8 February – Russian pilot N. de Sackoff becomes the first pilot shot down in combat when his biplane is hit by ground fire following a bombing run on the walls of Fort Bezhani during the First Balkan War. Flying for Greece, he comes down near Preveza, on the coast north of the Ionian island of Lefkada, secures local Greek assistance, repairs his airplane, and flies back to base.[5]
16 April – The inaugural 1913 Schneider Trophy race is won by Maurice Prévost in a Deperdussin monoplane, who completes 28 circuits of the 10 km (6.2 mi) course with an average speed of 73.63 km/h (45.75 mph).
27 April – Flying a Gage biplane, Robert G. Fowler makes the first nonstop flight across the Isthmus of Panama, covering 83 km (52 miles) in 1 hour 45 minutes Technically, this is the first nonstop flight across North America from the Atlantic to the Pacific.[8]
15 May – Cuban-born pilot Austin Parlá flies across the Florida Strait without surface support, relying only on a compass, the first person to do so.[12]
26 May (13 May O.S.) – Igor Sikorsky flies the world's first four-engine fixed-wing aircraft as he takes his Bolshoi Baltisky biplane (original version of the Russky Vityaz)[13]Ilya Mourometz into the sky for the Imperial Russian Air Service near Saint Petersburg (following test hops flown since three days earlier). Powered by 220 horsepower engines, the bomber could carry up to 1,543 pounds of bombs and has room for four machine guns and a crew of five.[14] It is also the first plane fitted with a lavatory.
5 July – A seaplane carrier participates in the British Royal Navy's annual maneuvers for the first time, as HMS Hermes embarks two seaplanes, the Short Folder S.64 biplane and a Caudron G.3 amphibian. The Short aircraft is the first with folding wings to be used aboard a ship. The maneuvers, which conclude on October 6, demonstrate both the feasibility of extended operations by aircraft at sea and the value of folding wings.[18]
17 July – The Royal Navy introduces the term "seaplane"; previously, seaplanes had been known as "hydro-aeroplanes."[19] The term "seaplane" comes into general use during the year.[20]
28 July – A Caudron G.3 amphibian takes off from a platform aboard the Hermes while she is underway and lands at Great Yarmouth. It is the first time an aircraft launches from the deck of a ship and lands ashore.[21]
20 August – The French aviator Adolphe Pegoud becomes the first person in Europe to jump from an airplane and land safely when he parachutes from 700 feet (213 m) above Buc, Yvelines, France.
1 September – Adolphe Pégoud makes the first inverted flight, flying upside down for 0.4 km (0.25 mile).[22]
20 September – The second annual Aerial Derby takes place, sponsored by the Daily Mail newspaper. Nine participants fly a single circuit of a 94-mile (151-kilometer) course, starting and finishing at Hendon Aerodrome in London, with control points at Kempton Park, Esher, Purley, and Purfleet. Gustav Hamel is the overall winner in a Morane-Saulnier airplane with a time of 1 hour 15 minutes 49 seconds and receives a gold trophy and £200 prize. Shell awards prizes of £100, £70, and £50 for the handicap competition, which Bentfield Hucks wins in a Blériot airplane.
21 September – Adolphe Pégoud loops a Blériot XI over France, believing it to be the first loop in history. The feat is widely publicized as the world's first loop until word of Pyotr Nesterov's loop over Russia of 12 days before spreads.
The first air-to-air combat in history takes place over Mexico when aircraft exchange pistol shots during the Mexican Revolution, apparently scoring no hits.[28]
29 November – Raymonde de Laroche flies 200 miles (320 km) solo in four hours to win her the 1913 Fémina Cup for the longest solo flight by a woman that year.[30]
^Chant, Chris, The World's Great Bombers, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2000, ISBN 0-7607-2012-6, p. 13.
^Baker, David, "Flight and Flying: A Chronology", Facts On File, Inc., New York, New York, 1994, Library of Congress card number 92-31491, ISBN 0-8160-1854-5, page 61.
^Orzeță, Mihail; Avram, Valeriu (2018). Romanian Aviation in the First World War(PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-03-31. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
^Daniel, Clifton, ed., Chronicle of the 20th Century, Mount Kisco, New York: Chronicle Publications, 1987, ISBN 0-942191-01-3, p. 171.
^Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum – Fowler-Gage Tractor
^Cross, Wilbur, Zeppelins of World War I, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1991, ISBN 1-56619-390-7, pp. 14–15.
^Crosby, Francis, The Complete Guide to Fighters & Bombers of the World: An Illustrated History of the World's Greatest Military Aircraft, From the Pioneering Days of Air Fighting in World War I Through the Jet Fighters and Stealth Bombers of the Present Day, London: Hermes House, 2006, ISBN 9781846810008, p. 16.
^Bruce, J. M. (1982). The Aeroplanes of the Royal Flying Corps (Military Wing). London: Putnam. p. 200. ISBN 0-370-30084-X.
^Pawlak, Debra Ann, "The Baroness of Flight," Aviation History, July 2008, p. 17.
^Maurer, Maurer, ed. (1983) [1961]. Air Force Combat Units of World War II(PDF) (reprint ed.). Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History. pp. 1–2. ISBN 0-912799-02-1. LCCN 61060979.
^Jackson, A. J. (1990). Avro Aircraft since 1908 (2nd ed.). London: Putnam. p. 52. ISBN 0-85177-834-8.
Referencesedit
Layman, R.D., Before the Aircraft Carrier: The Development of Aviation Vessels 1849–1922, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1989, ISBN 0-87021-210-9