8 February – Russian pilot N. de Sackoff becomes the first pilot shot down in combat when his
biplane is hit by ground fire following a bombing run on the walls of
Fort Bezhani during the
First Balkan War. Flying for
Greece, he comes down near
Preveza, on the coast north of the
Ionian island of
Lefkada, secures local Greek assistance, repairs his airplane, and flies back to base.[5]
16 April – The inaugural 1913
Schneider Trophy race is won by
Maurice Prévost in a
Deperdussin monoplane, who completes 28 circuits of the 10 km (6.2 mi) course with an average speed of 73.63 km/h (45.75 mph).
15 May – Cuban-born pilot
Austin Parlá flies across the Florida Strait without surface support, relying only on a
compass, the first person to do so.[12]
26 May (13 May
O.S.) –
Igor Sikorsky flies the world's first four-engine
fixed-wing aircraft as he takes his Bolshoi Baltisky
biplane (original version of the
Russky Vityaz)[13]Ilya Mourometz into the sky for the
Imperial Russian Air Service near
Saint Petersburg (following test hops flown since three days earlier). Powered by 220
horsepower engines, the bomber could carry up to 1,543 pounds of bombs and has room for four machine guns and a crew of five.[14] It is also the first plane fitted with a
lavatory.
5 July – A
seaplane carrier participates in the British
Royal Navy's annual maneuvers for the first time, as
HMS Hermes embarks two
seaplanes, the
Short Folder S.64
biplane and a
Caudron G.3 amphibian. The Short aircraft is the first with
folding wings to be used aboard a ship. The maneuvers, which conclude on October 6, demonstrate both the feasibility of extended operations by aircraft at sea and the value of folding wings.[18]
17 July – The Royal Navy introduces the term "seaplane"; previously, seaplanes had been known as "hydro-aeroplanes."[19] The term "seaplane" comes into general use during the year.[20]
28 July – A
Caudron G.3 amphibian takes off from a platform aboard the Hermes while she is underway and lands at
Great Yarmouth. It is the first time an aircraft launches from the deck of a ship and lands ashore.[21]
20 August – The French aviator
Adolphe Pegoud becomes the first person in Europe to jump from an airplane and land safely when he
parachutes from 700 feet (213 m) above
Buc, Yvelines, France.
1 September –
Adolphe Pégoud makes the first inverted flight, flying upside down for 0.4 km (0.25 mile).[22]
20 September – The second annual
Aerial Derby takes place, sponsored by the Daily Mail newspaper. Nine participants fly a single circuit of a 94-mile (151-kilometer) course, starting and finishing at
Hendon Aerodrome in
London, with control points at
Kempton Park,
Esher,
Purley, and
Purfleet.
Gustav Hamel is the overall winner in a
Morane-Saulnier airplane with a time of 1 hour 15 minutes 49 seconds and receives a gold trophy and £200 prize.
Shell awards prizes of £100, £70, and £50 for the
handicap competition, which
Bentfield Hucks wins in a
Blériot airplane.
21 September – Adolphe Pégoud loops a
Blériot XI over France, believing it to be the first loop in history. The feat is widely publicized as the world's first loop until word of
Pyotr Nesterov's loop over
Russia of 12 days before spreads.
The first air-to-air combat in history takes place over
Mexico when aircraft exchange
pistol shots during the
Mexican Revolution, apparently scoring no hits.[28]
29 November –
Raymonde de Laroche flies 200 miles (320 km) solo in four hours to win her the 1913
Fémina Cup for the longest solo flight by a woman that year.[30]
^Chant, Chris, The World's Great Bombers, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2000,
ISBN0-7607-2012-6, p. 13.
^Baker, David, "Flight and Flying: A Chronology", Facts On File, Inc., New York, New York, 1994, Library of Congress card number 92-31491,
ISBN0-8160-1854-5, page 61.
^Crosby, Francis, The Complete Guide to Fighters & Bombers of the World: An Illustrated History of the World's Greatest Military Aircraft, From the Pioneering Days of Air Fighting in World War I Through the Jet Fighters and Stealth Bombers of the Present Day, London: Hermes House, 2006,
ISBN9781846810008, p. 16.
^Bruce, J. M. (1982). The Aeroplanes of the Royal Flying Corps (Military Wing). London: Putnam. p. 200.
ISBN0-370-30084-X.
^Pawlak, Debra Ann, "The Baroness of Flight," Aviation History, July 2008, p. 17.
^Jackson, A. J. (1990). Avro Aircraft since 1908 (2nd ed.). London: Putnam. p. 52.
ISBN0-85177-834-8.
References
Layman, R.D., Before the Aircraft Carrier: The Development of Aviation Vessels 1849–1922, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1989,
ISBN0-87021-210-9