1917 in aviation

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1917:

Events

During her 30 November 1916-24 February 1918 cruise, the Imperial German Navy commerce raider Wolf carries a Friedrichshafen FF.33e seaplane nicknamed Wx¶lfchen ("Little Wolf" or "Wolf Cub"), which during 1917 singlehandedly captures at least four of the 37 enemy ships Wolf captures and sinks during her cruise. Wx¶lfchen makes between 54 and 56 flights, the most by any World War I shipboard aircraft.
The Aircraft Committee of the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet decides to phase balloon ships out of naval service. The balloon ships are returned to mercantile service, or converted into balloon depot ships (to inflate and maintain balloons for use by other ships) or seaplane carriers.
The Imperial Russian Navy operates the world's second-most-powerful seaplane carrier force, behind only that of the British Royal Navy.

January

January 9 - The Royal Navy seaplane carrier Ben-my-Chree is sunk by Ottoman artillery while in harbor at Castelorizo Island, becoming the only aviation ship of any nationality sunk by enemy action during World War I.
January 27 - A French air raid on Freiburg, Germany takes place.

February

No. 100 Squadron RFC, the first British night fighter squadron, is formed.
Germany begins the Operation Tx¼rkenkreuz ("Turk's Cross") bombing campaign against England.

March

Royal Naval Air Service Handley Page O/100 bombers begin night attacks on German naval bases, railway stations and railway junctions, and industrial targets.
United States Navy Lieutenant Kenneth Whiting proposes to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels that the Navy acquire a ship with an aircraft catapult and a flight deck. Although rejected on June 20, it is the first serious U.S. Navy consideration given to acquisition of an aviation ship since the American Civil War (1861-1865).

April

Known as Bloody April. The Royal Flying Corps, while supporting the Arras offensive, loses 245 aircraft-140 in the first two weeks-out of an initial strength of 365. Aircrew casualties are 211 killed or missing and 108 captured.
April 6 - The United States enters World War I, declaring war on Germany.

May

May 7 - British ace Major Edward Mannock claims his first kill.
May 7 - British ace Captain Albert Ball (44 victories) is killed in a crash following a dogfight with Lothar von Richthofen, who also crashes but survives.
May 9 - French ace René Fonck shoots down six German aircraft in a day.
May 19 - United States "star in a circle" national insignia adopted
May 20 - German submarine U-36 is sunk by a Royal Naval Air Service flying boat.
May 25 - A mass air-raid by 21 Gotha G.V bombers attacks Folkestone in Kent, England, killing 95 people. It is the first of 22 German heavier-than-air raids on England during World War I.

June

An attack prior to the Battle of Messines Ridge on a British supply train by German aircraft disupts the supply of British ammunition, forcing British artillery to cease firing after three hours.
At Naval Air Station Pensacola, Pensacola, Florida, the United States Navy armored cruiser Huntington lofts a kite balloon, the first U.S. Navy ship to do so.
June 5 - The United States Navy's First Aeronautical Detachment disembarks from the collier USS Jupiter in France under the command of Kenneth Whiting. It is the first U.S. military to arrive in Europe.
June 13 - 14 Gotha bombers make the most destructive air-raid on London of the war. They attack in daylight, killing 162 people and injuring 432. The casualty total is greater than inflicted by all the German airship attacks on England combined up to that time.
June 20 - The British war cabinet decides to increase the size of the Royal Flying Corps from 108 to 200 squadrons, with most of increase coming in bomber squadrons.

July

The only Handley Page O/100 in the Mediterranean theart bombs Constantinople in an attempt to begin a bombing campaign against the Ottoman Empire's capital city.

August

United States Secretary of War Newton D. Baker announces the completion of the first Liberty engine 28 days after its design began. Before the end of World War I, 13,574 will be manufactured, and total will reach 20,478 by 1919.
August 2 - A Sopwith Pup flown by Sqn Cdr Edwin Dunning becomes the first aircraft to land aboard a moving ship, the hybrid aircraft carrier-battlecruiser HMS Furious.
August 7 - Dunning is killed on his third landing when the Pup falls over the side of Furious.

September

Due to increasing losses to new British fighters during daylight bombing raids on England, Germany switches to night bombing.
In a second bombing raid against Constantinople, the sole Handley Page O/100 in the Mediterranean is forced down in the Gulf of Xeros by engine failure and its crew taken prisoner by Ottoman forces.
September 3 - The United States Army's 1st Aero Squadron arrives in France
September 11 - French ace Capitaine Georges Guynemer goes missing in action. Kurt Wisserman of Jasta 3 is credited with shooting him down, but Guynemer's body is never found.
September 17 - While on convoy escort duty in the Atlantic Ocean, the United States Navy armored cruiser Huntington has her kite balloon blown away in bad weather. A shipfitter from her crew is awarded the first Medal of Honor in World War I for rescuing the balloonist.
September 26 - For the second time, French ace René Fonck shoots down six German aircraft in a day.

October

October 1 - The Royal Navy tests an aircraft catapult for the first time, using a compressed-air catapult aboard the catapult trials ship Slinger to launch an unmanned Short 184 with its fuselage fabric removed and engine replaced by ballast.

November

November 20 - The Battle of Cambrai (1917) begins.
November 21-24 - The German Zeppelin L 59 (LZ104) makes a 6,757 km (4,196-statute mile) journey through Africa in 96 hours at an average speed of 71 km/h (44 mph).

First flights

January

Sopwith Camel flown by Harry Hawker
5 January - Sage Type 3

February

Junkers J.4

April

April 4 - SPAD S.XIII
11 April - Marinens Flyvebaatfabrikk M.F.3

June

Sopwith Cuckoo
June 22 - Port Victoria P.V.7

July

July 5 - Fairey N.9

September

September 7 - Port Victoria P.V.8
September 14 - Fairey III

October

October 15 - Alcock Scout

November

November 30 - Vickers Vimy,

Entered service

January

Airco DH.4 with No. 55 Squadron RFC

February

Sopwith Triplane with No.1 (Naval) Squadron, Royal Naval Air Service

March

Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 with No. 56 Squadron RFC.

April

Bristol F.2A with No. 48 Squadron RFC

June

Sopwith Camel

Bruce, J.M. "The S.E.5: Historic Military Aircraft No. 5". Flight, 17 July 1953. Pages 85-89, 93.
Mason, Francis K. The British Bomber Since 1914. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1994. ISBN 0-85177-861-5.
Robertson, Bruce. Sopwith - The Man and His Aircraft. London: Harleyford, 1970. ISBN 0-90043-515-1.
Taylor, H.A. Fairey Aircraft since 1915. London:Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0-370-00065-x.
Thetford, Owen. British Naval Aircraft Since 1912. London: Putnam, 1994. ISBN 0-85177-861-5.

1917 in Aviation Pictures

More aircraft.

Source: WikiPedia