This is a list of aviation-related events from 1917.
Events
During her 30 November 1916 – 24 February 1918 cruise, the
Imperial German Navycommerce raiderWolf carries a
Friedrichshafen FF.33e seaplane nicknamed Wölfchen ("Little Wolf" or "Wolf Cub"), which during 1917 singlehandedly captures at least four of the 37 enemy ships Wolf captures and sinks during her cruise. Wölfchen makes between 54 and 56 flights, the most by any
World War I shipboard aircraft.[1]
The Aircraft Committee of the
Royal Navy's
Grand Fleet decides to phase
balloon ships out of naval service. The balloon ships are returned to mercantile service, or converted into balloon depot ships (to inflate and maintain balloons for use by other ships) or
seaplane carriers.[2]
The Luftstreitkrafte (German Air Force) disbands three Kampfgeschwader (bomber wings) and redesignates their
squadrons as Schutzstaffeln (escort squadrons). Operating two-seat
Albatros L 1 DDK,
Rumpler 4A 13,
Gotha Taube, and
Fokker M.8 aircraft, the new "Schusta" squadrons are tasked with escorting two-seat observation planes of the Feldflieger Abteilungen (field flying detachments) and Artillerieflieger Abteilungen (artillery flying detachments) during their reconnaissance flights, and are based with them.[6]
February 7 – Suffering progressive damage due to a series of crashes in bad visibility and poor weather, the
Imperial German NavyZeppelinL 36 finally crashes onto the
Aller river and is destroyed by high winds. Her crew survives.[12]
The German Navy Zeppelin L 42 achieves an altitude of 19,700 feet (6,000 meters), a record for an airship.[14]
The commander of the German Naval Airship Service,
Peter Strasser, requests the authorization of a force of 30 naval Zeppelins, 24 for use over the
North Sea and six for service over the
Baltic Sea.[15]
March 16–17 (overnight) – The German Naval Airship Service attempts to bomb England for the first time in 1917, in the first use of new Zeppelins designed for high-altitude flight that the Service's commander,
Peter Strasser, believes will be too high for British air defenses to reach. The five Zeppelins – at least three of which achieve altitudes of between 17,100 and 19,000 feet (5,200 and 5,800 meters) – mostly bomb open countryside and do only
£79 in damage and kill no one. Disabled by mechanical failure, L 39 drifts over
Compiègne, France, and is shot down by French antiaircraft guns with the loss of her entire crew, and L 35 is badly damaged while landing in Germany. The success of the Zeppelins in reaching high altitudes during a bombing raid encourages Strasser, who accompanies the raid aboard L 42, to plan a new bombing offensive.[20]
March 21 – The flight of the World's First Drone. At the
Royal Flying Corps Upavon base one of the
de Havilland unmanned 22-foot span monoplane Aerial Target aircraft was launched off a pneumatically powered ramp and flew briefly under radio control from the ground.[21] The ‘pilot’ (on the ground) was
Henry Segrave. This was witnessed by dozens of generals from all of the allied nations probably in England for the
Imperial War Conference.[22] The inventor of the control system was Dr.
Archibald Low, the officer commanding the RFC secret Experimental Works in Feltham, Middlesex.
