What was the first recorded use of Aerial Weapons in warfare?
score:9
Supposedly, the first time aviation was used in a war was during the American Civil War (meaning 1861). Both parties used balloons for reconnaissance, mostly hydrogen-filled. The balloons obviously couldn't be used for any kind of attack - they made a very big target and a single bullet was sufficient to ignite the hydrogen. Edit: It seems that first use of balloons for reconnaissance was earlier, during the French Revolution in 1794 (thanks @Nikko). The Austrians attempted to use balloons for bombing in 1849 and some of their successors apparently did so even with success - read the linked article.
The first time aviation played an important role was during World War I however (airplanes by then). It took some time to recognize the potential here, airplanes were mostly used for reconnaissance again. Using bombs was relatively rare and very experimental - typically the pilot would take a bomb and throw it overboard. As you can imagine, the precision of such bombing wasn't exactly high.
Air combat was also rare in WWI, with the necessary technologies still developing. The very first problem was mounting a machine gun so that it could shoot without damaging the propeller. Synchronized machine guns only became the accepted solution during the war, at the beginning of the war a bunch of other solutions were attempted as well. One option were machine guns mounted on the wings of the aircraft, the pilot then had to pull strings to trigger them (something that wasn't quite easy while steering the aircraft at the same time).
There is a large Wikipedia article on the use of aviation in World War I where you can find more details.
Upvote:4
The first use of aeroplanes (as opposed to lighter-than-air balloons or dirigibles) in warfare occurred during the Italian invasion of Ottoman Libya in 1911. Airplanes were used initially for reconnaissance and then later in an improvised attack, when an Italian pilot dropped explosives by hand on Ottoman troops.
More post
- 📝 Did the syphilis epidemic start the 16th and 17th century wig craze?
- 📝 What are they wearing over their shoulders?
- 📝 Why did Pakistan choose Islamabad as its capital?
- 📝 How do historians deal with inconsistencies?
- 📝 How was Christian intermarriage with the Muslim Turks viewed by the Byzantines?
- 📝 Where is the tomb of Genghis Khan located?
- 📝 How much did a sword cost in AD 1000 Constantinople?
- 📝 What was the largest warship sunk by a Motor Torpedo Boat in WW2?
- 📝 Latin/Greek for assassin
- 📝 How many troops would the White Armies have had at their peak during the Russian Civil War?
- 📝 What is this consistent symbol in the Spanish coat of arms?
- 📝 Who is the most recent (non Bush) father son pair who have invaded the Middle East?
- 📝 Why does English use Roman months, but Germanic days of the week?
- 📝 Why didn't Hitler invade Middle East for resources first before invading Soviet Union?
- 📝 Where and how were the catapults/trebuchets operators trained?
- 📝 What was Nazi Germany's end goal?
- 📝 Magic armies examples in history?
- 📝 Who was Woodburn Heron?
- 📝 What was the economic basis for West Berlin?
- 📝 Did small rural newspaper offices in 1895 use rotary presses with rolls of paper or sheets?
- 📝 What was British spy Greville Wynne supposed to be selling?
- 📝 Is there any evidence to support the claim that the United States was "suckered into WW1" by Zionists, made by Benjamin Freedman in his 1961 speech?
- 📝 What was the impetus for some African nations to participate in the slave trade?
- 📝 How to find out if this sword is real or just a souvenir?
- 📝 What are the flags in this Yellow Peril Cartoon from Italy?
- 📝 Were the NKVD hated by the regular army like the SS was?
- 📝 Where is the sword used to execute Queen Anne Boleyn?
- 📝 How common was it for people to live 80+ years in the 17th century?
- 📝 What were the differences between mortars and other artilleries in world war I?
- 📝 Where can I find the official response to Austria from Serbia in the July Crisis?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What was the first recorded use of Aerial Weapons in warfare?
- 📝 What / When was the first use of concentration camps in history?
- 📝 What was the first recorded instance of sex or violence being inappropriate for children to see?
- 📝 What was the first instance of native Americans using gunpowder weapons in battle and did they ever make their own powder?
- 📝 What was the first confirmed use of black powder to blow stuff up in war (in China and in Europe)?
- 📝 What was the first recorded instance of burning a city or village in war?
- 📝 What was the first assassination/murder recorded on film?
- 📝 What was the first college in an English-speaking country to use Latin in their motto?
- 📝 What was the first recorded non-violent toppling of a dictator?
- 📝 What was the first recorded reference to the fact that the sun rises and sets at different times across the Earth?
- 📝 What is the first recorded dog name?
- 📝 What is the first horse name recorded in history?
- 📝 What was the first solar eclipse that was demonstrably predicted in advance?
- 📝 What was the first battle in history fought by vast-majority-% "distance-shooting" non-mechanized force?
- 📝 What was the first known war in history?
- 📝 What was the first successful mass tank battle of WW1?
- 📝 What was the first successful non violent independence movement?
- 📝 In what language was the first Zionist congress in Basel in 1897 held?
- 📝 What is the first recorded instance of jet lag?
- 📝 What is the first recorded contact with Taiwan by Europeans?
- 📝 Who was the first military force to use teppo (guns) in mass battles during the Sengoku-jidai?
- 📝 What was the first spy agency?
- 📝 What was the first map of Antarctica having a shape based on real evidence?
- 📝 What was the first major historical event to be photographed?
- 📝 What was the first example of a foreign mercenary unit?
- 📝 What was the first documented mention of American English different from British English?
- 📝 What types of weapons did the British army use in the late 1890's?
- 📝 What was the civil weapons legislation under Hitler?
- 📝 What was the first broadcast television programme?
- 📝 What was the significance of the BEF moving into the gap between German forces in First Battle of the Marne?
