Early Aviation History

Vintage photographs of early aircraft and aviation pioneers, showcasing historical aviation development and aircraft designs.

Thomas Selfridge and Wright Brothers Prepare for Takeoff

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War A Bleriot monoplane about to be started, two men are sat in the cockpit. Not the soldiers holding the tail skid, presumably to stop the aircraft running away when the engine is started.

Conquest of the Atlantic. Capt. J Alcock and Lt. A Whitten Brown leaving Newfoundland on 14th July 1919, for the first non-stop flight over the North Atlantic.

Aviation-Aircraft. This image depicts a U.S. Coast Guard plane in water.

Anefo photo collection. "Seaotter" Life plane for the navy. March 23, 1950

Wright Brothers airplane in flight at Fort Myer Virginia circa 1909.

Sopwith & Mrs. Chudoba, woman passenger

Anefo photo collection. Aircraft show Ilsy III at Ypenburg. Danish Airplane Ellehammer from 1911 whose tires must be pumped up. July 24, 1951. The Hague, Ypenburg, South Holland

Wright Flying Boat

Aviators Henri Farman (1874-1958) and Leon Delagrange (1872-1910) aboard their biplane, France, from L'Illustrazione Italiana, Year XXXV, No 13, March 29, 1908.

Glenn Martin (1886-1955), delivering newspapers in his airplane. He built his first airplane in 1909, and his first airplane factory in 1912 in Los Angeles, California. He successfully promoted his airplanes by stunt flying, and other attention getting gimmicks. Ca. 1911.

Aviation-Aircraft. This image depicts a PH-2 Flying Boat.

Short Bros "Singapore" Twin-England flying boat. July 17, 1929. (Photo by Short Bros. (Rochester and Bedford) Ltd.).

Focke-Wulf S 24 Kiebitz biplane, 1920s, (1932). Creator: Unknown.

Airplane Macchi M.7 on Lake Roxen, 1923 Motifs: Airplane Macchi M.7 marked number 943 on Lake Roxen at Berg's locks. Four men at the aircraft.

Poll photo collection. KLM Fokker Leeuwerik in Hull. Passengers and pilots at the KLM passenger plane the F-XII 'Leeuwerik' breeder 'with the registration PH-AFL at Hull Airport in Great Britain. August 1934. Great Britain, Hull

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War A medium close up of Cody aircraft mark II with Edward Leroy (despite the name, Lela's son - see below for further details) and Blanche Leroy (Edward's wife) aboard. Edward is wearing a rather pointed cowboy hat and tasselled leather jacket. Lela Cody's real name was Elizabeth King nee Davis. When her and Cody met (1890 / 1891) he had recently split up from his American wife Maud Lee and she was married with four children Lizzy, Edward, Leon and Vivian. Like their mother her children were soon enamoured with Cody, the three boy's joined Lela and Cody on stage with Leon and Vivian taking the name Cody and pretending to be his sons, whilst Edward took up the name Leroy and pretended to be Lela's nephew. Cody's only natural son was Frank. This is very different from the story that both Cody and Vivian told. In their version Cody met Lela when he was transporting horses from America to Britain to be sold to her father (he actually was a horse

Bleriot and aeroplane on flying field at Dover

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War British Army Aircraft I following the crash on its first flight. A man can be seen in the distance looking at the crash. Cody began building the British Army Aircraft I in 1907 with the design similar to the kites and glider that he had successfully flown. It had twin propellers, chain driven by a single 50 hp Antoinette engine, the propellers were situated behind the leading edge of and between the upper and lower wings. When he had finished building the aircraft Cody carried out an extensive period of tests to the aircraft often involving hops off the ground. Throughout this period of testing there was intense public and press interest with Cody often being ridiculed for his apparent lack of progress in comparison with foreign pilots and designers particularly the Wright brothers who were touring Europe at that time. Cody made the first sustained flight (lasting 27 seconds and for a distance of around 1390 feet) on the 16th October 1908.

05/27/1911. Train's monoplane after the Catastrophe.

Thulin type B in the air Aircraft Thulin type B in the air. View from below.

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War Medium close up of the engine of an SE 1 army aircraft.

Supergrifo glider.

Portrait of an unknown aviator in an airplane ..

Photograph taken during the first flight of the Wright Brothers. Dated 20th Century

Trainee pilot performing advanced gliding exam, Germany, 1932. Creator: Unknown.