April
Known as
Bloody April. The
Royal Flying Corps, while supporting the
Arras offensive, loses 245 aircraft—140 in the first two weeks—out of an initial strength of 365. Aircrew casualties are 211 killed or missing and 108
captured. The opposing Germans lose only 66 aircraft.[23]
April 13 –
Royal Naval Air Serviceflying boats begin flying "Spider Web" patrols over the
North Sea in the vicinity of the
North Hinderlight ship to detect German submarines in the area. The new patrol pattern, resembling a
spider web, allows four aircraft to search a 4,000-square-mile (10,000-square-kilometer) area in about five hours, only half the time it takes a surfaced submarine to transit the area. The flying boats make 27 patrols in the next 18 days, sight eight German submarines, and make bombing attacks against three of them.[25][26]
April 24 – Flying a
Halberstadt CL.II, Hauptmann Eduard W. Zorer, the commanding officer of Schutzstaffel 7 – a German escort squadron charged with using its two-seater aircraft to escort two-seat reconnaissance aircraft – drops down to an altitude of 60 feet (18 meters) to use
machine-gun fire to support German troops counterattacking British trenches along the
Gavrelle-
Rœux road near
Arras during the
Battle of Arras. Under fire from hundreds of British rifles and machine guns, he and his pilot spray the British trenches with 500 rounds of ammunition before a hit in their engine forces them to withdraw. The incident represents the birth of
close air support as a mission of the world's air forces.[28]
May 1 – The German Navy Zeppelins L 43 and L 45 conduct reconnaissance patrols over the
North Sea off the coast of
Scotland, patrolling off the
Firth of Forth and
Aberdeen, respectively.[30]
May 4 – The German Navy Zeppelin L 43 attacks a force of British
light cruisers and
destroyers in the
North Sea near the
Dogger Bank with three 50-kg (110-lb) bombs, hitting the light cruiser
HMS Dublin with bomb splinters. It one of the few cases of an airship attacking warships.[31]
May 23–24 (overnight) – Six German Navy Zeppelins attempt a high-altitude raid on London and the south of England and encounter bad weather. They drop most of their bombs onto open countryside, killing one man, injuring no one else, and inflicting
£599 in damage, and all return safely to Germany, although the raid reveals many mechanical problems and physical difficulties for crewmen during sustained high-altitude flights. Informed of the results of the raid,
KaiserWilhelm II of Germany says, "In spite of this success, I am of the opinion that the day of the airship is past for attacks on London. They should be used as scouts for the
High Seas Fleet and strategic reconnaissance, not for bombing raids on London." The Chief of the Naval Staff argues that the bombing campaign is tying down many British personnel, guns, and aircraft on home air defense duties, and Wilhelm II agrees to allow raids to continue if conditions are favorable.[35]
May 24 – Turbulence throws the observer aboard a German
Aviatik C.V,
First Lieutenant Otto Berla, from his cockpit without a
parachute. As he falls, an updraft forces the tail of the aircraft upward, and he punches through the
plywood of the Aviatak's
fuselage aft of his cockpit. The Aviatik's pilot returns him safely to base.[36]
May 25
The
Imperial German Army's Luftstreitkräfte begins Operation Türkenkreuz ("Turk's Cross"), a
heavier-than-air bombing campaign targeting
London. The first operation is a mass daylight air raid by 21
Gotha G.IV bombers flying from near
Ghent which divert from London due to clouds over the city and attack secondary targets in
Folkestone and the
Shorncliffe Army Camp, killing 95 people and injuring 195. Seventy-four British aircraft take off to intercept, but the Germans lose only one Gotha, shot down by nine
Royal Naval Air ServiceSopwith Pups that engage the bombers as they fly over the coast of
Belgium on their way back to base. It is the first of 22 German heavier-than-air raids on the United Kingdom during
World War I.[37][38][39][40]
French ace Lieutenant
René Dorme is killed in action. His 23 victories will tie him with Lieutenant
Gabriel Guérin for ninth-highest-scoring French ace of World War I.[41]
An attack prior to the
Battle of Messines Ridge on a British supply train by German aircraft disrupts the supply of British ammunition, forcing British
artillery to cease firing after three hours.[44]
The
Imperial German Army's Luftstreitkräfte conducts the second raid of Operation Türkenkreuz ("Turk's Cross"), a
heavier-than-air bombing campaign targeting
London. Unable to bomb London due to weather, the 22
Gotha G.IV bombers divert to a secondary target, a
Royal Navy facility at
Sheerness, killing 13 people in exchange for the loss of one bomber. The raid takes place in daylight.[40]
June 6 – The world's first landplane designed for use as a
torpedo bomber, a
Sopwith Cuckoo, is completed for the Royal Naval Air Service.[47]
June 13 – The third raid of Germany's Operation Türkenkreuz is the first to reach London. In daylight, 14 German
Gotha G.IV bombers bomb London, and seven others attack small towns in
Kent and
Essex. It is the deadliest and most destructive air raid on the United Kingdom of World War I.
