4 Years of Thunder (1of4): Flying To War (WWI Aviation Documentary)

the classic fighters of World War one were tough and deadly flying machines both sides spread terror with giant strategic bombers spy flights gathered intelligence about the enemy great artillery guns were directed from the air before the war flying was a young science it was hard enough to keep these fragile dangerous flying machines in the air let alone use them as weapons this is the story of how military aviation in less than a decade grew from a vague hearing to a comprehensive system of warfare before the war the French army led the world in military aviation it had about 250 aircraft it staged exercises to simulate the conditions of war and explore the potential at the Arab diamond planes made tentative steps towards combat in Mexico in 1913 two American mercenaries had the first dogfight an Italian pilots carried out reconnaissance and dropped bombs on enemy Turks in Libya but when the First World War began military aviation was little more than a set of theories when Germany declared war on Russia and France in August 1914 the major forces of both sides were traditional infantry cavalry and heavy artillery but in 1914 for the first time in history heavier-than-air flying machines were available for warfare they were put to use right from the start eyes capable of flying behind enemy lines could see where artillery shells were falling and direct Gunners under their targets they could also see enemy troop movements in Belgium in the third week of the war a French reconnaissance pilot saw streams of men in grey uniforms they were German troops his warning came just in time to allow the British force to retreat to safety two weeks later in northern france of western biplane prepared for a routine flight up to that time no aircraft had shot another down rifles and handguns have been ineffective the observer sitting in the front cockpit was armed with a Hotchkiss machine gun in the sky over Reims the pilot saw a German two-seater and chased it the observer fired his machine gun and the German dropped in flames the world's first victim of aerial combat in November 3 AB roads of the Royal Naval Air Service conducted a successful long-distance bombing raid they hit the Zeppelin sheds at Lake Constance in Germany they damaged one Zeppelin and destroyed the gasworks by the end of 1914 aircraft had pioneered most of the standard missions of military aviation today they were accepted as an essential part of twentieth-century warfare as the war progressed speeds would more than double aircraft range size and deadliness would increase enormously the needs of war accelerated development far beyond the pace of the early years of life but that development would not have been possible without the foundations laid by Aviation's pioneers in December 1903 the Wright brothers made the world's first successful powered flight they continued to develop their ideas at their own pace unaffected by experiments in flight on the other side of the Atlantic in Paris Gabriele wasa was among those who doubted stories of the Wright's achievements in 1905 where Sam was using the river sin as a runway to help him launched a series of gliders he was building and testing them for a syndicate dedicated to the development of French aviation at a time when the rights were making controlled powered flights Versailles was using a high-powered motor book to tow his gliders into the air well I would go on to design many great aircraft of the First World War but in 1905 he still had much to learn in Paris a prize of $10,000 was offered for a flight around a one-kilometer course one of the sponsors Ernest Archdeacon challenged the rights it will assuredly not tire you very much to make a brief visit to France simply to collect this little prize the rights did not visit Paris they didn't have to they were leading the world and intended to sell their invention to a national government that saw its potential in the meantime others in Paris were making attempts to fly among them was Brazilian born Alberto santos-dumont santos dumont was famous for balloon flights and experiments with gliders in November nineteen hundred and six he took his flying machine to the Bagatelle this playing field near the Bois de Boulogne he'd already tried to fly with the help of an airship to lift his machine off the ground it was not successful uh November the 12th the French aviation fraternity was there in force to witness another attempt without the airship santos-dumont had to stand up to fly the machine he coaxed it into the air and in 21 seconds cover the distance for more than 700 feet it was the first time a European had taken off and flown convincingly in Paris santos-dumont was hailed as the conquering hero but Wilbur Wright did not share the general enthusiasm we do not believe there is one chance and 100 that anyone will have a machine of practical usefulness within five years but just 14 months later on a farm on a dashing young racing driver would prove Wilbur wrong in January 1908 farman in this machine built by the Western brothers attempted a flight around a one-kilometer course to win the $10,000 prize he succeeded the prize was his and so was the adulation of France it was too much for the rights to ignore they had already made a flight almost 40 times as long as farm ins in the summer of 1908 Wilbur sailed for Paris to show the French what he could do he set up operations at a racetrack nelem or southwest of Paris on Saturday August the 8th a crowd gathered to witness will burst first flight in Europe it lasted 1 minute and 45 seconds slightly longer than farm ins prize-winning kilometer but it was Wilbur's control that impressed French fliers Louisville reo said I would have waited 10 times as long to see what I have seen today mr. Wright has us all in his hands the Wright's influence on French aircraft design especially their control system was profound but tragedy struck the Wrights lieutenant Thomas Selfridge was killed at Fort Myer Virginia in September 1908 he was a passenger in the plane Orville was demonstrating to the US Army it was the first death in the history of military aviation French aircraft design progressed by 1909 the idea of a flight across the English Channel was feasible the British Daily Mail offered a prize of 