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[[Grainy photo of five people standing in front of a Wright biplane]] [[Grainy photo of two men sitting on biplane.]] Photos Depict Air Corps History Outstanding events of the early days of the army air corps, which will celebrate its 30th birthday on Aug. 2, are shown above. At the top is a funny-looking Wright biplane purchased for $30,000 as the first airplanes by the army, being wheeled aboard a wagon from a balloon shed at Fort Myer, Virginia. Below is a rare photo showing the first trial with rifle fire from an airplane, with Jacob E. Fickel as the rifleman on the flight, which took place in 1910. Fickel today commands the first wing of the Air Force. In the group are the first students of the army's first flying school located at College Park, Md., in 1911, being, from left to right, Captain Beek, Lieut. H. H. Arnold, who now is chief of air corps; Captain Chandler, Lieut. Milling and Lieut. Kirkland. In the bottom photo, Lieut. Phillip A. Parmlee, left, and Lieut. M. S. Crissy are shown with the first aerial bomb, dropped in 1912.--(Air Corps Photos). --------------------------------- [[//Column 1]] [[Column 2]] [[??] ridiculous the past appeared in comparison with the present. Uncle Sam's pioneering airmen were thorough in laying the foundation for today's air corps, which is unsurpassed for quality and efficiency. There was, to show the thoroughness of the start, the signal corps now famous specifications No. 486. which prepared the ground on which to build. Issued in December, 1907. these set the requirements for the first army airplane which was accepted on Aug. 2, 1909. Among other things, the specifications demanded a flying machine with a speed of at least 40 miles an hour in "still air," fuel for a flight of 125 miles, power to carry two passengers of about 350 pounds combined weight and designed to be "quickly and easily assembled and taken apart and packed for transportation in army wagons." The catch in specifications No. 486. however, was that the army demanded demonstration flights of all proposed machines and would buy "only after a successful trial flight." This was why almost two years passed before Uncle Sam bought his first airplane, and by that time his first army pilot had lost his life in the process. First Pilot a Casualty. Nevertheless, early aircraft builders were not discouraged by the rigid requirements, for 22 bids were opened by Capt. Charles S. Wallace on Feb. 1, 1908. One bidder wanted $10,000,000 for his machine and went so far as to guarantee which could choose the size of [[the?]] plane wanted at the rate of $7,000 per ton for sizes ranging from 1 to 10 tons. Others asked so many dollars per mile of speed. Wilbur and Orville Wright were more reasonable. They asked but $25,000 and promised delivery in 200 days, which they subsequently shortened. Disaster overtook the Wrights after their first successful flight on Sept. 9, 1908, at Fort Myer, Va., when on Sept. 17, the Wright craft crashed, killing Lieut. Thomas E. Selfridge, first army flyer who became the first casualty in army aviation. Orville Wright escaped, to continue with his brother until they won the contract on Aug. 2, 1909. They were rewarded additionally, receiving a $5,000 bonus for their efforts. Origin of Armaments. Thus, as viewed by the war department, the air corps was born. Actually, however, Uncle Sam was far from having an air corps in 1909, for a single airplane was the only equipment in the signal corps for aviation other than lighter-than-air craft. For pilots the army depended on special instructors until 1911, when the first army flying school was established at College Park, Md. One of the first students was H. H. Arnold, now chief of air corps. A signal corps officer's imagination had a lot to do with developing the flying machine into a winged carrier of armament. It was Col. Samuel Reber who persuaded Glenn Curtiss in 1910 to test the effects of rifle fire from an airplane on ground targets. The first rifleman was Jacob F. Fickel. who today commands the first GHQ air-force wing. In 1911 the first aerial bomb was dropped from a machine by Lieut. M. S. Crissy and Philip A. Parmalee. In 1912 Capt. C. D. Chandler, in a plane piloted by Lieut. R. T. Kirtland, fired the first machine gun from the air. Pistols Used in War. Despite these experiments, the army delayed perfection of aerial armament, for it was not until after the Untied States entered the World war that guns were mounted on airplanes, which until that time were solely observation devices. Pilots carried pistols and rifles and used them to prevent enemy observers from viewing the lines. A British pilot became the first to down an enemy plane in flight, and the episode, which occurred in 1914, was recorded for posterity in the following details: "An English pilot emerging from a cloud found immediately beneath him a German airplane. Swooping down to within revolver shot, he emptied all his chambers with an effect he could not observe because clouds once more enveloped him. Later on when he emerged from the clouds he saw beneath him a small crowd around a crashed airplane, and he came to the conclusion his revolver shots had not been without effect." On July 18, 1914, the aviation section of the signal corps was created with 60 officers and 260 enlisted men and on Sept. 1 the first aero squadron, having 16 officers, 77 enlisted men and [[8?]] airplanes, was organized at San Diego, Cal. Wartime Expansion. But still Uncle Sam was not [[//Column 2]] [[column 3]] United States has 27 fields in operation, with 1,063 instructors from elementary training and 40 from advanced training. There were then actually in training 6,528 men and more than 5,000 pilots and observers had been sent abroad of whom 2,226 were still in training and 1,238 were on flying du[?] at the front. The total person[?] of the air service increased from about 1,200 at the outbreak of [?] to nearly 200,000 at the end. Training planes produced totaled 9,503 and service planes 7,889, of which 3,800 were from foreign sources, at the armistice. Air Corps Created in '26. Forty-five American squadrons - 1 night bombing, 6 day bombing, 18 observations and 20 pursuit and 77 balloons operated on the front in November of 1918, having a total of 740 airplanes, and they had played major roles in the - battles of Chateau Thierry, St Mie[?] and the Meuse-Argonne, bringing down a total of 755 enemy planes while their own losses numbered 357 planes. The war had contributed future developments in milita aviation in many ways. For one thing,it launched development attack aviation by the third group now at Barksdale. Aviation activities were [?forced]from the signal corps in 1918 and expanded into two departments, the bureau of [?]aeronautics and the bureau [?]production. These [??????]in 192[?] Since that time many events have been chronicled by the war department to illustrate the development of the air corps. Most of these were exhibitions and some were staged by officers now stationed at Barksdale Field. Brig. Gen. Frederick L. Martin, third wing commander here, was the leader of the round-the-world flight in 1924 and was cited for its success, although his airplane crashed in Alaska. Major Lester J. Maitland, operations officer of the third attack group with Lieu. Albert F. Henzenberger, negotiated the Pacific in 1927 in a nonstop [?] of 2,400 miles from Oakland to Honolulu. Blind flying-the army calls it "instrument flying"- was conceived and made practical by Lieu Col. William C. Ocker, now [?] marshal at Barksdale Field, started his development in 19[?] One of the highlights [?] army aviation was the creation [?] March 1. 1935, of the general headquarters [?] air force, which marked [?]ical change in the air cor[?] Under this unit all comb[?] [?]rons with the continental [?] of the United States are [?] and maintained on a [?] basis, free of "red tape" to be capable of springing into action on quick notice. The[?] three wings in the GHQ air [?] the first with headquarters [?] March Field, Cal., the second [?] Langley Field, Va., and the [?] here at Barksdale Field. Maj. [?] Delos C. Emmons is comman[?] general.
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