Attacking in daylight, they drop 118 bombs,[48] killing 162 people – including more than 18 children killed by a single bomb that hits a
primary school in
Poplar – and injuring 432.[40] The casualty total is greater than that inflicted by all the German
airship attacks on the United Kingdom combined up to that time.[49] Although 92 British aircraft take off to intercept the raid, all of the German bombers return safely to base.[40]
June 16–17 (overnight) – Five German Navy Zeppelins attempt a high-altitude raid on London and southern England. Only two arrive over England. L 42 bombs
Ramsgate and detonates a munitions dump, wrecking the naval base, inflicting
£29,000 pounds in damage, killing three civilians, and injuring 14 civilians and two Royal Navy personnel, then returns safely to Germany. L 48 bombs open fields outside
Harwich before Royal Flying Corps Lieutenant L. P. Watkins of
No. 37 Squadron shoots her down in flames killing 14 of the 17 men on board and fatally injuring one of the survivors. Among the dead is
Viktor Schütze, the deputy commander of the German Naval Airship Service.[51]
June 20 – The British
war cabinet decides to increase the size of the Royal Flying Corps from 108 to 200
squadrons, with most of increase coming in
bomber squadrons.[49]
June 27 – German ace LeutnantKarl Allmenröder is shot down and killed. His 30 victories will tie him with five other pilots as the 28th-highest-scoring German ace of World War I.[46]
June 28 – An aircraft takes off successfully from a flying-off platform mounted on a warship's gun turret for the first time when Royal Naval Air Service
Flight CommanderF. J. Rutland takes off from a platform aboard the British
light cruiserHMS Yarmouth in a
Sopwith Pup.[47]
July 7 – In daylight, 22 German
Gotha G.IV bombers make the fourth attack on the United Kingdom of Operation Türkenkreuz, killing 57 to 65 people and injuring 193 to 245 (sources differ on casualty totals). British aircraft fly 100 sorties to intercept the German bombers, shooting one down and damaging three others; the bombers shoot down two of the intercepting British aircraft.[39][40][52][53]
July 22 – In daylight, German
Gotha G.IV bombers make the fifth attack on the United Kingdom of Operation Türkenkreuz, bombing
Felixstowe and
Harwich.[53]
July 27
Flying a
SPAD XII,
Georges Guynemer shoots down a German
DFW aircraft, becoming the first French ace with 50 victories.
The
Naval Aircraft Factory, the in-house aircraft production and research arm of the U.S. Navy, is established.[56]
August
The
Imperial German Army's air service, the Luftstreitkrafte, perfects
close air support tactics during the
Battle of Passchendaele, with close-air-support aircraft escorted by fighters attacking British troops with machine guns and
hand grenades. The Germans discover that groups of four to six aircraft work best and that the ideal altitude from which to attack trenches is 150 feet (46 meters), while 1,200 to 1,500 feet (370 to 460 meters) is best for attacking larger targets like artillery batteries and reserve infantry concentrations. They find that line-astern formations are best to reduce the effects of enemy ground fire and line-abreast formations are best for fending off enemy fighters.[6]
August 7 – Dunning is killed on his third landing when the Pup falls over the side of Furious.
