TNT History Archives: Air Warfare's Origin in Turkey-Italy War (1911-1912)/Part I

 //Ed. note: One unique aspect of the Turkey-Italy

War of 1911-1912 was the Italians' use of balloons

and airplanes for both reconnaissance and bombing

in the Libyan theater.  

Details of the Italian air campaign were provided in

a report about the war by Italian Capt. I. Revol,

whose report was translated by a retired Turkish

general and published in Turkey in 1940. Herewith

the English translation relating to aviation, from 

the Turkish translation of the Italian original.//

Since the news reports of the local press were always suspect and stale, 

the (Italian) command decided to obtain its own information by 

airborne surveillance.  In this regard, fixed-site balloons, airplanes and 

transportable balloons were  generously employed and it can be said 

that the latter two were used in warfare for the first time in the conflict 

in Libya.  These trials provided an idea about what can be expected from 

these airborne means, together with a sense of their value and potential 

benefit.

With regard to fixed-site balloons,  they were of 250, 500 and 1,500-

cubic meters in size and of various types.  These seven balloons were 

set up in a park, under the command of an engineering lieutenant.   

The two largest were Draken balloons, which began to be used as of 

November  (1911).  There are no important points to mention about the 

method of use for these balloons, except that  the one under the 

command of the Navy roamed across the extent of the city oasis in 

Tripoli.  This transportable balloon was tied to a raft that was pulled 

by a ‘torpido’ (naval destroyer) and rose to an altitude of 300 meters. 

 

                        An Italian Draken observation balloon.

From that height, the balloon could see the artillerymen on the ships and 

in the trenches and was, therefore, able to direct fire toward the various 

points occupied by the enemy in the oasis.  Consequently, the oasis was 

split up into areas whose figurative boundaries were drawn 

perpendicular to the shore.  So, in order to alert the troops about a 

particular area that required firing upon, flares of various colors were 

used.  At night, the units took advantage of different colored signal flares.  

The observer riding in the basket below the transportable balloon 

provided the requisite direction and signals for the firing. As a result, 

the artillery teams  were able to fire as far as the Ayn-Zara oasis.

Nevertheless, the use of airplanes preceded the use of the Draken 

balloons.  On 22 October 1911 an airplane flew over Tripoli.  

Subsequently, Italian airplanes flew over Benghazi in November, 

over Tobruk in December and, in the months of March, April and 

August 1912, over Derne, Buchemess and Zuara, respectively.

There is no positive evidence that, initially, these few new airplane 

assets provided much value.  At that time, the Italian Army preferred 

lighter-than-air means to establish control of the sky, considering 

airplanes merely a sporting craft that could, at most, agitate the 

Arabs’ fears and superstitions as a “mechanical bird”.  So airplanes 

accompanied the landing troops for this purpose.  Over time, though, 

the services that airplanes can provide, especially in good weather 

and over open terrain,  became better known and appreciated.

//END of PART ONE//