demonstrating the Wright Military Flyer for the U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1909 marked a significant moment in the history of military aviation. This marked the first time a military organization officially acquired an aircraft for its use. 

The French were also at the forefront of early aviation. One of the pioneers was In 1906, near Paris. Brazilian-born Alberto Santos-Dumont (left) made a manned powered flight that was the first to be publicly witnessed by a crowd and also filmed. The flight was over 160 feet at an altitude of 16-1⁄2 feet. The compares with the Wright brothers' 1903 flight of 120 feet at a maximum altitude of 120 feet that lasted 12 seconds.

Santos requested Cartier jewelers to make him a watch that could easily be read while in flight, and thus the Santos watch was created in 1904 and is still in production today.

Ironically, Santos hoped that the airplane would be used for the good of humanity, and not as a weapon of war. History would prove him wrong.

Early Military Applications;  Reconnaissance and Observation:

Early military aircraft were primarily used for reconnaissance and observation, providing a new vantage point for military commanders to assess enemy positions and movements.

 World War I (1914-1918):

The use of aircraft in the military expanded significantly during World War I. The war saw the development of aerial combat, bombing, and other military applications of aircraft.

One of the earliest fight pilots was Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (May 1892 to  April 1918), known in English as the Red Baron. He was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of the war, being officially credited with 80 air combat victories.

Use of the airplane would escalate to the dropping of the first atomic bomb at Hiroshima Japan, which ultimately killed between 150,000 to 246,000 civilians. The exact number is not even known due to records that were lost and delayed deaths due to radiation poisoning.