August 12 – In daylight, German
Gotha G.IV bombers make the sixth attack on the United Kingdom of Operation Türkenkreuz, bombing
Shoeburyness and
Southend. In the fifth raid on July 22 and this raid, the Germans lose a combined five bombers, one of them shot down and the other four wrecked in crashes on landing as they return to their bases.[53]
August 17 – Tasked to study how the United Kingdom's air forces could be best organized for the war with Germany and to consider whether they should remain subordinate to the
British Army and
Royal Navy,
GeneralJan Smuts completes the
Smuts Report. In it, he observes that an air service could be used as "an independent means of war operations," that "there is absolutely no limit to the scale of its future independent war service," that soon "aerial operations with their devastation of enemy lands and destruction of industrial and populous centres on a vast scale may be the principal operations of war, to which older forms of military and naval operations may become secondary and subordinate." He projects that by the summer of 1918 "the air battle front will be far behind the Rhine" while the ground front is still bogged down in Belgium and France and that air attacks on German industry and
lines of communication could be an "important factor in bringing about peace." The report is the foundation of a new theory of warfare advocated by British bomber advocates and will inspire the creation of the independent
Royal Air Force in 1918.[58]
August 18 – The Luftstreitkrafte attempts the largest
heavier-than-air raid against the
United Kingdom of
World War I, sending 28
Gotha bombers from their bases in
Belgium to attack
England despite predictions of unfavorable winds. After two hours in the air, they have only reached
Zeebrugge on the Belgian coast, and it takes them another hour to reach the coast of England, where they find themselves 64 kilometers (40 miles) off course. With too little fuel to go on, the strike commander orders the bombers to abort the raid and return to base; two of them come down in the
North Sea, two others crash-land in the neutral
Netherlands, and others are lost in crash-landings in Belgium.[59]
August 21 – Flying a
Sopwith Pup fighter launched from a flying-off platform mounted on a gun turret of the Royal Navy light cruiser
HMS Yarmouth,
Royal Naval Air ServiceFlight Sub-Lieutenant B. A. Smart shoots down the German Navy Zeppelin L 23 in flames over the
North Sea with the loss of her entire crew. Smart is recovered safely along with his plane's engine and one of its machine guns after he
ditches his fighter in the sea.[60]
August 21–22 (overnight) – Eight German Navy Zeppelins commanded by German Naval Airship Service commander
Peter Strasser aboard L 46 attempt a high-altitude raid on England. Only L 41 crosses the British coastline; she bombs the
Kingston upon Hull area, destroying a
chapel and injuring one civilian.[61]
August 22 – The Luftstreitkrafte sends 15 Gotha bombers to attack England in a daylight raid. Five turn back over the North Sea, and the remaining 10 encounter British fighter aircraft and heavy
antiaircraft fire over the
Isle of Thanet. Two Gothas are shot down immediately, and another is shot down over
Dover. The losses prompt to Germans to halt daylight raids over the United Kingdom and switch to night bombing.[62]
September 3–4 (overnight) – After the losses suffered in the face of improving British
air defences in the August 22 daylight raid against
England, the
Imperial German Army's air service, the Luftstreitkrafte, decides to experiment with night raids, sending five
Gotha bombers to attack
Chatham Dockyard in
Kent. The raid kills 152, including 130
Royal Navy recruits who die in a direct hit on their barracks in the highest death toll inflicted by a single aerial bomb during
World War I. The German bombers find that British night defenses are weak.[38][63]
September 4–5 (overnight) – The Germans attempt a second
heavier-than-air night raid against the United Kingdom, sending 11 Gotha bombers to raid
London. Nine of the planes reach
England, but only five reach London. British aircraft fly 18 defensive sorties, but fail to make contact with the German aircraft; the British flights, however, demonstrate the feasibility of using the
Sopwith Camel as a
night fighter. One Gotha fails to return, probably shot down by
antiaircraft guns at
Fort Borstal in
Rochester.[64]
Nine German Navy Zeppelins set out to attack the middle and north of England. Only L 35 makes a deep penetration of England, dropping her bombs near
Rotherham. Total damage inflicted by the raid is
£2,210.[68]
Sixteen German Gotha bombers set out to raid the United Kingdom. Thirteen reach England; five of them reach London, while the other eight bomb
Dover and other targets in
Kent.[69]
September 25–26 (overnight) – Fifteen German Gotha bombers set out to bomb London, but only three reach the city. One of the bombers comes down in the North Sea, probably the victim of a British