Model Planes To Attempt Cross Channel Flight -- A close-up of the model plane belonging to Mr. John Ballard of Tolworth (Surrey) which is to make a cross-Channel flight attempt from Dover to Calais.Mr. John Ballard of Tolworth (Surrey) hopes to fly his model 'plane across the channel in the near future. This attempt - the object of which is to boost export orders in the British Model Engineering Industry - will be the first ever made. The plane which has a wing span of 5' 9" and a six-ounce diesel engine, will be controlled in flight by radio. The fuselage will be packed with Ping-pong balls and the crossing, from Dover to Calais, is expected to take about an hour. September 6, 1954. (Photo by Fox Photos).

Poll photo collection. Report Schiphol. An airplane on the runway at Schiphol. 1933. Amsterdam, Noord-Holland

German -- Dr. Geest Mowe type

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War An FE 2 pusher biplane fitted with floats instead of a conventional undercarriage, on the water with three men wearing civilian clothes stood in the water inspecting the machine. The aircraft is silhouetted by the sun on the horizon. Image similar to RAE-O 764.

Aircraft in hangar on the Centrale flying board Malmlätt Four military aircraft are in a hangar on central flying cities Malmlätt. From left aircraft, 10, J 8, B 4 and J 20.

Hüffer HB 26 Bajadere plane, 1920s, (1932). Creator: Unknown.

Porte & Hallett on "America"

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War An FE 2 pusher biplane fitted with floats instead of a conventional undercarriage, taking off from a lake. The photograph is rather grainy.

Airplane on the ground aircraft Thulin K "Thulinjagaren" on the ground. A man standing in front of the aircraft and a dog sits on the aircraft wing.

Brisbane - Adelaide air race.8. Jimmy Broadbent's tiger Moth (no. 19). December 17, 1936

David and Goliath. The little Irish Swoop is quite dwarfed by the huge liner Heracles at Croydon today. December 3, 1934. (Photo by Keystone).

Vintage photograph. Airplane at Bendix Air Terminal

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War An SE 1 army aircraft being towed along the ground by five men.

Belgian Air Training School in Britain- Training at Snailwell, Cambridgeshire, England, UK, 1945 A pupil and instructor sit in a dual-control Tiger Moth aircraft at the Belgian Air Training School at Snailwell, near Newmarket. A large number 10 is painted on the side of the aircraft, near the nose.

Surfing for aircraft, about 1930.

Refuelling Rehearsal For 5,000-Miles Non-Stop Flight Bid -- Sir Alan Cobham's Airspeed Courier" Refuelling from a 'plane above. To India and back, a total distance of 10,000 miles in just over four days, is the latest spectacular flight to be *****. It will be made shortly by Sir Alan Cobham and Squadron Leader W. Helmore, R.A.F. the final rehearsal of refuelling in the air was made on Sept. 11., By the two airmen at ford aerodrome, near Arundel, Hants. This system they have invented will make i

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War Cody aircraft mark IC (Cathedral - so named because of its size and the size of the hangar it required and the katahedral (lower at the wing tips) arrangement of the wings) in flight close to the ground the unevenness of which is clearly visible. The most important change made with this mark was moving the pilots seat to in front of the engine. It was then altered several more times, here the additional elevators at the side of the central one (which has now been split in two down the centre) are missing, the rudder is in the original position above the elevator, a tail skid and balancing planes have been added between the wings on the rear outer struts. Particularly with his earlier aircraft Cody made constant adjustments to the arrangement of the flying surfaces, often after crashes, in order to obtain better performance and handling. These changes mean that identifying specific sub-marks of Cody aircraft can at times be very difficult,

Thaw Aeroplane in Central Park 3/6/16

Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, the controversial advocate for military aviation, standing beside a pursuit plane, an early fighter. Ca. 1922.

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War British Army Aircraft I during the first sustained flight. Cody began building the British Army Aircraft I in 1907 with the design similar to the kites and glider that he had successfully flown. It had twin propellers, chain driven by a single 50 hp Antoinette engine, the propellers were situated behind the leading edge of and between the upper and lower wings. When he had finished building the aircraft Cody carried out an extensive period of tests to the aircraft often involving hops off the ground. Throughout this period of testing there was intense public and press interest with Cody often being ridiculed for his apparent lack of progress in comparison with foreign pilots and designers particularly the Wright brothers who were touring Europe at that time. Cody made the first sustained flight (lasting 27 seconds and for a distance of around 1390 feet) on the 16th October 1908. Though he had made previous short flights or leaps this was t

, Aspern - airfield, with aircraft, postcard, Unknown

A glider test by the Wright Brothers, performed off of what looks like a sand dune. C1901 - Two years before their first powered flight

Burgess-Dunne Hydroplane, circa 1915

World War 1 - First landing of an aeroplane on the deck of a warship steaming at full speed.

