Netherlands Institute of Military History Photo

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The pioneering years of military aviation / De pioniersjaren van de militaire luchtvaart. From Nederlands Instituut voor Militaire Historie. After the first motorized flight by the Wright brothers in December 1903, Netherlands military personnel soon recognized the military potential of the aircraft. Aircraft, as well as balloons and airships, seemed ideally suited to carrying out reconnaissance. The Dutch army's aviation branch - the Luchtvaartafdeling or LVA - was therefore established in Soesterberg in 1913. The photos show several activities at, around and above the air base. The balloons with wicker baskets, the open, ramshackle planes and the men in leather gear are characteristic of the pioneering years of military aviation in the Netherlands at the time of the First World War.