1,000 pounds for the first successful cross-channel flight Wilbur Wright was not interested but others were on July the 19th French pilot u bella thorne made an attempt in his Antoinette monoplane he flew from the little village of song act south of Calais over the channel his engine failed the Antoinette dropped a thousand feet into the sea that are sat on the floating wreckage lit a cigarette and waited to be rescued that arm was not taunted I wasn't lucky this time but the channel will be conquered he resolved to try again Louie Blair EO had made a fortune selling car accessories and spent it on aeroplanes he intended to beat Lata across the channel but had burned his leg badly on his planes exhaust six days after let homs attempt conditions on the French coast were calm the competition rules said the flight must begin after sunrise sunrise was due at 4:41 a.m. this monument marks Blair Yas takeoff point just south of Calais as he waited Larry OHS mind raced what was going to happen would I make it to Dover now I thought only of my machine the engine the propeller everything was going now everything vibrating at the second the crew let go I was up first the flight was very smooth the Ansari engine of Larry OHS plane ran perfectly and he forgot about the pain from his injured leg but as Larry Oh made out the English coast line the wind strengthened and mist obscured his view a stroke of luck allowed him to locate the opening in the cliffs he'd chosen as his landing spot the landing was rough but it didn't matter he'd made it across the channel Darrius scored an immense triumph the 21 mile flight from France to England took only 37 minutes but his achievement had symbolic meaning beyond time speed and distance the world was confronted with the concept that aircraft could cross national boundaries an island like Britain no longer had a protective moat that could be defended by a mighty Navy the aircraft in which Blair yo made his channel crossing was his model 11 it was to become one of the most popular and affected designs in aviation this Larry Oh from the old Rhinebeck Museum in New York has an Enzoani engine similar to the one that powered Dario's historic flight the sunless of the Blair iou's design and construction would keep it breaking records and flying as a military aircraft beyond 1915 seeing one in flight today gives a graphic idea of the flimsiness of aircraft construction at the time and the concentration and skill it took to stay in the air Larry O's channel crossing was the first aviation feat to overshadow the achievements of the Wright brothers at least in the public eye in the meantime the rights were getting new customers early in 1909 the Italian military bought a right airplane and hired Wilbur to teach two Italian officers to fly it this film was shot on that visit it shows Italian political and military personnel watching one of Wilbur Wright's flights with a passenger on board on the same visit this film was shot it's believed to be the first motion picture ever taken from an aircraft later the same year back at Fort Myer in Virginia Orville Wright completed the task he'd begun in 1908 satisfying the US Army Signal Corps requirements for a military aircraft this time the military flier passed all its tests of speed and endurance this actual aircraft still exists it's on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC the rights now led the military aviation race but there were other contenders designer builder Glenn Curtis was becoming competitive the rights didn't like it they tried lawsuit to stop Curtiss building and selling his designs this is reams the old cathedral city northeast of Paris in the summer of 1909 and event held there excited both the public and the military about Aviation's potential on Bettany plain where the Reims military airbase is today these fields were cleared and aeropolis with grandstands hangars and an air racing course was built the event was called the grand week of aviation and hundreds of thousands of people came royalty nobility and the powerful of politics and military flocked to see the greatest names in aviation compete against each other rheems week demonstrated the speed maneuverability and endurance of the air of thing as no one had seen it before it convinced many military experts that aircraft were potential weapons Blair EO was there and Lacan and Gabrielle Wesa and re farmer from America Glenn Curtis was there but the Wright brothers were not there were some right aircraft flown by other pilots the highlight for the thousands of spectators was a showdown between Louisville aerial and Glenn Curtiss for the Gordon Bennett trophy Larry Oh was the hot favorite but Curtis won by just six seconds at world record speed 46 miles an hour rheems week showed that aircraft were practical maneuverable and by the standards of the time fast David Lloyd George later to become Prime Minister of Britain summarised its significance flying machines are no longer toys and dreams they are an established fact the Wright brothers continued a legal battle with Glenn Curtiss trying to protect their control system patents they became obsessed with litigation against Curtis and others their progress slowed they were overtaken by their competitors this Kurtis D is similar to Glenn courtesies Reims aircraft the ailerons used by Kurtis for lateral control now worked by the pilots shoulders small surfaces between the wings oppose each other to make the aircraft back it was an attempt to avoid the rights patent on wing warping in which banking was controlled by twisting the whole wing now this cables good shape here like many other aircraft at the time this one had an elevator in front of the pilot to control climbing and diving it was a pusher meaning that the propeller was at the rear the person swinging the prop to start the engine had to climb inside a virtual wire cage and hope he didn't trip on the way out Glenn Curtis and the rights suffered from the fact that flying was not fashionable among American military officers politicians were not lobbied for money to support it American military aircraft didn't evolve as quickly as their European counterparts some Kurtis aircraft would achieve distinction in the great war they would include a trainer the famous Jenny and a successful line of flying boats the name of