Sopwith 1½ Strutter flown by
Douglas Bell and George Williams of the Royal Flying Corps's
No. 78 Squadron.[70]
September 28 – In accordance with an agreement between
Italy and the
United States for the United States to receive bomber aircraft from Italy and
United States Army Air Service cadets to receive flight training from the
Royal Italian Army's
Military Aviation Corps in exchange for raw materials from the United States, the first 46 American cadets arrive at
Foggia, Italy, for training. Another 250 soon join them, and almost 500 American aviators will receive training in Italy – primarily at Foggia – before the war ends in
November 1918.[71]
September 28–29 (overnight) – Twenty-seven German bombers – 25 Gothas and two
Zeppelin-Staaken R.VI bombers – attempt a raid on England, but most turn back due to bad weather. Those that do reach England drop bombs that injure three people and inflict
£129 in damage. Three Gothas are lost, and six others are damaged while landing.[70] It is the first time that the new giant
Zeppelin-Staaken Riesenflugzeuge, operated by the German Riesenflugzeug Abteilungen ("Giant Airplane Detachments") Rfa 500 and Rfa 501, take part in bombing operations against the
United Kingdom; they are the largest bombers ever used in bombing Britain, including those used by Germany and Italy during
World War II.[72]
September 29–30 (overnight) – Seven Gothas and two Zeppelin-Staaken R.VIs set out to raid England. Their bombs kill 40 people and injure 87. One Gotha is lost. By this time, the population of London is so alarmed by the German night raids that up to 300,000 people seek shelter in
London Underground stations at night, while others leave the city to seek overnight accommodation elsewhere or to sleep in open fields in the countryside.[73]
September 30-October 1 (overnight) – Eleven Gotha bombers raid England.[74]
October 1–2 (overnight) – Eighteen Gotha bombers of the
Imperial German Army's air service, the Luftstreitkräfte, set out to raid the
United Kingdom. Eleven of them reach
England. British
antiaircraft guns fire 14,000 rounds at them without scoring a single hit. The intensity of German air raids over the past week have created a shortage of antiaircraft shells and worn out the
barrels of many antiaircraft guns, and falling fragments from antiaircraft shells have killed eight people and injured 67 in England.[78]
October 7 – L 57, a German Navy Zeppelin modified to be able to make a long-distance flight from
Yambol,
Bulgaria, to
Mahenge,
German East Africa, to deliver medical supplies and munitions to German ground forces there, and as such the largest airship ever built at the time at 743 feet (226 meters) and carrying 2,418,700
cubic feet (68,490
cubic meters) of
hydrogen gas, is wrecked and destroyed by fire while attempting to take off for a test flight in poor weather.[79]
October 19 – The U.S. Army opens
Love Field in
Dallas,
Texas as a flight training base. The airfield is later converted to civil use, becoming the primary commercial airport for the
Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex until 1974, and continues to serve as an important regional airport.
October 19–20 (overnight) – The German Navy dispatches 13 Zeppelins on a high-altitude raid against the middle of
England, and they encounter an unexpected
gale. Two never leave their sheds; the other 11 set out for England and become lost in the storm. Most bomb open countryside, although L 41 damages the
Austin Motor Works at
Longbridge and L 45 bombs
Northampton and London, killing 24 and injuring nine people. The British use muzzled antiaircraft guns around London to avoid guiding Zeppelins to the city, and the attack becomes known as the "Silent Raid." Although 73 British planes take off to intercept the raid, none have the ability to reach the Zeppelins' operating altitude. The storm scatters the Zeppelins widely across Germany, the
Netherlands,
Belgium, and France during their return flights and only six reach Germany safely. L 55 sets an altitude record for airships of 24,000 feet (7,300 meters) during her homebound flight before being damaged beyond repair in a hard landing in Germany; L 44 is shot down in flames by French artillery over the
Western Front with the loss of all hands; L 49 lands in France and is captured along with her entire crew; L 45 lands in France and is destroyed by her crew, who are captured; and L 50 makes a hard landing in France, after which 15 of her crew manage to get off the airship and are captured and she drifts away and crosses France before disappearing over the
Mediterranean Sea with four men still aboard.[80]
October 29–30 (overnight) – Three German Luftstreitkräfte bombers set out for the first
heavier-than-air raid on England in four weeks. Two divert to
Calais,
France, due to bad weather; the third reaches England and bombs the
Essex coast.[81]
