Was air warfare first used in WWI?

Question

Was air warfare first used in WWI?

Answer 1

No, it was used before WWI in a very primitive way.  The US used aircraft both in Nicaragua and in Mexico while hunting Pancho Villa.  Air warfare did come to its first full bloom in the 1914 to 1918 war, however.

Answer 2

air warfare got started in ancient china. China would use giant kites with a person on it, for spying and observation. They even load a bunch of flame arrows and launch them from kites onto a ground target.

Answer 3

Well, for Military Recon it was first used in the American Civil War....with balloons.

Answer 4

Yes. Before that any use of aircraft was purely for reconnaissance. During WW1 opposing pilots often encountered each other on recon flights, but could not do anything about it. Finally one of the pilots pulled out a pistol and started shooting at his opposite number. After that it was a very quick development process to mount machine guns on the aircraft and drop bombs. And the Zeppelins engaged in the first ever strategic bombing attacks on England.

For the most part the air war in WW1 had no real impact on the war, but it pathed the way for the massive air war of the next big war.

Answer 5

Yep. That was the only exiciting thing about WWI. The air attacks weren't so extensive but there were primitive 'dog fights' that people loved to read on the papers occasionally. If you really want to see some real air warfare, look at WW2.

Answer 6

This will P^ss Off a lot of people - - - BUT NO.  World War One witnessed the first large scale use of airplanes for war fare but the air plane first made it appearance as a war bird during the Italian-Turkish Conflict of 1911-1912 and the Balkan War of 1912-1923 between Bulgaria and Turkey!!!  However since few historians will acknowledge that Bulgaria or Turkey  actually exist the credit gets drop into World War One; neater & cleaner in that fashion!

http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/waf/turk/tur...

"""arch 1912 Army Aviation Section. 1912-1913 few aircraft used in Balkan wars by foreign pilots on behalf of Turkish forces. """

http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Aerial_bomb...

"""Italian-Turkish War of 1911-1912

The very first aerial act of aggression occurred during the Italian-Turkish War of 1911-1912 in North Africa. Italy had been using aircraft to monitor enemy troop movements and search for Turkish artillery positions. One Italian pilot, a Lieutenant Giulio Gavotti, realized that the aircraft could be used for more than simple reconnaissance. The event occurred over a Turkish camp at Ain Zara in Libya on 1 November 1911. Lt. Gavotti was flying his Taube monoplane at an altitude of 600 ft (185 m) when he took four small 4.5 lb (2 kg) grenades from a leather pouch, screwed in the detonators he had carried aboard in his pocket, and threw each bomb over the side by hand. Although no one was injured and little damage was done, Lt. Gavotti earned his place in history for conducting the first aerial bombing raid ever recorded.

Balkan Wars

The second ever aerial bombardment was on October 16, 1912 by a Bulgarian military aircraft during the Balkan Wars. The aircraft was German built Albatros F-2. The pilot Radul Milkov and an observer named Prodan Tarakchiev flew on a reconnaissance mission over the Turkish army’s positions in Edirne. During the flight, the pilot and observer dropped bombs placed in specially designed compartments outside the aircraft. The bombs were dropped over a Turkish military base. More about this Bulgarian bombing can be found in the article First air-dropped bomb.""

Peace//////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\...

And I apologize to those itching to give me a thumbs down - - - history is never as neat as your teachers tell you!!!

Answer 7

In a word, yes. The original military use of aircraft was for recon. The pilots on the opposing sides would occasionally take shots at each other with pistols. This led to the development of specialized fihgter aircraft. Tony Fokker, a Belgian aircraft designer working for the Germans, invented the interruptor gear system, a device which allowed a forward mounted machine gun to fire through the propellor blades without damaging them. This gave the Germans a serious advantage until the Allies were able to copy the device and install it on their own aircraft. The lightweight wood and canvas construction of aircraft at th time made it impossible for them to carry much weight, so there really weren't any very effective bomber aircraft.

Cheers

Answer 8

No ,in the case of observation. The Chinese used kites for observations but not really a big thing. The US used air balloons in the civil war.

The reason people say that air warfare started in WWI is correct is that it was the first time someone in an air machine fired at  another air machine. basicly the persut planes (what fighter called in their early days) were made to shoot down observation ballons and planes, and the recon planes were armed to protect themselves