right wouldn't figure at all as military aviation bogged down in America the story across the Atlantic was different people flocked to aviation events they subscribed large amounts of money to help its development the public's enthusiasm was shared by the military aviation was seen as a new and dangerous sport with strong appeal to the dashing and influential military officer class military influence persuaded governments to spend money on aviation established manufacturers prospered and new ones appeared this elegant monoplane is a French unreal it's layout is similar to the Blair II oh and the Antoinette it has conventional tail surfaces and a single wing all covered with stretched cloth but its fuselage borrows from the art of the boat builder it's wood constructed in exactly the same way as asked if used in rowing races building a strong fuselage was relatively simple attaching monoplane wings to the fuselage with equal strength was more of a problem wire bracing was a partial answer the REO was a wing whopper patterned on the ideas of the Wright brothers each wing twisted to make the plane Bank wings that twisted would not also have structural rigidity in Europe the monoplane was fashionable before the Great War but most of the significant aircraft produced between 1914 and 1918 would be biplanes monoplanes suffered structural failures it was difficult to make them really strong Engineers found it easier to design biplanes that could withstand the forces of battle flying these aircraft was dangerous pilots were inexperienced and control was difficult even before aircraft became involved in warfare they took many lives few generals in the armies of Europe had any idea of the way this fragile new toy could be used in conjunction with troops and artillery on the ground that was all still to come this is the old Larry o aéronautique Factory in Paris by 1910 Louie Blair EO aviation pioneer was fast becoming a prosperous aircraft manufacturer the blurrier 11 continued to be a success it established speed records it flew to high altitudes and over great mountains there were close calls it was all a grand adventure pilots were seen as heroes they were people a great daring courage and a growing level of skill this is adult Pegu AB Larry o test pilot known to the press as the foolhardy one in 1913 peggle set out to become the first pilot to parachute out of his plane he intended to reach his planned height deploy the parachute and allow it to drag him out of the cockpit it worked on the first attempt but I received a good whack of the stabilizer on the shoulder ago expected his burial to crash straight into the ground once he left the cockpit but it didn't he watched it descend my old crate did tricks on its own it occurred to peggle that he could learn to control the planes involuntary maneuvers he trained himself by hanging upside down he strengthened his blurrier to withstand extra forces he practiced in private before his first public show he was not the first to perform a loop Pepa goo was the first to make a well-planned attempt to explore the extremes of aircraft maneuverability to play with the elements of the air in any position and for any length of time to handle all the treacheries of the atmosphere and to put myself back on the ground gracefully we were calm and confidence that is my supreme joy it was also the joy of the great crowds that came to watch him and of the many pilots who strove to imitate him and improve on his techniques he generated a new confidence among his peers without knowing it at the time he laid the foundation for manoeuvres that would be soon used in battle by the first combat pilots in a war that would transform aviation into a potent weapon in 1913 roland-garros an eminent French pilot made a non-stop 500 mile flight across the Mediterranean to neighboring powers like Germany the offensive potential of aviation became obvious Anthony Fokker the brilliant young Dutch designer had moved to Germany he and other German aircraft builders like albatross and lvg borrowed freely from French designs Germany also bought manufacturing rights for the austrian talbert monoplane french experiments in arming aircraft included this unlikely machine gun placement in a d-pad loose a monoplane the gonna stood in the nose so the bullets would clear the propeller arc darts called flesh it's designed to be dropped on the enemy were said to pierce a soldier from head to toe France held clear leadership in heavier-than-air technology but Germany had the edge in balloons and rigid airships airships were extremely effective in promoting German national prestige record-setting international flights by count Ferdinand von Zeppelin raised a crucial question of international law who owns the air and what would provide the best military platform the airship or the aeroplane the airship with its stability seemed to have the edge in the early summer of 1914 such questions were far from the mind of the ordinary European citizen crowned heads like king george v of england were aware of the tensions within europe but the prospect of war was remote this is Sarajevo capital of Bosnia on June the 28th the Archduke Ferdinand heir to the austro-hungarian throne was there on a state visit shortly after this film of the Archduke was taken outside the Sarajevo City Hall a Serbian terrorists assassinated him the balance of European diplomacy was disturbed Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany favored Austrian reprisals against Serbia the French president and the Russian Tsar were allies Russia and France would support Serbia against Germany as Europe enjoyed the summer weather Austria sent an ultimatum to Serbia demanding that the assassination be investigated the same time Austria mobilized its troops Serbia agreed to most of Austria's terms but also mobilized its troops and then Austria declared war on Serbia the whole of Europe was pulled into conflict in Russia six million men were called to arms Germany prepared to declare war on Russia there was tremendous public excitement of the prospect France Russia's Ally refused German requests to remain neutral three million French soldiers were called into action France also greeted the prospect of war with enthusiasm there were old scores to settle with Germany if Germany and France went to war Britain