1915

Master Index

1917

1916 Chronology of Aviation History
Major Aviation Events

1916 Aviation Records

• Speed: 134.54-mph, Norman Spratt, RAF S.E. 4, June 1914

• Distance: 1,180.61-miles, Werner Landman, Albatros, 28 June 1914

• Altitude: 26,739-feet, Heinrich Oelerich, DFW14, July 1914

• Weight: 26,265-lbs, Staaken, R. VI

• Engine Power: 296-hp, Louis Renault, Renault 12F

• January 12 — Germany … German aces Max Immelmann and Oswald Boelcke, with 8 kills, are the first pilots awarded with Pour le Mérite (“the Blue Max”).

• January 29 — Paris, France … The second and last Zeppelin raid on Paris inflicts 54 casualties.

• February — England … The Airco DH.2 entered service with No. 24 Squadron RFC.

• February 9 — England … First flight of the Sopwith Pup flown by Harry Hawker.

• March 15 — Mexico … First use of US Army aircraft in military operations, in support of a punitive expedition into Mexico.

• March 16 — Mexico … US military aircraft fly their first mission over foreign soil when Curtiss JN-3's of the 1st Aero Squadron carry out reconnaissance over Mexico.

• March 18 — France … German ace Ernst Udet scores his first kill.

• April — France … First flight of the SPAD S.VII

• April — England … The Sopwith 1½ Strutter entered service.

• April 15 — Kut el Amara, Mesopotamia … RFC and RNAS aircraft deliver 13 tons of stores into Kut el Amara, Mesopotamia, while it is besieged by the Turks. This was the first time aircraft were used for such a purpose.

• April 20 — France … The Escadrille Américanne, later to be known as Lafayette Escadrille, is established as an American volunteer unit in France, equipped with Nieuport 11's.

• May 2 — England … Eight German Zeppelins raid the east coast of England, causing 39 casualties. The Zeppelin L 20 (LZ59) is wrecked in a storm off Stavanger, Norway on the return journey.

• May 17 — England … Parasite fighter experiments begin in the UK to launch a Bristol Scout from a Porte Baby airship.

• May 28 — England … First flight of the Sopwith Triplane flown by Harry Hawker.

• May 31 — North Sea … A British navy Short 184 seaplane launched from the British seaplane carrier HMS Engadine spotted for the British fleet at the Battle of Jutland, marking the first use of an aeroplane in a major fleet battle.

• June 16 — Isle of Grain … First flight of the Port Victoria P.V.2.

• June 17 — England … First flight of the Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8.

• June 17 — France … The first French ace, Jean Navarre, is shot down and wounded, ending his combat career with 12 confirmed kills.

• June 18 — France … The first German ace Max Immelmann is shot down and killed by a FE.2b from No. 25 Squadron RFC — a symbolic end of the "Fokker Scourge". He had scored 15 kills.

• June 23 — France … Victor Chapman of Lafayette Escadrille becomes the first US airman to be killed in action, shot down near Verdun.

• June 29 — Seattle, Washington, United States … First flight of th B & W Seaplane, William Boeing's first aircraft.

• July — England … No. 3 Wing RNAS becomes Britain's first strategic bombing unit, equipped with Sopwith 1½ Strutters.

• July 1 — England … Beginning of the Battle of the Somme. In the five months of the battle, the British lose 782 aircraft and 576 pilots but maintain air superiority over the battlefield.

• July 25 — Russia … First flight of the Anatra DS.

• August — England … First flight of the Airco DH.4.

• August — France … The SPAD S.VII enters service with Escadrille No. 26.

• August 2 — England … 16 German Zeppelins raid southeast England. Lt William Leefe-Robinson, RFC shoots down Zeppelin SL 11 in a BE.2c.

• August 6 — France … French ace Capitaine René Fonck gains his first confirmed victory.

• August 27 — Germany … Oswald Boelcke creates the first German special fighter squadron Jagdstaffel 2 (Jasta 2).

• September 9 — England … First flight of the Bristol F.2A.

• September 12 — United States … The Hewitt-Sperry biplane, in effect the world's first radio-guided flying-bomb, was tested in America. The craft was designed by Lawrence Sperry and was built by Curtiss. The aircraft has a 50 mile range, can carry up to 300-lbs of bombs, and is powered by a 10-hp engine.

• September 15 — Mediterranean Sea … British submarine B-10 is sunk by Austrian Lohner flying boats, led by Fregatten-Leutnant Zelezny, becoming the first submarine sunk by aircraft; French submarine Foucault is sunk by two Austrian Lohner flying boats, led by Fregatten-Leutnant Zelezny, becoming the first submarine sunk at sea by aircraft.

• September 17 — France … Rittmeister Manfred von Richthofen scores his first kill, from a Albatros D.II.

• September 23 to 24 — England … Eleven Zeppelins attack England. Two are shot down, LZ 76 by ground fire, and LZ 74 by Lt Frederick Sowrey.

• October 5 — London, England … The first British airline company, Aircraft Transport and Travel Ltd. was registered by George Holt Thomas.

• October 12 — France … Canadian Royal Naval Air Service ace Raymond Collishaw claims his first victory.

• October 25 — England … First flight of the Bristol F.2B Fighter.

• October 28 — Douai, France … German ace Oswald Boelcke is killed in a mid-air collision.

• November — England … The Sopwith Triplane entered service.

• November 22 — England … First flight of the Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5.

• November 23 — Bapaume, France … British ace Lanoe Hawker VC is shot down by Manfred von Richthofen.

• November 28 — London, England … Central London is bombed by an LVG C.II flown by R. Brandt.

• December 24 — England … The Sopwith Pup entered service with No. 54 Squadron RFC.

1. Gunston, Bill, et al. Chronicle of Aviation. Liberty, Missouri: JL Publishing Inc., 1992. 14-17
2. Parrish, Wayne W. (Publisher). “United States Chronology”. 1962 Aerospace Yearbook, Forty-Third Annual Edition. Washington, DC: American Aviation Publications, Inc., 1962, 446-469.
3. Wikipedia, 1916 in aviation
4. Shupek, John (photos and card images), The Skytamer Archive. Skytamer.com, Whittier, CA