1916 in aviation

January
January 12 - German aces Max Immelmann and Oswald Boelcke, with 8 kills, are the first pilots awarded with Pour le Mérite ("the Blue Max")

January 29 - the second and last Zeppelin raid on Paris inflicts 54 casualties.

March
March 16 - US military aircraft fly their first mission over foreign soil when Curtiss JN3s of the 1st Aero Squadron carry out reconnaissance over Mexico.

March 18 - German ace Ernst Udet scores his first kill

April
April 15 - RFC and RNAS aircraft deliver 13 tons of stores into Kut el Amara, Mesopotamia, while it is besieged by the Turks. This was the first time aircraft were used for such a purpose.

April 20 - the Escadrille Américanne, later to be known as Lafayette Escadrille, is established as an American volunteer unit in France, equipped with Nieuport 11s.

May
May 2 - eight German Zeppelins raid the east coast of England, causing 39 casualties. The Zeppelin L 20 (LZ59) is wrecked in a storm off Stavanger, Norway on the return journey.

May 17 - Parasite fighter experiments begin in the UK to launch a Bristol Scout from a Porte Baby airship.

June
June 17 - the first French ace, Jean Navarre, is shot down and wounded, ending his combat career with 12 confirmed kills.

June 18 - the first German ace Max Immelmann is shot down and killed by a FE.2b from No. 25 Squadron RFC -- a symbolic end of the "Fokker Scourge". He had scored 15 kills.

June 23 - Victor Chapman of Lafayette Escadrille becomes the first US airman to be killed in action, shot down near Verdun.

July
No.3 Wing RNAS becomes Britain's first strategic bombing unit, equipped with Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutters

July 1 - beginning of the Battle of the Somme. In the five months of the battle, the British lose 782 aircraft and 576 pilots but maintain air superiority over the battlefield.

August
August 2 - 16 German Zeppelins raid southeast England. Lt William Leefe-Robinson, RFC shoots down Zeppelin SL 11 in a BE.2c.

August 6 - French ace Capitaine René Fonck gains his first confirmed victory.

August 27 - Oswald Boelcke creates the first German special fighter squadron Jagdstaffel 2 (Jasta 2).

September
September 15 - British submarine B-10 is sunk by Austrian Lohner flying boats, led by Fregatten-Leutnant Zelezny, becoming the first submarine sunk by aircraft; French submarine Foucault is sunk by two Austrian Lohner flying boats, led by Fregatten-Leutnant Zelezny, becoming the first submarine sunk at sea by aircraft.

September 17 - Rittmeister Manfred von Richthofen scores his first kill, from a Albatros D.II

September 23-24 - eleven Zeppelins attack England. Two are shot down, LZ 76 by ground fire, and LZ 74 by Lt Frederick Sowrey

October
October 12 -Canadian Royal Naval Air Service ace Raymond Collishaw claims his first victory.

October 28 - German ace Oswald Boelcke is killed in a mid-air collision.

November
November 23 - British ace Lanoe Hawker VC is shot down by Manfred von Richthofen

November 28 - Central London is bombed by an LVG C.II flown by R. Brandt

First flights

February
February 9 - Sopwith Pup flown by Harry Hawker

April
SPAD S.VII

May
May 28 - Sopwith Triplane flown by Harry Hawker

June
June 16 - Port Victoria P.V.2

June 17 - Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8

June 29 - the B & W Seaplane, William Boeing's first aircraft.

July
July 25 - Anatra DS

August
Airco DH.4

September
September 9 - Bristol F.2A

September 12 - the Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane

October
October 25 - Bristol F.2B Fighter

November
November 22 - Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5

Entered service

February
Airco DH.2 with No. 24 Squadron RFC

April
Sopwith 1½ Strutter

August
SPAD S.VII with Escadrille No. 26

November
Sopwith Triplane

December
December 24 - Sopwith Pup with No. 54 Squadron RFC