could not allow German ships to sail into the English Channel Britain would side against Germany Germany was determined to attack Russia but it knew it must deal with France first Germany's Schlieffen plan to attack France depended on mobility by rail and road it involved sweeping through Belgium and down the French coast swinging east and overrunning Paris on August the 1st 1914 Germany declared war on Russia and the Schlieffen Plan went into operation Germany believed that it would take six weeks for the large Honduras Russian military machine to grind into action by that time German forces would be in Paris Germany would avoid fighting a war on two fronts the German army swept across neutral Belgium subduing cities with massive new artillery and making harsh reprisals against resistance the way into France was open in aerial warfare theory reconnaissance and bombing were the two major roles of the aeroplane both sides use them from the first days of the war but theory was not practice in the real conditions of battle pilots and observers found it difficult to be sure what they were seeing on the ground sometimes they brought back information that was wrong aircraft like the maurice farm and Longhorn were primitive that they were useful for reconnaissance the Maurice farman Shorthorn was more sophisticated he was flown by French and British squadrons early in the war these aircraft are typical of the two-seaters used for reconnaissance at that time getting vital information to the ground quickly was difficult one method used by both sides were sending messages by homing pigeon pigeons were especially useful at sea before radio communication was developed chief of staff of the French armies in 1914 was general joseph job an old soldier with experience in the sahara desert in the 1890s one of jobs foremost generals was the dashing fairly now hush Joff and his armies recalled with bitterness the lost French provinces of our SAS and Lorraine taken by the Germans in 1871 with the German army pushing into northern France the French military saw an opportunity to counter-attack using a long-standing French plan to recover our SAS Lorraine it was called plan 17 on August the 4th planned 17 went into action French troops crossed the German border confident they could restore our SAS and RN to France and drive on to the River Rhine as the French force was advancing one of the first failures of air reconnaissance in the war occurred French aircraft was stationed near the border but their patrols failed to detect the build-up of strong German artillery and machine guns shaken and bewildered by heavy losses the French retreated in mid-august British Airmen began to arrive in France Royal Flying Corps squadron aircraft started from Dover and entered France wherever the strong channel winds took them be eTools fresh from the Royal aircraft Factory with the first British aircraft in France a be2 landed on French soil on August 5th 13 many more were to follow young British Airmen found themselves living abroad for the first time they were only a few miles from home soil in Britain but culturally they were in another world letters home from these young men would have become some of the most touching and illuminating documents of the war much of their sadness comes from the fact that many would be dead soon after setting pen to paper in August general Kitchener and 120,000 British troops arrived in France this time German air reconnaissance failed the British arrival was a complete surprise to the Germans kitchener ordered his troops optimistically soldiers must be constantly on their guard against temptations both in wine and women you must entirely resist to both and while treating all women with courtesy you must avoid any intimacy German troops - were on foreign soil German stomachs used to black bread rebelled against the unfamiliar French variety as German troops approached Paris the French government vacated the city and left general gallieni in charge as military governor air reconnaissance told Galleani the Germans were swinging away from Paris to the east exposing their right flank the aerial sightings were crucial they would save Paris and halt the German advance Galleani and Joff decided to attack the German forces in the nearby Valley of the Marne River the German troops were chasing exhausted British and French forces that had retreated 150 miles from Mars but the Germans were tired and many had been sampling the local wines on the way in spite of the condition of the German troops the battle did not start well for the Allies in Paris general gallieni commandeered 2,000 taxicabs to drive newly arrived unison troops to the man battlefield in four days of savage fighting involving over two million men casualties were enormous for both sides aircraft were a factor in the slaughter they were immediately effective directing artillery fire from the air and reporting on troop movements by September the 7th the Germans were beaten the Schlieffen Plan had been destroyed the German generals now had no hope of taking Paris and ending the war quickly the German advanced that had travelled so far so fast had become a retreat now the opposing armies raced back towards the English Channel trying to outflank each other as they went they dug lines of trenches from which each side would attempt to preserve its own territory this deadlocked front trenches and barbed wire would shape the evolution of military aviation for the rest of the war as the autumn of 1914 moved toward winter the wall on the ground began to bog down in mud rain came and the temperature dropped in the trenches there was no escape but for those flying planes it was different if a plane could take off it could move freely above the wall this is an Avro 504 not a legendary aircraft but one of the Wars great workhorses it was a British design but like many allied aircraft used a French rotary engine in a rotary the whole engine revolves around a fixed shaft and the propeller revolves with it the air flow across the moving cylinders cools the engine castor oil lubricant is thrown back in liberal quantities in the face of the pilot the Avro 504 entered service at the beginning of the war in August 1914 it had the misfortune to be the first British aeroplane to be brought down by enemy ground fire on August the 