October 30 – The German ace LeutnantHeinrich Gontermann is performing aerobatics when the upper wing of his
Fokker Dr.I fighter breaks off. He is fatally injured in the subsequent crash. His 39 victories will tie him with LeutnantCarl Menckhoff as the 13th-highest-scoring German ace of World War I.[46]
October 30–31 (overnight) – Twenty-two German Gotha bombers set out to raid London, with the newly developed 4.5-kg (9.9-lb)
incendiary bombs included in their bombloads. Fewer than half the bombers reach the London area; they bomb the city's eastern suburbs, but many of the incendiary bombs fail to ignite. The rest of the planes bomb
Kent, where they destroy a
gasometer in
Ramsgate but achieve little else. Five of the bombers crash while attempting to land upon returning to their bases. Bad weather will prevent another raid against England until
December.[81]
November
November 19 – The
Battle of Caporetto ends. The 27-day battle has caught the Italian Corpo Aeronautico Militare ("Military Aviation Corps") by surprise and it has lost a great deal of equipment, but it claims to have shot down 39 enemy aircraft in 70 air-to-air engagements during the battle.[82]
November 21–24 – In an attempt to deliver medical supplies and munitions to German ground forces in
German East Africa, the German Navy Zeppelin L 59, specially modified for long-range flights, makes a 6,757-kilometer (4,196-
statute mile) journey from
Yambol,
Bulgaria, over
European Turkey,
Asia Minor, and the
Mediterranean Sea and into
Africa to a point west of
Khartoum before being recalled to Yambol, which she reaches after 95 hours 5 minutes continuously in the air at an average speed of 71 km/h (44 mph). The flight sets a new aircraft endurance record. She returns to Yambol with enough fuel aboard to have remained in the air for another 64 hours.[83]
December 5–6 (overnight) – After weeks of unfavorable weather, the Luftstreitkräfte makes its first
heavier-than-air raid against the United Kingdom since
October 1917. Nineteen
Gotha and two Riesenflugzeug bombers attack in several waves, causing
£100,000 in damage, mostly in
London, but inflicting few casualties. British
antiaircraft guns shoot down two Gothas and their crews are captured; a third bomber and its crew go missing.[86] It is the last German bombing raid against the
United Kingdom until
January 1918.
December 7 – The
Battle of Cambrai comes to end, with 10 German ground-attack squadrons having provided
close air support to German ground forces during the 17-day battle. German ground-attack aircraft have played a key role in halting the British advance, convincing the Luftstreitkrafte of the need for a permanent ground-attack force.[88]
^Layman, R.D., Before the Aircraft Carrier: The Development of Aviation Vessels 1849-1922, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1989,
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ISBN978-1-84476-917-9, p. 263.
^
abLayman, R.D., Before the Aircraft Carrier: The Development of Aviation Vessels 1849-1922, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1989,
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^Phythyon, John R., Jr., Great War at Sea: Zeppelins, Virginia Beach, Virginia: Avalanche Press, Inc., 2007, p. 7.
^Whitehouse, Arch, The Zeppelin Fighters, New York: Ace Books, 1966, no ISBN, pp. 190-193.
^Professor A. M. Low FLIGHT, 3 October 1952 page 436 “The First Guided Missile”
^"The Dawn of the Drone" Steve Mills 2019 Casemate Publishers.
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abButler, Glen, Colonel, USMC, "That Other Air Service Centennial," Naval History, June 2012, p. 56.
^Allward, Maurice, An Illustrated History of Seaplanes and Flying Boats, New York: Dorset Press, 1981,
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^Terraine, John, The U-Boat Wars 1916-1945, New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1989,
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^Swanborough, Gordon, and Peter M. Bowers, "Army-Navy Airship Cooperation," Naval History, June 2011, p. 20.
^Blumberg, Arnold, "The First Ground-Pounders," Aviation History, November 2014, pp. 41-42.
^Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, p. 63.
^Whitehouse, Arch, The Zeppelin Fighters, New York: Ace Books, 1966, no ISBN, pp. 183-184.
^Whitehouse, Arch, The Zeppelin Fighters, New York: Ace Books, 1966, no ISBN, pp. 193-194.
^
abThetford, Owen, British Naval Aircraft Since 1912, Sixth Edition, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1991,
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^Whitehouse, Arch, The Zeppelin Fighters, New York: Ace Books, 1966, no ISBN, pp. 208-210.
^Swanborough, Gordon, and Peter M. Bowers, United States Navy Aircraft Since 1911, Second Edition, London: Putnam, 1976,
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^Whitehouse, Arch, The Zeppelin Fighters, New York: Ace Books, 1966, no ISBN, pp. 194-197.
