The decade between the first successful powered flight – made by the Wright Brothers on 17 December 1903 – and the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 is known as the pioneer era for aviation, as research institutes all over the world sought to improve on previous airframe and propeller designs, and the search began for powerful engines that were also light and reliable.
The military potential of aircraft was realised early on: initially employed for taking photographs of enemy positions and movements, they were subsequently used by Italian pilots for dropping grenades and bombs in the Italo-Turkish War in 1912, and by combatants in the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913. In the USA, the first flight from an aircraft carrier took place in 1911.
The outbreak of the First World War saw the first aerial combat, which became more effective after the Dutch engineer Anthony Fokker perfected a mechanism for firing bullets between the blades of a spinning propeller. Aircraft-to-aircraft and ground-to-air communication was to follow over the course of the conflict, and there were also further rapid advances in aeroplane design at this time, but many brave individuals lost their lives in the process. As well as exploring, preserving, and sharing information on the history of First World War aviation, the members of the Great War Aviation Society (GWAS) make sure that the sacrifices of the pilots and ground crew are never forgotten – not least through their fundraising work to support the maintenance of the British Air Services Memorial at St Omer in Clairmarais, France. This was the base of the Royal Flying Corps (the RAF’s predecessor) from 1917, as well as its 4,000 British and French employees.