22nd in Belgium but there were also early successes a 504 carried out the war's first grants trapping run using its Lewis machine-gun against a train and German troops on October the 22nd 500 fors of the Royal Naval Air Service conducted a series of successful bombing raids into German territory in October and November the 504 was superseded in combat but for the rest of the war it had a distinguished career as the standard British trainer this aircraft is the 504 k the last model in a long line of development more than 8,000 504s were built during the war it remains a great unsung hero as the winter of 1914 approached aviation activity was limited by the weather for long periods pilots and aircraft would rounded aerial combat was only a few months old yet in that time pilots had experienced the birth of almost every major aspect of aerial warfare strategic bombing reconnaissance ground attack aerial combat they'd tried them all with some degree of success the winter was one of the worst four years when regular flying became possible again aerial warfare was poised to enter a new phase in Paris santos-dumont was hailed as the conquering hero but Wilbur Wright did not share the general enthusiasm we do not believe there is one chance in a hundred that anyone will have a machine of practical usefulness within five years but just 14 months later on a farm on a dashing young racing driver would prove Wilbur wrong in January 1908 farman in this machine built by the Western brothers attempted a flight around a one-kilometer course to win the $10,000 prize he succeeded the prize was his and so was the adulation of France it was too much for the rights to ignore they had already made a flight almost 40 times as long as farm ins in the summer of 1908 Wilbur sailed for Paris to show the French what he could do he set up operations at a racetrack near lamar southwest of Paris on Saturday August the 8th a crowd gathered to witness Wilbur's first flight in Europe it lasted 1 minute and 45 seconds slightly longer than farm ins prize-winning kilometer but it was Wilbur's control that impressed French fliers Louie blair EO said i would have waited 10 times as long to see what i have seen today mr. Wright has us all in his hands the Wright's influence on French aircraft design especially their control system was profound but tragedy struck the Wrights lieutenant Thomas Selfridge was killed at Fort Myer Virginia in September 1908 he was a passenger in the plane Orville was demonstrating to the US Army it was the first death in the history of military aviation French aircraft design progressed by 1909 the idea of a flight across the English Channel was feasible the British Daily Mail offered a prize of 1,000 pounds for the first successful cross-channel flight Wilbur Wright was not interested but others were on July the 19th French pilot a bella thorne made an attempt in East Antoinette monoplane he flew from the little village of song at south of Calais over the channel his engine failed the Antoinette dropped a thousand feet into the sea that are sat on the floating wreckage lit a cigarette and waited to be rescued that arm was not taunted I wasn't lucky this time but the channel will be conquered he resolved to try again Louie Blair EO had made a fortune selling car accessories and spent it on aeroplanes he intended to beat Latin across the channel but had burned his leg badly on his planes exhaust six days after Lethal's attempt conditions on the French coast were calm the competition rules said the flight must begin after sunrise sunrise was due at 4:41 a.m. this monument marks Blair iou's takeoff point just south of Calais as he waited Larry OHS mind raced what was going to happen would I make it a daughter now I thought only of my machine the engine the propeller everything was going now everything vibrating at the Seconal the crew let go I was up the first the flight was very smooth the Ansari engine of Larry OHS plane ran perfectly and he forgot about the pain from his injured leg but as Larry Oh made out the English coastline the wind strengthened and mist obscured his view a stroke of luck allowed him to locate the opening in the cliffs he'd chosen as his landing spot the landing was rough but it didn't matter he'd made it across the channel Dario scored an immense triumph the 21 mile flight from France to England took only 37 minutes but his achievement had symbolic meaning beyond time speed and distance the world was confronted with the concept that aircraft could cross national boundaries an island like Britain no longer had a protective moat that could be defended by a mighty Navy the aircraft in which Blair yo made his channel crossing was his model 11 it was to become one of the most popular and effective designs in aviation this Larry OH from the old Rhinebeck Museum in New York has an Enzoani engine similar to the one that powered Dario's historic flight the soundness of the Blair iou's design and construction would keep it breaking records and flying as a military aircraft beyond 1915 seeing one in flight today gives a graphic idea of the flimsiness of aircraft construction at the time and the concentration and skilled it took to stay in the air Larry O's channel crossing was the first aviation feat to overshadow the achievements of the Wright brothers at least in the public eye in the meantime the rights were getting new customers early in 1909 the Italian military bought a right airplane and hired Wilbur to teach two Italian officers to fly it this film was shot on that visit it shows Italian political and military personnel watching one at Wilbur Wright's flights with a passenger on board on the same visit this film was shot it's believed to be the first motion picture ever taken from an aircraft later the same year back at Fort Myer in Virginia Orville Wright completed the task he'd begun in 1908 satisfying the US Army Signal Corps requirements for a military aircraft this time the military flier passed all its tests of speed and endurance this actual aircraft still exists it's on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC the rights now led the military aviation race but there were other contenders designer builder Glenn Curtis was becoming competitive the rights didn't like it they tried lawsuit to stop Curtiss building and selling his desires