^Wilkinson, Stephan, "Amazing But True Stories," Aviation History, May 2014, p. 33.
^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: Anness Publishing Ltd., 2006,
ISBN978-1-84476-917-9, p. 265.
^
abChant, Chris, The World's Great Bombers, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2000,
ISBN0-7607-2012-6, p. 26.
^
abHastings, Max, Bomber Command: Churchill's Epic Campaign - The Inside Story of the RAF's Valiant Attempt to End the War, New York: Simon & Schuster Inc., 1987,
ISBN0-671-68070-6, p. 37.
^Franks, Norman, Aircraft Versus Aircraft: The Illustrated Story of Fighter Pilot Combat From 1914 to the Present Day, London: Grub Street, 1998,
ISBN1-902304-04-7, p. 62.
^Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987,
ISBN0-517-56588-9, p. 428.
^Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, p. 194.
^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: Anness Publishing Ltd., 2006,
ISBN978-1-84476-917-9, p. 264.
^
abLayman, R.D., Before the Aircraft Carrier: The Development of Aviation Vessels 1849-1922, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1989,
ISBN0-87021-210-9, p. 113.
^
abcdFranks, Norman, Aircraft Versus Aircraft: The Illustrated Story of Fighter Pilot Combat From 1914 to the Present Day, London: Grub Street, 1998,
ISBN1-902304-04-7, p. 63.
^
abSturtivant, Ray, British Naval Aviation: The Fleet Air Arm, 1917-1990, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1990,
ISBN0-87021-026-2, p. 215.
^
abFrankland, Noble, Bomber Offensive: The Devastation of Europe, New York: Ballantine Books Inc., 1970, p. 11.
^
abChant, Chris, The World's Great Bombers, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2000,
ISBN0-7607-2012-6, p. 29.
^Whitehouse, Arch, The Zeppelin Fighters, New York: Ace Books, 1966, no ISBN, pp. 211-212.
^Whitehouse, Arch, The Zeppelin Fighters, New York: Ace Books, 1966, no ISBN, pp. 198-201.
^Cole, Christopher and Cheesman, E. F., The Air Defence of Great Britain 1914–1918, London: Putnam, 1984,
ISBN0-370-30538-8, p. 260.
^
abcFredette, Raymond H., The Sky on Fire: The First Battle of Britain 1917–1918, New York: Harvest, 1976,
ISBN0-15-682750-6, p. 263.
^Terraine, John, The U-Boat Wars 1916-1945, New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1989,
ISBN0-8050-1352-0, p. 78.
^Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, p. 323.
^Trimble, William F. (1990). Wings for the Navy: A History of the Naval Aircraft Factory, 1917-1956 (1st ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. p. 13.
ISBN0-87021-663-5.
^Chant, Chris, The World's Great Bombers, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2000,
ISBN0-7607-2012-6, p. 30.
^Hastings, Max, Bomber Command: Churchill's Epic Campaign - The Inside Story of the RAF's Valiant Attempt to End the War, New York: Simon & Schuster Inc., 1987,
ISBN0-671-68070-6, p. 38.
^Fredette, Raymond H., The Sky on Fire: The First Battle of Britain 1917–1918, New York: Harvest, 1976,
ISBN0-15-682750-6, pp. 103-106.
^Whitehouse, Arch, The Zeppelin Fighters, New York: Ace Books, 1966, no ISBN, pp. 215-216.
^Whitehouse, Arch, The Zeppelin Fighters, New York: Ace Books, 1966, no ISBN, p. 222.
^Fredette, Raymond H., The Sky on Fire: The First Battle of Britain 1917–1918, New York: Harvest, 1976,
ISBN0-15-682750-6, pp. 107-108.
^Cole, Christopher and Cheesman, E. F., The Air Defence of Great Britain 1914–1918, London: Putnam, 1984,
ISBN0-370-30538-8, p. 302.
^Cole, Christopher and Cheesman, E. F., The Air Defence of Great Britain 1914–1918, London: Putnam, 1984,
ISBN0-370-30538-8, p. 323.
^Terraine, John, The U-Boat Wars 1916-1945, New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1989,
ISBN0-8050-1352-0, p. 77.
