100 Years Ago in WWI Aviation History - 18-08-1914*: One of the earliest aerial dogfights (First for Austro-Hungary and Serbia): During the Battle of Cer (15–24 August 1914*), Serbian aviator Tomic encountered an Austro-Hungarian plane while he was performing a reconnaissance mission over Austro-Hungarian (AH) positions. The AH pilot initially waved and he reciprocated by waving back. The AH pilot then fired at Tomić with his revolver. Tomić managed to escape, and, within several weeks, Serbian and Austro-Hungarian planes were begun to be fitted with machine-guns. (Editors note) Wikipeadia source says all..planes were fitted with machine guns, but that seems unlikely.) The photo of a Bleriot XI-2 is from a later date, but shows Tomic as the pilot and could conceivably be the aircraft he was flying (unarmed) at the time of the incident. see also commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FirstSerbianArmedPlane1915.jpg and babamim/wwi_serbian_generals *Note:This event date is only approximate, as available sources only state that the event happened during the battle of Cer. Documented clarifications welcomed.
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 16:57:18 +0000
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