this is reams the old cathedral city northeast of Paris in the summer of 1909 and event held there excited both the public and the military about Aviation's potential on Bethany plane where the Reims military airbase is today these fields were cleared and air operas with grandstands hangars and an air racing course was built the event was called the grand week of aviation and hundreds of thousands of people came royalty nobility and the powerful of politics and military flocked to see the greatest names in aviation compete against each other rheems week demonstrated the speed maneuverability and endurance of the airplane as no one had seen it before it convinced many military experts that aircraft were potential weapons Blair EO was there and Lacan and Gabrielle Wesa and re farmer from America Glenn Curtis was there but the Wright brothers were not there were some right aircraft flown by other pilots the highlight for the thousands of spectators was a showdown between Louie Blasio and Glenn Curtis for the Gordon Bennett trophy Larry Oh was the hot favorite but Kurt is won by just six seconds at world record speed 46 miles an hour rheems week showed that aircraft were practical and maneuverable and by the standards of the time fast David Lloyd George later to become Prime Minister of Britain summarised its significance flying machines are no longer toys and dreams they are an established fact the Wright brothers continued a legal battle with Glenn Curtiss trying to protect their control system patents they became obsessed with litigation against Curtis and others their progress slowed they were overtaken by their competitors this Kurtis D is similar to Glenn Curtis is Reims aircraft the ailerons used by Kurtis for lateral control now worked by the pilots shoulders small surfaces between the wings oppose each other to make the aircraft back it was an attempt to avoid the Wright's patent on wing warping in which banking was controlled by twisting the whole wing now this cables good shape here like many other aircraft at the time this one had an elevator in front of the pilot to control climbing and diving it was a pusher meaning that the propeller was at the rear the person swinging the Prok to start the engine had to climb inside the virtual wire cage and hope he didn't trip on the way out Glenn Curtis and the rights suffered from the fact that flying was not fashionable among American military officers politicians were not lobbied for money to support it American military aircraft didn't evolve as quickly as their European counterparts some Kurtis aircraft would achieve distinction in the great war they would include a trainer the famous Jenny and a successful line of flying boats the name of right wouldn't figure at all as military aviation bogged down in America the story across the Atlantic was different people flocked to aviation events they subscribed large amounts of money to help its development the public's enthusiasm was shared by the military aviation was seen as a new and dangerous sport with strong appeal to the dashing and influential military officer class military influence persuaded governments to spend money on aviation established manufacturers prospered and new ones appeared this elegant monoplane is a French polyol it's layout is similar to the burial and the Antoinette it has conventional tail surfaces and a single wing all covered with stretched cloth at its fuselage borrows from the art of the boat builder it's wood constructed in exactly the same way as asked if used in rowing races building a strong fuselage was relatively simple attaching monoplane wings to the fuselage with equal strength was more of a problem wire bracing was a partial answer the REO was a wing whopper patterned on the ideas of the Wright brothers each wing twisted to make the plane Bank wings that twisted could not also have structural rigidity in Europe the monoplane was fashionable before the Great War but most of the significant aircraft produced between 1914 and 1918 would lead biplanes monoplanes suffered structural failures it was difficult to make them really strong Engineers found it easier to design biplanes that could withstand the forces of battle flying these aircraft was dangerous pilots were inexperienced and control was difficult even before aircraft became involved in warfare they took many lives few generals in the armies of Europe had any idea of the way this fragile new toy could be used in conjunction with troops and artillery on the ground that was all still to come this is the old Larry o aéronautique Factory in Paris by 1910 Louie Blair EO aviation pioneer was fast becoming a prosperous aircraft manufacturer the blurrier 11 continued to be a success it established speed records it flew to high altitudes and over great mountains they were close calls it was all a grand adventure pilots were seen as heroes they were people a great daring courage and a growing level of skill this is adult Pegu AB Larry o test pilot known to the press as the foolhardy one what up in 1913 peggle set out to become the first pilot to parachute out of his claim he intended to reach his planned height deploy the parachute and allow it to drag him out of the cockpit it worked on the first attempt but I received a good whack of this stabilizer on the shoulder ago expected his burial to crash straight into the ground once he left the cockpit but it didn't he watched it descend my old kite did tricks on its own it occurred to peggle that he could learn to control the planes involuntary maneuvers he trained himself by hanging upside down he strengthened his blurrier to withstand extra forces he practiced in private before his first public show he was not the first to perform a loop Pepa goo was the first to make a well-planned attempt to explore the extremes of aircraft maneuverability to play with the elements of the air in any position and for any length of time to handle longer treacheries of the atmosphere and to put myself back on the ground gracefully we were calm and confidence that is my suit cleaned joy it was also the joy of the great crowds that came to watch him and of the many pilots who strove to imitate him and improve on his techniques he generated a new confidence among his peers without knowing it at the time he laid the foundation for manoeuvres that