Anefo photo collection. General rehearsal of the flying party at Soesterberg French plane Caudron G3 from the war 14 "18. July 3, 1958. Soesterberg, Utrecht

Latham's "Antoinette"

ESPAÑA AUTOMOVIL 30 III 1912 PG 75 MONOPLANO G CAMO. Location: BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL-COLECCION. MADRID. SPAIN. GONZALEZ CAMO.

Chas. Niles in Japan

Australia's New Aircraft. First R.A.A.F. "Wapiti" Christened. A demonstration flight by Flight-Lieut. L. Pacet after the ceremony, at Yeovil. Lady Ryrie, the wife of the wish Commissioner for Australia, yesterday at the Westland Aircraft Works, christened the first of a fleet of twenty-eight "Wapiti" general purposes" aeroplanes, fitted with "Jupiter" engines, ordered for the Royal Australian Air Force. This batch of machines is fitted with wing slots, but, unlike the name type supplied to the R

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War A BE 1 biplane fitted with experimental wirless equipment (not visible) on the ground, the aircraft sheds can be seen in the background.

A photograph showing the rear view of the Pomilio aircraft, Subiect 54362, taken at the Aviation Experiment Station in Hampton, Virginia. The image was captured on January 15, 1919, and issued for circulation. The photograph provides a downward perspective of the aircraft. Notes about the photograph are included.

Airplane Junkers F 13 Numbers S-AWAA Starts from Water The Company Aerotransport Airplane Junkers F 13 S-AWAA starts from water, from the page. The image scanned from Alan Granston's album. Only digital file in FVM's ownership.

First North American P-51 Mustang "Carol'S Daddy" To Land At Broadway Strip, Burma After The Airborne Invasion By The 1St Air Commando Group.

Aircraft and Balloons Used by Some of the Air Pioneers Who Were Contemporary With Samuel Franklin Cody. A line up of seven Royal Flying Corp aircraft of various types.

An Aviation image from World War One showing a Breguet 14B2 aircraft with a Renault 300 H.P engine. This aircraft was used for day and night bombing missions. It had a top speed of 110 miles at 6500 feet and could climb to 16500 ft. in 47 minutes. It had a three-hour endurance at ground consumption and was armed with one fix twin flexible gun. The aircraft carried a payload of 520 lbs of bombs. C Note 20308.

12/31/1929. The American pilot Charles A. Lindbergh with his plane "the Spirit of Saint Louis", with which he made the first solo and non-stop Atlantic flight.

Cyril's Aero Sled.

Madrid. March 1911. An extraordinary aviation record. The aviator Breguet and the passengers with whom he made an admirable flight in his monoplane.

Hendricks i.e. Kendrick's Hydroaeroplane

Sachsen rigid airship. Fédèle Azari (Italian, 1895 - 1930)

Glenn Curtiss in his plane in Reims, Fr. Rose, 1909 photograph Reims photographic support gelatin silver print aircraft, aeroplane. pilot

The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2. British single-engine tractor two-seat biplane, in service with the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) from 1912 until the end of World War I. From The Pageant of the Century

The Royal Navy during the Second World War A Fairey Swordfish aircraft,, with dummy torpedo, seen in flight over the Scottish coast during a training mission our of Crail.

World War 1 - Side view of a British triplane. Its height was 27 feet, its fuselage 60 feet long.

Camel & plane. 1925

French aviator Eug®ne Renaux.

Poll photo collection. National Aerial Jource Holland. The Koolhoven FK-46 PH-FKB from the national aviation school ready to leave from the Rotterdam airport Waalhaven. Two mechanicals are aside of the adspiring pilot. 1935. Rotterdam, Waalhaven

B 1 Bréguet C.U 1, 1915 Close-up of aircraft B 1 Bréguet C.U 1 seen from behind the wing. In front of the plane stands Henrik Hamilton in the airline helmet and next to him his wife Ellen Hamilton. A mechanic works with the aircraft. A man sits in the aircraft's driver's seat. People collection around the aircraft.

"Front view of an American bomber designed by Glenn Martin, photographed at McCook Field in Dayton, Ohio. The serial number of the aircraft is SUBIECT SUMBER 53444 AU C.P.I., and the photograph was taken on January 13th, 1919. This image is classified as 843444 1684 FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY."

Portrait in front of aircraft, old ore portrait of airplanes in front of aircraft Albatros SW 20 marked 634 on the ore.

