Application of Aviation in Military – A Short History

One hundred years have now elapsed since the Wright brothers' crude airplane, propelled by a 12-horsepower petrol engine, performed the astonishing feat of staying aloft for some 40 meters. Through this achievement, one of the greatest and most enduring dreams of humankind – to conquer the heavens - was finally fulfilled. Any innovation in aerospace would have military applications had long been recognized and today the US Federal government employs an estimated 850K aerospace and defense skilled workers at armed forces maintenance and repair depots and other defense agencies. Armed conflict has always been a catalyst for technological development, and the effect of war on aircraft development has been profound.

Early Navigable Balloons and Airships:

The defense industry has its origins in antiquity with the use of primitive weapons such as catapults, bow and arrow, the invention of gunpowder, and the subsequent development of guns and cannons. Exploring other air transportation means for military purposes has been an even prevalent event before this historic event.

Balloons which are lighter than air had been intermittently employed in warfare since the 1790s, usually as moored observation platforms. The biggest disadvantage with them was that they were at the mercy of the prevailing wind. In the Battle of Fleurus in 1794, the French successfully used the observation balloons to watch Austrian troop movements.

The first attempts to add some form of the steering system and propulsion unit were made as early as the mid-1800s but without much success. By 1900, Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin had refined this concept, producing the rigid, navigable airships which were inflated using hydrogen which is a highly inflammable gas. These units were typically 450 feet (150 m) long and, driven by several small engines and were capable of achieving speeds of up to 47 mph (75 km/hour) and can fly up to altitudes of 6,000 feet (1,828 m).

Initially used for travel and transportation, they were adapted for military purposes for the first time during the First World War for dropping high-explosive and incendiary bombs on various towns in Britain and France.

From First Flight to First Bomb Droppings:

Orville Wright's cursory flight of December 1903 did not attract very much attention, and two years were to pass before he and his brother, Wilbur, had refined their primitive plane sufficiently for it to be able to stay aloft for distances of up to 24 miles (38 km). In fact, it was only in 1908, when they brought their aircraft to Europe and Wilbur performed several flights for all to see, that public enthusiasm and interest were kindled. The following year witnessed not only Louis Bleriot's flight over the Channel, which was accomplished at an average speed of 40 mph (64.36 kmh), but also that a French pilot achieved a speed of 50 mph (80.45 kmh) and thus set a new world record. In 1910 Curtiss began a sequence of trials in which he sought to hit targets from the air, including ships, with either dummy or live bombs. Dependable bomb-sights were a prerequisite for success, and his experiments marked the start of what was to prove a lengthy quest for such devices. Nevertheless, bombs were first to be dropped in anger as early as 1911. During that year, the Tripolitan War between Italy and the Ottoman Empire broke out when the former sought to wrest control of Libya from the Porte. This confrontation saw the very first use of airplanes in combat, the Italians employing a handful of them to observe and attack their Turkish adversaries.

Britain’s Royal Air Force:

Samuel Franklin Cody helped design and build the UK's first officially recognized airplane in October 1908, and in the same year, USA also ordered its first aircraft - from the Wright brothers - for military use. Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) - the world's first independent air force - was established in 1918, its trappings and equipment comprised a telling blend of cutting-edge technology and venerable martial customs. Within a few years of being adapted for military purposes, airpower had become an advantage for those who own it. RAF was the first force of its kind in the world and was supported by an equally unique air ministry that was set up in December 1917.

Cold War & Aerospace Industry:

Post World War II, the development of military aviation was spurred less by massive military conflict and more by the tense stand-off between superpowers during the Cold War. The helicopter began to appear at the end of World War II and eventually matured into an indispensable part of military aviation. The need to continue to out-perform potential opponents gave rise to rapid development in new technologies and aircraft designs. The 1980s through to the present day were characterized by incredible advances in electronics, stealth technology, and both offensive and defensive systems. Today, a country's military aviation forces are often the first line of defense against an attack, or the first forces to attack an enemy. The capability of military aviation forces (or lack thereof) has proved decisive in several recent conflicts such as the Gulf War.

Impact of Aerospace & Defense Industry:

The aerospace industry has transfigured everyday life as well as warfare. The first commercial flights began in Florida in 1914 and, after the First World War; the number of operating companies and routes began to mushroom. Since the first powered flight by the Wright Brothers on December 17, 1903, a little over a century ago, the aerospace and defense industry has changed the very nature of business and leisure travel as well as armed conflict. Throughout history, the defense industry, and later the commercial and military aerospace and defense industry, have played a key part in human evolution, intertwined with economic growth. Game-changing technology innovations were created, such as the jet engine, supersonic flight, space flight, radar, communications, direct-to-home television broadcast, and GPS navigation satellites, and the development of the internet. The Apollo moon mission, culminating in the first man to land on the moon on July 20, 1969, was probably one of the most iconic moments in the development of the aerospace industry, only 66 years after the Wright Brothers’ first flight.