^Anti-Submarine Warfare in World War I John Abbatiello (2006) Routledge "Introduction"
^Franks, Norman, Aircraft Versus Aircraft: The Illustrated Story of Fighter Pilot Combat From 1914 to the Present Day, London: Grub Street, 1998,
ISBN1-902304-04-7, p. 61.
^Whitehouse, Arch, The Zeppelin Fighters, New York: Ace Books, 1966, no ISBN, p. 223.
^Cole, Christopher and Cheesman, E. F., The Air Defence of Great Britain 1914–1918, London: Putnam, 1984,
ISBN0-370-30538-8, pp. 325-327.
^
abCole, Christopher and Cheesman, E. F., The Air Defence of Great Britain 1914–1918, London: Putnam, 1984,
ISBN0-370-30538-8, pp. 332-333.
^Blumberg, Arnold, "Bombing, Italian Style," Aviation History, November 2015, p. 50.
^Guttman, Robert, "German Giant," Aviation History, September 2014, pp. 14, 15.
^Fredette, Raymond H., The Sky on Fire: The First Battle of Britain 1917–1918, New York: Harvest, 1976,
ISBN0-15-682750-6, pp. 143-144.
^Fredette, Raymond H., The Sky on Fire: The First Battle of Britain 1917–1918, New York: Harvest, 1976,
ISBN0-15-682750-6, p. 264.
^Butler, Glen, Colonel, USMC. "That Other Air Service Centennial'". Naval History, June 2012, p. 56.
^Layman, R.D., Before the Aircraft Carrier: The Development of Aviation Vessels 1849-1922, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1989,
ISBN0-87021-210-9, p. 78.
^Thetford, Owen, British Naval Aircraft Since 1912, Sixth Edition, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1991,
ISBN1-55750-076-2, p. 14.
^Fredette, Raymond H., The Sky on Fire: The First Battle of Britain 1917–1918, New York: Harvest, 1976,
ISBN0-15-682750-6, pp. 135, 146-147, 264.
^Whitehouse, Arch, The Zeppelin Fighters, New York: Ace Books, 1966, no ISBN, p. 234.
^Whitehouse, Arch, The Zeppelin Fighters, New York: Ace Books, 1966, no ISBN, pp. 223-232, 236, 243.
^
abFredette, Raymond H., The Sky on Fire: The First Battle of Britain 1917–1918, New York: Harvest, 1976,
ISBN0-15-682750-6, pp. 162-166.
^Gooch, John, Mussolini and His Generals: The Armed Forces and Fascist Foreign Policy, 1922-1940, Cambridge, U.K: Cambridge University Press, 2007,
ISBN978-0-521-85602-7, p. 53.
^Whitehouse, Arch, The Zeppelin Fighters, New York: Ace Books, 1966, no ISBN, pp. 234-235.
^Fredette, Raymond H., The Sky on Fire: The First Battle of Britain 1917–1918, New York: Harvest, 1976,
ISBN0-15-682750-6, p. 166.
^Whitehouse, Arch, The Zeppelin Fighters, New York: Ace Books, 1966, no ISBN, p. 237.
^Cole, Christopher and Cheesman, E. F., The Air Defence of Great Britain 1914–1918, London: Putnam, 1984,
ISBN0-370-30538-8, pp. 355-357.
^Francillon, René J., Japanese Aircraft of the Pacific War, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1979,
ISBN0-87021-313-X, p. 26.
^Blumberg, Arnold, "The First Ground-Pounders," Aviation History, November 2014, p. 42.
^Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987, p. 58.
^Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987,
ISBN0-517-56588-9, p. 378.
^Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987,
ISBN0-517-56588-9, p. 416.
^Thetford, Owen, British Naval Aircraft Since 1912: Sixth Revised Edition, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1991,
ISBN0-557-50-076-1, p. 119.
^
abDonald, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997,
ISBN0-7607-0592-5, p. 51.
^Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987,
ISBN0-517-56588-9, p. 419.
^Angelucci, Enzo, The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft From 1917 to the Present, New York: Orion Books, 1987,
ISBN0-517-56588-9, p. 415.
^Dona;d, David, ed., The Complete Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1997,
ISBN0-7607-0592-5, p. 185.