Roots...

Bataille de Fleurus
Jean-Baptiste Mauzaisse

Seems to be a recent theme for me, I see what juvat posts on Monday, then I piggy-back off of that to milk one or more posts from whatever topic juvat talked about on Monday. Last week it was battleships, this week it's about the editorial staff of The Chant's aviation roots.

So Alex Haley, er, I mean juvat said this on Monday:

Now that we're all caught up on the highlights of the week, I thought I'd discuss a subject that, as of lately, has been sadly lacking on what should be the main topic of this blog. No, Beans, not battleships!

I mean Really? SHIPS?

AVIATION!

And the title of the post was Back to our Roots...

So, mesdames et monsieurs, it's time for another rendition of Sarge's "Off the top of my head history." Today it's the history of military aviation. I know your first question is, "Sarge, what the Hell does a battle fought in 1794 have to do with military aviation?"

Well, take a closer look at that painting...

Yes indeed, upper right hand corner.

Yes, it's a lighter-than-air weapon of war, a balloon which the French Compagnie d'aérostiers used to monitor the movements and dispositions of the Austrian Army. The balloon even had a name, L'Entreprenant, which translates to The Enterprising. Or Enterprise, if you will.

Yes, there is the Enterprise floating over the Battle of Fleurus. Weird, neh?

Anyhoo, whereas I hinted the other day that I might move on to submarines for material, the concept of exploring the roots of military aviation rather intrigued me. Even though Kunte Kinte, er, I mean juvat, hinted that aircraft carriers would be acceptable as a topic (them being used to lug aircraft about for combat uses), I have to follow my Muse and go with my gut (substantial as it is though I am working on that issue. fighting my very own Battle of the Bulge, as it were).

So yes, balloons for starters. The first air force on the planet didn't last long, founded in 1794, disbanded by 1802. Two companies existed, the 1st was disbanded in 1799, the 2nd hung on until 1802 but hadn't used their balloons in a while. Ya see, the generals didn't see much use for them, and truth be told, once placed they weren't really mobile...

Observations by the second company at the Battle of Mainz.

In May 1794, the new corps joined Jourdan's troops at Mauberge, bringing one balloon: L'Entreprenant. They began by constructing a furnace, then extracting hydrogen. The first military use of the balloon was on 2 June, when it was used for reconnaissance during an enemy bombardment. On 22 June, the corps received orders to move the balloon to the plain of Fleurus, in front of the Austrian troops at Charleroi. This was achieved by twenty soldiers who dragged the inflated balloon across thirty miles of ground. For the three following days, an officer ascended to make further observations. On 26 June, the Battle of Fleurus was fought, and the balloon remained afloat for nine hours, during which Coutelle and Antoine Morlot took notes on the movements of the Austrian Army, dropping them to the ground for collection by the French Army, and also signaled messages using semaphore. (Source)

By the way, those chaps on the ground with flags in that last picture? No, they're not surrendering (damn it), they're signaling to those chaps in the balloon. Back then Les Français were botteurs de cul, not t'other way round. So there...

Ahem, yes, the 2nd Company lasted until 1802, why, you might be asking? Well, they were in Egypt with Bonaparte (he's not going by just his first name yet). When Admiral Nelson showed up...

(Source)

Oops, sorry Admiral, not you. This chap...

Careful now, I've got my eye on you Sarge.

Ahem, yes, 2nd Company of aérostiers, were on land, all of their equipment were still on the French ships. Which Admiral Lord Nelson and his band of jolly Jack tars blew all to smithereens, stranding the 2nd Company of aérostiers and Bonaparte and his army. About the only good thing to come out of Bonaparte's Egyptian campaign was this...

(Source)

Quiz time! For 50 points, what the heck is that thing in the preceding photo and what was it's significance? (Two can play that game, Monsieur juvat!)

After 1802 balloons weren't really used again until the War of the Rebellion (1861-1865) when they were again hoisted aloft to sneak peeks at what the enemy was up to. I do believe by then they weren't waving flags at each other as the telegraph had been invented and the apparatus was small enough to go up in a balloon. So instead of wig-wagging back and forth, they dot-dashed.

Ahem.

Military aviation rather languished until a couple of chaps named Wright managed to get a heavier than air machine aloft, if only for a short distance. Now it's time for our second quiz question. For another 50 points, where did the Wright's first powered flight take place? No, I'm not looking for the obvious answer, which is only semi-correct. The actual location was a bit south of that. There's an airport nearby these days, rather fitting I think.

So the French were the first to go aloft for warlike purposes. What were a few other milestones in military aviation? Think Italians versus Turks, around 1911...

Heavier-than-air aircraft were recognized as having military applications early on, despite resistance from traditionalists and the severe limitations of early aircraft. The U.S. Army Signal Corps purchased a Wright Model A on 2 August 1909 which became the first military aircraft in history. In 1911, the Italians used a variety of aircraft types in reconnaissance, photo-reconnaissance, and bombing roles during the Italo-Turkish War. On October 23, 1911, an Italian pilot, Captain Carlo Piazza, flew over Turkish lines on the world's first aerial reconnaissance mission, and on November 1, the first ever aerial bomb was dropped by Sottotenente Giulio Gavotti, on Turkish troops in Libya, from an early model of Etrich Taube aircraft. The Turks, lacking anti-aircraft weapons, were the first to shoot down an airplane by rifle fire. (Source)

Yeah, the Italians and the Turks. (Hhmm, if one can use rifles to down aircraft, doesn't that make them, ipso facto, anti-aircraft weapons? Asking for a friend...)

Etrich Taube at the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre, Blenheim, New Zealand.
(Source)

Rather looks like a bird doesn't she? Incidentally, "Taube" is the German for "dove," rather appropriate don't you think? Note that the observer, that dude with a rifle, is sitting in front of the pilot. Not an odd arrangement for a pusher-type aircraft but rather odd for a tractor-type.

So here we are, right at the doorstep of World War I, airplanes are still rather primitive beasties and very few of the generals are paying the aircraft any notice at all. The flying machines are a novelty still and, quite frankly, aren't all that reliable as of yet.

Things are going to change.

Before I go on, one last question: For 100 points, what specific unit is the direct statutory ancestor of the mighty United States Air Force?

To be continued...