Evolution of Airpower
CETC 1172 70C – Beginning PC Repair
21 July 2013
Evolution of Airpower
The evolution of airpower is a very broad subject that you could spend a lifetime researching and writing about (definitely not my objective). It is not my intent to get into the weeds on this subject but rather, give a “30,000 foot view” as one of my Colonels was famous for asking for on almost any subject that he needed to be briefed on. With that being said, the outline I intend to follow is:
I. The Wright Brothers
II. World War I
III. Between the Wars
IV. World War II
V. The Cold War
The Wright Brothers
It has been almost 110 years since the Wright Brothers made their first powered flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. I believe it is highly doubtful that Orville and Wilber could have imagined the technological advances in both design and capabilities of the aircraft we use today. On December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilber each made two flights. The first flight, by Orville, covered a distance of 120 feet in 12 seconds and was recorded in the now famous picture. The longest flight of the day covered a distance of 852 feet and lasted for 59 seconds.
The Wright’s always contended that the airplane be a contribution to international communications, trade and goodwill, but in their first attempt to sell a plane, they looked to the US War Department (Futrell 15). From 1905 to 1907, not a lot of headway was made with the US War Department but, in 1907, due to the interest in aviation by President Theodore Roosevelt, a foothold was gained with the establishment of an Aeronautical Division within the Signal Corps (16). After much skepticism from Brig General James Allen, the Army’s chief signal officer, the Wright Brothers received acceptance of the Flyer from the US government on February 8, 1908.
World War I
In August of 1914, the major European powers went to war with rudimentary air services and embryonic aviation industries (Olsen 1). The role of the airplane was
21 July 2013
Evolution of Airpower
The evolution of airpower is a very broad subject that you could spend a lifetime researching and writing about (definitely not my objective). It is not my intent to get into the weeds on this subject but rather, give a “30,000 foot view” as one of my Colonels was famous for asking for on almost any subject that he needed to be briefed on. With that being said, the outline I intend to follow is:
I. The Wright Brothers
II. World War I
III. Between the Wars
IV. World War II
V. The Cold War
The Wright Brothers
It has been almost 110 years since the Wright Brothers made their first powered flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. I believe it is highly doubtful that Orville and Wilber could have imagined the technological advances in both design and capabilities of the aircraft we use today. On December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilber each made two flights. The first flight, by Orville, covered a distance of 120 feet in 12 seconds and was recorded in the now famous picture. The longest flight of the day covered a distance of 852 feet and lasted for 59 seconds.
The Wright’s always contended that the airplane be a contribution to international communications, trade and goodwill, but in their first attempt to sell a plane, they looked to the US War Department (Futrell 15). From 1905 to 1907, not a lot of headway was made with the US War Department but, in 1907, due to the interest in aviation by President Theodore Roosevelt, a foothold was gained with the establishment of an Aeronautical Division within the Signal Corps (16). After much skepticism from Brig General James Allen, the Army’s chief signal officer, the Wright Brothers received acceptance of the Flyer from the US government on February 8, 1908.
World War I
In August of 1914, the major European powers went to war with rudimentary air services and embryonic aviation industries (Olsen 1). The role of the airplane was
Cited: Futrell, Robert Frank. Ideas, Concepts, Doctrine: Basic Thinking in the United States Air Force, 1907-1960 Morrow Jr., John H. A History of Air Warfare, 1st ed., Chapter 1, The First World War, 1914-1919