An older airplane or simulator stands on a field. An older airplane or simulator stands on a field. Large format, mounted photo.

Aircraft in front of the flight company and central airplanes Malmen, 1921 . aircraft in front of the airplane and central aircraft towns. To the right the village house. Airplane Phönix D.III number 953 in the foreground, aircraft thumbs up in the middle and airplane Phönixjagaren D.II in the background.

Bi-plane, 1920s-1930s, Christchurch, by Roland Searle.

DN-SN-87-03242. Base: Naval Air Station, Pensacola State: Florida (FL) Country: United States Of America (USA)

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War- the work of Samuel Franklin Cody in Airship, Kite and Aircraft Aeronautics 1903 - 1913 S F Cody standing on the wing of Cody Aircraft Mark VIB Hydroplane to test its buoyancy on the Basingstoke Canal. Whilst the floats fitted to the aircraft successfully demonstrated its buoyancy, the aircraft never flew with them fitted. However the Mark VI did make numerous flights with a conventional undercarriage and was demonstrated to the Army as a potential ambulance plane. The Mark VI was both the last and the largest of Cody's aircraft. It was intended as an entrant in the Daily Mail Coastal Circuit of Britain competion of August 1913. During the Competition, aircraft were to fly from Calshot near Southampton to Inverness, across the Irish Sea to Dublin, round Land's End to Falmouth before returning to Southampton within 72 hours. Despite the aircraft's size, it handled well and the 100 hp Green engine meant it was relatively fast. Cody was confi

A lineup of Vultee L-5's and Piper L-4's somewhere in the ETO. These liaison and observation planes, "The Grasshopper Fleet" have been assembled and test flown and are ready for delivery to front line units in France, or wherever they are needed.

Photography from albums from Meisters-Airport companies in Gothenburg. Engineer Wallin's flying machine.

A Caudron G4 bomber of the 48th Squadron, in the airfield hangar of Ponte nelle Alpi, Belluno, World War I, Italy, 20th century.

Crashed airplane in a field

One of the Macchi aircrafts which participated in the Schneider Cup with its crew and manufacturers, from L'Illustrazione Italiana, Year LIV, No 38, September 18, 1927.

Charles Augustus Lindbergh, American aviator, in flying clothes at Curtiss Field a few days before his 20.5.1927 solo flight from America to France Date: 1902 - 1974

An airplane gas tank is being filled during World War One. The photograph was taken in December 1917 and shows a machine that consumed 6 gallons of gasoline per hour, which is double the amount required for a typical 7-passenger automobile. The image was released to C.P.I. subject to approval from the Signal Corps on December 27, 1917.

Wellman airship - props of airship 1910

Winston Churchill (1874-1965) - British statesman and former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Flight in a Seaplane at Portsmouth. Date: 1914

This photograph depicts an airplane in the air, taken during the Independence Day Aviation Meet at the School of Military Aeronautics in Camp Dick, Dallas, Texas, on July 4, 1918.

Officer steps ashore from seaplane S3 Officer steps ashore from seaplane s 3

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War Medium close up of the Gamma airship gondola along with some handlers and mechanics. The engine is clearly visible.

Henri Farman (1874-1958), French aviator and aircraft constructor. Farman's biplane No 1. From a photograph.

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War British Army Aircraft I fitted with one radiator. The engine is running. The balloon shed can be seen in the background and a figure can be seen in the cockpit. Note the way that the aircraft is leaning to one side, there does not appear to be any weight on the wing or support on the opposite wing it is therefore possible that this is being caused by the torque of the engine , though this does seem unlikely considering the added difficulty this would have made when flying the aircraft. Cody began building the British Army Aircraft I in 1907 with the design similar to the kites and glider that he had successfully flown. It had twin propellers, chain driven by a single 50 hp Antoinette engine, the propellers were situated behind the leading edge of and between the upper and lower wings. When he had finished building the aircraft Cody carried out an extensive period of tests to the aircraft often involving hops off the ground. Throughout this

Aviation in Britain Before the First World War A Paulhan biplane on the ground with several handlers stood around it. The large balloon shed at Farnborough can be seen in the background. Note the unusual construction of the wing.

Three seaplane p. S 5B number 488 and S 5C number 483 and 481. Framed photo.

1928. Juan de la Cierva next to the plane that covered the London-Paris route.

Alcock and Brown's aeroplane after completing the first non-stop transatlantic flight, 1919. Artist: Unknown

Cantu 22 engined seaplane. transatlantic air cruise. 1931.

12/16/1936. Bridge Destroyed by the Republicans on the Guadarrama River.

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