1917 жылғы авиациялық оқиғалар тізімі

List of aviation related events in 1917

This is a list of aviation related events from 1917.

During her 30 November 1916 – 24 February 1918 cruise, the Imperial German Navy commerce raider Wolf carries a Friedrichshafen FF.33e seaplane nicknamed Wölfchen ("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. Wölfchen makes between 54 and 56 flights, the most by any World War I shipboard aircraft. The Aircraft Committee of the Royal Navys 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 worlds second most powerful seaplane carrier force, behind only that of the British Royal Navy. The Gallaudet Aircraft Company changes its name to Gallaudet Aircraft Corporation. The Groupe Latécoère aircraft company is founded in Toulouse, France. The French Armys Service Aeronautique experiments with the use of a Breguet 14 as an air ambulance for rapid casualty evacuation on the Western Front.

The Luftstreitkrafte (German Air Force) disbands three Kampfgeschwader (bomber wings) and redesignates their squadrons as Schutzstaffeln (escort squadrons). Operating two seat Albatros L 1 DDK, Rumpler 4A 13, Gotha Taube, and Fokker M.8 aircraft, the new "Schusta" squadrons are tasked with escorting two seat observation planes of the Feldflieger Abteilungen (field flying detachments) and Artillerieflieger Abteilungen (artillery flying detachments) during their reconnaissance flights, and are based with them. The Thomas Brothers Aeroplane Company merges with the Morse Chain Works to form the Thomas Morse Aircraft Corporation in Ithaca, New York. January 11 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 12 – Manfred von Richthofen receives the Pour le Mérite (the "Blue Max") for having shot down 16 Allied aircraft since September 1916. January 27 A French air raid on Freiburg, Germany takes place.

The Royal Flying Corpss No. 100 Squadron, the first British night fighter squadron, is formed. Germany begins Operation Türkenkreuz ("Turks Cross") bombing campaign against England, initially using airships. The United States Army forms the 7th Aero Squadron for service in the Panama Canal Zone. February 7 – Suffering progressive damage due to a series of crashes in bad visibility and poor weather, the Imperial German Navy Zeppelin L 36 finally crashes onto the Aller river and is destroyed by high winds. Her crew survives. February 8 – Flying a SPAD VII, the French ace Georges Guynemer becomes the first Allied pilot to shoot down a German heavy bomber when he downs a Gotha G. III. February 13 – Over the Gulf of Mexico off Pensacola, Florida, United States Marine Corps aviator Francis Thomas Evans, Sr., performs an aerobatic loop in a Curtiss N 9 floatplane, becoming the first person to loop a seaplane – a feat previously believed impossible in an N 9 even by the N 9s manufacturer. He will receive a Distinguished Flying Cross for the achievement in 1936. However, the recovery techniques he discovers when the N 9 stalls and spins – previously thought impossible to recover from in an N 9 – during some of the days loop attempts prove of far greater importance and have been in use ever since. February 26 – In anticipation of a possible entry by the United States into World War I, U. S. Marine Corps aviator Alfred A. Cunningham receives orders to establish, equip, and command an aviation company for a Marine Corps advance base force at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The commander of the German Naval Airship Service, Peter Strasser, requests the authorization of a force of 30 naval Zeppelins, 24 for use over the North Sea and six for service over the Baltic Sea.

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). March 8 – Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, inventor of the practical dirigible, dies. March 13 – The United States Armys 6th Aero Squadron is organized in the Territory of Hawaii, operating three Curtiss N 9 seaplanes. March 16–17 (overnight) – The German Naval Airship Service attempts to bomb England for the first time in 1917, in the first use of new Zeppelins designed for high altitude flight that the Services commander, Peter Strasser, believes will be too high for British air defenses to reach. The five Zeppelins – at least three of which achieve altitudes of between – mostly bomb open countryside and do only £79 in damage and kill no one. Disabled by mechanical failure, L 39 drifts over Compiègne, France, and is shot down by French antiaircraft guns with the loss of her entire crew, and L 35 is badly damaged while landing in Germany. The success of the Zeppelins in reaching high altitudes during a bombing raid encourages Strasser, who accompanies the raid aboard L 42, to plan a new bombing offensive. March 21 – The flight of the World's First Drone. At the Royal Flying Corps Upavon base one of the de Havilland unmanned 22 foot span monoplane Aerial Target aircraft was launched off a pneumatically powered ramp and flew briefly under radio control from the ground. The ‘pilot’ (on the ground) was Henry Segrave. This was witnessed by dozens of generals from all of the allied nations probably in England for the Imperial War Conference. The inventor of the control system was Dr. Archibald Low, the officer commanding the RFC secret Experimental Works in Feltham, Middlesex.