would be soon used in battle by the first combat pilots in a war that would transform aviation into a potent weapon in 1913 roland-garros an eminent French pilot made a non-stop 500 mile flight across the Mediterranean to neighboring powers like Germany the offensive potential of aviation became obvious Anthony Fokker the brilliant young Dutch designer had moved to Germany he and other German aircraft builders like albatross and lvg borrowed freely from French designs Germany also bought manufacturing rights for the Austrian Tauber monoplane French experiments in arming aircraft included this unlikely machine gun placement in a deeper blue Simona play the gonna stood in the nose so the bullets would clear the propeller Hawk darts called flesh it's designed to be dropped on the enemy were said to pierce a soldier from head to toe France held clear leadership in heavier-than-air technology but Germany had the edge in balloons and rigid airships airships were extremely effective in promoting German national prestige record-setting international flights by count Ferdinand von Zeppelin raised a crucial question of international law who owns the air and what would provide the best military platform the airship or the aeroplane the airship with instability seemed to have the edge in the early summer of 1914 such questions were far from the mind of the ordinary European citizen crowned heads like king george v of england were aware of the tensions within europe but the prospect of war was remote this is Sarajevo capital of Bosnia on June the 28th the Archduke Ferdinand heir to the austro-hungarian throne was there on a state visit shortly after this film of the Archduke was taken outside the Sarajevo City Hall a Serbian terrorists assassinated him the balance of European diplomacy was disturbed Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany favored Austrian reprisals against Serbia the French president and the Russian Tsar were allies Russia and France would support Serbia against Germany as Europe enjoyed the summer weather Austria sent an ultimatum to Serbia demanding that the assassination be investigated the same time Austria mobilized its troops Serbia agreed to most of Austria's terms but also mobilized its troops and then Austria declared war Serbia the whole of Europe was pulled into conflict in Russia six million men were called to arms Germany prepared to declare war on Russia there was tremendous public excitement of the prospect France Russia's Ally refused German requests to remain neutral three million French soldiers were called into action France also greeted the prospect of war with enthusiasm there were old scores to settle with Germany if Germany and France went to war Britain could not allow German ships to sail into the English Channel Britain would side against Germany the classic fighters of World War one were tough and deadly flying machines both sides spread terror with giant strategic bombers spy flights gathered intelligence about the enemy great artillery guns were directed from the air before the war flying was a young science it was hard enough to keep these fragile dangerous flying machines in the air let alone use them as weapons this is the story of how military aviation in less than a decade grew from a vague hearing to a comprehensive system of warfare before the war the French army led the world in military aviation it had about 250 aircraft it staged exercises to simulate the conditions of war and explore the potential at the aeroplanes planes made tentative steps towards combat in Mexico and 1913 two American mercenaries had the first dogfight an Italian pilot carried out reconnaissance and dropped bombs on enemy Turks in Libya but when the First World War began military aviation was little more than a set of theories when Germany declared war on Russia and France in August 1914 the major forces of both sides were traditional infantry cavalry and heavy artillery but in 1914 for the first time in history heavier-than-air flying machines were available for warfare they were put to use right from the start eyes capable of flying behind enemy lines could see where artillery shells were falling and direct Gunners under their targets they could also see enemy troop movements in Belgium in the third week of the war a French reconnaissance pilot saw streams of men in grey uniforms they were German troops his warning came just in time to allow the British force to retreat to safety two weeks later in northern France of Western by plane prepared for a routine flight up to that time no aircraft had shot another down rifles and handguns have been ineffective the observer sitting in the front cockpit was armed with a Hotchkiss machine gun in the sky over eenz the pilot saw a German two-seater and chased it the observer fired his machine gun and the German dropped in flames the world's first victim of aerial combat in November 3 AB Rhodes of the Royal Naval Air Service conducted a successful long-distance bombing raid they hit the Zeppelin sheds at Lake Constance in Germany they damaged one Zeppelin and destroyed the gasworks by the end of 1914 aircraft had pioneered most of the standard missions of military aviation today they were accepted as an essential part of twentieth-century warfare as the war progressed speeds would more than double aircraft range size and deadliness would increase enormously the needs of war accelerated development far beyond the pace of the early years of life but that development would not have been possible without the foundations laid by Aviation's pioneers in December 1903 the Wright brothers made the world's first successful powered flight they continued to develop their ideas at their own pace unaffected by experiments in flight on the other side of the Atlantic in Paris Gabriele wasa was among those who doubted stories of the Wright's achievements in 1905 where Sam was using the river Sen as a runway to help him launched a series of gliders he was building and testing them for a syndicate dedicated to the development of French aviation at a time when the rights were making controlled powered flights where Sam was using a high-powered motor boat to tow his gliders into the air well I would go on to design many great aircraft of the First World War but in nineteen hundred and five he still had much to