The Legacy of Flight
Images from the archives of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.
- By David Romanowski and Melissa Keiser
- AirSpaceMag.com, September 14, 2010
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Trenches stitched across the patchwork of farmland near a French village mark this World War I aerial reconnaissance photograph. Also caught in the frame is a French or British Nieuport 11, a single-seat fighter also used for observation. Tracking the movement of enemy forces, traditionally done by cavalry, was the first effective military use of aircraft. Observation aircraft played decisive roles in some of the early battles, before the combatants began developing better defenses against them, such as airplanes expressly designed to shoot down other airplanes.
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Comments (4)
Can some knowledgeable person comment upon why the
canopy of the distant (of the four) F-51 seems
different from the others. EDITORS' REPLY: According to Melissa Keiser and David Romanowski’s book, “The top three airplanes are P-51Ds, the first model with the distinctive bubble canopy, which improved the pilot’s view toward the rear. Suzy-C, by contrast, is a P51B with the earlier canopy design.”
Posted by J. P. Vetrano on October 30,2010 | 05:58 PM
The caption of photo 9 is not phrased well.
The thousands of men who serviced and flew the B-24 Liberator also deserve some acknowledgment as the "might" of the Mighty Eigth Air Force's daylight campaign.
Posted by Mark Breeding on February 10,2012 | 11:32 AM
Note the second P-51 aircraft has a revised tail.
Posted by James Williamson on April 18,2013 | 10:03 AM
Let me just make an inocuous comment; as an ex-86D driver, your stuff is the first I note each AM.
Posted by Gordon Caswell on April 18,2013 | 04:56 PM