The Imperial German Army's air service, the Luftstreitkrafte, perfects close air support tactics during the Battle of Passchendaele, with close air support aircraft escorted by fighters attacking British troops with machine guns and hand grenades. The Germans discover that groups of four to six aircraft work best and that the ideal altitude from which to attack trenches is 150 feet (46 m), while is best for attacking larger targets like artillery batteries and reserve infantry concentrations. They find that line astern formations are best to reduce the effects of enemy ground fire and line abreast formations are best for fending off enemy fighters. August 1 – The German Navy Zeppelin L 53 achieves an altitude of 20,700 feet (6309 m), a new record for an airship. August 18 – The Luftstreitkrafte attempts the largest heavier than air raid against the United Kingdom of World War I, sending 28 Gotha bombers from their bases in Belgium to attack England despite predictions of unfavorable winds. After two hours in the air, they have only reached Zeebrugge on the Belgian coast, and it takes them another hour to reach the coast of England, where they find themselves off course. With too little fuel to go on, the strike commander orders the bombers to abort the raid and return to base; two of them come down in the North Sea, two others crash land in the neutral Netherlands, and others are lost in crash landings in Belgium. August 21 – Flying a Sopwith Pup fighter launched from a flying off platform mounted on a gun turret of the Royal Navy light cruiser , Royal Naval Air Service Flight Sub Lieutenant B. A. Smart shoots down the German Navy Zeppelin L 23 in flames over the North Sea with the loss of her entire crew. Smart is recovered safely along with his planes engine and one of its machine guns after he ditches his fighter in the sea. August 21–22 (overnight) – Eight German Navy Zeppelins commanded by German Naval Airship Service commander Peter Strasser aboard L 46 attempt a high altitude raid on England. Only L 41 crosses the British coastline; she bombs the Kingston upon Hull area, destroying a chapel and injuring one civilian. August 22 – The Luftstreitkrafte sends 15 Gotha bombers to attack England in a daylight raid. Five turn back over the North Sea, and the remaining 10 encounter British fighter aircraft and heavy antiaircraft fire over the Isle of Thanet. Two Gothas are shot down immediately, and another is shot down over Dover. The losses prompt to Germans to halt daylight raids over the United Kingdom and switch to night bombing.

The Imperial German Army's air service, the Luftstreitkräfte, begins to operate a radio equipped Rumpler C. IV off the coast of England to report weather conditions and reduce the chance of adverse weather interfering with Luftstreitkräfte bomber raids against the United Kingdom. Imperial German Navy Zeppelins make daily reconnaissance patrols over the Heligoland Bight throughout the month. December 5–6 (overnight) – After weeks of unfavorable weather, the Luftstreitkräfte makes its first heavier than air raid against the United Kingdom since October 1917. Nineteen Gotha and two Riesenflugzeug bombers attack in several waves, causing £100,000 in damage, mostly in London, but inflicting few casualties. British antiaircraft guns shoot down two Gothas and their crews are captured; a third bomber and its crew go missing. It is the last German bombing raid against the United Kingdom until January 1918. December 6 – Chikuhei Nakajima and Seibi Kawanishi found the Japan Aeroplane Manufacturing Work Company Ltd. It is the first aircraft manufacturing company in Japan. December 7 – The Battle of Cambrai comes to end, with 10 German ground attack squadrons having provided close air support to German ground forces during the 17 day battle. German ground attack aircraft have played a key role in halting the British advance, convincing the Luftstreitkrafte of the need for a permanent ground attack force. December 9 – Romania signs an armistice with the Central Powers, withdrawing from participation in World War I.

Westland N.1B

December 9 – Schaefer & Sons R. S.
December 10 – Junkers J 8, prototype of the Junkers CL. I

Airco DH.4 with No. 55 Squadron Royal Flying Corps

Sopwith Triplane with No.1 (Naval) Squadron, Royal Naval Air Service
February 26 – Siemens Schuckert R. VII with the German Luftstreitkräfte

Royal Aircraft Factory S. E.5 with No. 56 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps.

Bristol F.2A with No. 48 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps

Airco DH.5 with No. 24 and No. 32 Squadrons, Royal Flying Corps.

Junkers J. I with the Imperial German Army's Luftstreitkräfte

Airco DH.9 with the Royal Flying Corps′s No. 108 Squadron

Phönix D. I with the Austro Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops

Siemens Schuckert R. VI by the Imperial German Army's Luftstreitkräfte