learn in Paris a prize of $10,000 was offered for a flight around a one-kilometer course one of the sponsors Ernest Archdeacon challenged the rights it will assuredly not tire you very much to make a brief visit to France simply to collect this little prize the rights did not visit Paris they didn't have to they were leading the world and intended to sell their invention to a national government that saw its potential in the meantime others in Paris were making attempts to fly among them was Brazilian born Alberto santos-dumont santos dumont was famous for balloon flights and experiments with gliders in November nineteen hundred and six he took his flying machine to the Bagatelle this playing field near the Bois de Boulogne he'd already tried to fly with the help of an airship to lift his machine off the ground it was not successful uh November the 12th the French aviation fraternity was there in force to witness another attempt without the airship santos-dumont had to stand up to fly the machine he coaxed it into the air and in 21 seconds covered a distance of more than 700 feet it was the first time a European had taken off and flown convincingly Germany was determined to attack Russia but it knew it must deal with France first Germany's Schlieffen plan to attack France depended on mobility by rail and road it involved sweeping through Belgium and down the French coast swinging east and overrunning Paris on August the 1st 1914 Germany declared war on Russia and the Schlieffen Plan went into operation Germany believed that it would take six weeks for the large Honduras Russian military machine to grind into action by that time German forces would be in Paris Germany would avoid fighting a war on two fronts the German army swept across neutral Belgium subduing cities with massive new artillery and making harsh reprisals against resistance the way into France was open in aerial warfare theory reconnaissance and bombing were the two major roles of the aeroplane both sides use them from the first days of the war but theory was not practice in the real conditions of battle pilots and observers found it difficult to be sure what they were seeing on the ground sometimes they brought back information that was wrong aircraft like the maurice farm and long horn were primitive but they were useful for reconnaissance the Maurice farman short horn was more sophisticated he was flown by French and British squadrons early in the war these aircraft are typical of the two-seaters used for reconnaissance at that time getting vital information to the ground quickly was difficult one method used by both sides were sending messages by homing pigeon pigeons were especially useful at sea before radio communication was developed chief of staff of the French armies in 1914 was general joseph job an old soldier with experience in the sahara desert in the 1890s one of jobs foremost generals was the dashing fairly now fuch Jeff and his armies recalled with bitterness the lost French provinces of Alsace and Lorraine taken by the Germans in 1871 with the German army pushing into northern France the French military saw an opportunity to counter-attack using a long-standing French plan to recover our SAS Lorraine it was called plan 17 on August the 4th plan 17 went into action French troops crossed the German border confident they could restore our SAS and Lorraine to France and drive on to the River Rhine as the French force was advancing one of the first failures of air reconnaissance in the war occurred French aircraft was stationed near the border but their patrols failed to detect the build-up of strong German artillery and machine guns shaken and bewildered by heavy losses the French retreated in mid-august British Airmen began to arrive in France Royal Flying Corps squadron aircraft started from Dover and entered France wherever the strong channel winds took them be eTools fresh from the Royal aircraft Factory with the first British aircraft in France a be2 landed on French soil on August 5th thirty many more were to follow young British Airmen found themselves living abroad for the first time they were only a few miles from home soil in Britain but culturally they were in another world let us home from these young men would have become some of the most touching and illuminating documents of the war much of their sadness comes from the fact that many would be dead soon after setting pen to paper in August general Kitchener and 120,000 British troops arrived in France this time German air reconnaissance failed the British arrival was a complete surprise to the Germans Kitana ordered his troops optimistically soldiers must be constantly on their guard against temptations both in wine and women you must entirely resist both and while treating all women with courtesy you must avoid any intimacy German troops - were on foreign soil German stomachs used to black bread rebelled against the unfamiliar French variety as German troops approached Paris the French government vacated the city and left general gallieni in charge as military governor air reconnaissance told Galleani the Germans were swinging away from Paris to the east exposing their right flank the aerial sightings were crucial they would save Paris and halt the German advance Galleani and Joff decided to attack the German forces in the nearby Valley of the Marne River the German troops were chasing exhausted British and French forces that had retreated 150 miles from moms but the Germans were tired and many had been sampling the local wines on the way in spite of the condition of the German troops the battle did not start well for the Allies in Paris general gallieni commandeered 2,000 taxicabs to drive newly arrived Tunisian troops to the man battlefield in four days of savage fighting involving over two million men casualties were enormous for both sides aircraft were a factor in the slaughter they were immediately effective directing artillery fire from the air and reporting on troop movements

Channel: Becky Towle

Views: 143,820

Rating: 4.727066 out of 5

Keywords: world war wwi, history, trenches, Fighter, Aircraft, (Aircraft, Type), Fighter Pilot (Profession), Aviation (Industry), Aviation, World, War, (Film, Subject)

Id: cOX7kGwbv3U

Length: 87min 54sec (5274 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 01 2016