Figure 1.-- The Tsarevich Aklexei is watching a sea plane demonstration (1913). The planes were just added to the Russian Navy. Alexei is wearing a sailor suit ad cap, his normal attire before World War I.

Experiments with aviation began with theoretical projects (1880s). Prominant scientists were Nikolai Kibalchich and Alexander Mozhaisky. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky continued their work (1890s). Nikolai Zhukovsky set up the world's first Aerodynamic Institute in Kachino near Moscow (1904). The Imperial Russian Air Force (Императорскiй военно-воздушный флотъ) was founded as part of the engineering branch of the Army (1910). The Imperial Russian Army purchased French planes and began training the first military pilots. Preliminary experiments with synchronised machine guns were carried out before the war in different countries. An early Russian gear was designed by a Lieutenant Poplavko. The history of military aviation in Russia is strongly associated with Igor Sikorsky. He built the first "giant" plane just before the outbreak of World War I (1913). It was a four-engine plane--the Russky Vityaz, and his famous bomber aircraft, the Ilya Muromets., These were the forerunner of the multiengine strategic bombers. Dmitry Grigorovich built “flying boats” for the Imperial Russian Navy (1913). Russian aviators conducted the first flights in the Arctic, a challenge in the primitive planes then availavlke (914). They were looking for polar explorer Georgy Sedov's lost expedition. Russi entered World War I second in aize only to France. Many of the Russian planes were bought in France and older models. The Russians used aplanes for reconnaissance and coordination of artillery fire and were slower than the ermans to equip planes for combsat. A squadron of Sikorsky's Ilya Muromets bombers was deployed and used to attavk German and Austro-Hungarian military targets (December 1914). Pyotr Nesterov conducted the first aerial suicide attack. Russia's leading fighter ace was Aleksandr Kazakov, who shot down 32 enemy planes. The Imperial Russian Air Force was made became a separate branch of the army directly under command of the Stavka (commander-in-chief's HQ) (1915). Russian aircraft prodction coukld not keepo up with the Germans as the military reverses began to affect the economy. The Russians produced about 5,000 planes in contrast to 45,000 in Germany. Of course the Germans could deploy only a fraction of their production on the Eastern Front. Sikorsky produced an advanced four-engine bomber called Alexander Nevsky (1916). He was unable to massd produce it, however, with the onset of the Revolution and the collapse of the Russian economy (1917). He emigrated to the United States (1919).

Created: 7:35 AM 8/16/2009
Last updated: 7:35 AM 8/16/2009