Launching Site of First U.S. Army Warplane
Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas
Marker Inscription
From Old Fort Brown Cavalry Drill Field, near this spot, was made the first flight of a U.S. Army plane to be fired upon in armed hostilities, April 20, 1915. Two Signal Corps officers, Lts. Byron Q. Jones and Thos. Milling, flew a Martin T.O. Curtiss 75 on the border to spot movements of Mexican revolutionist Pancho Villa. They reached 2,600 feet; were up 20 minutes. Though they did not cross the Rio Grande, the plane was hit by machine gun and small arms fire. Their patrols lasted 6 weeks. Planes were used more effectively in fighting against Villa in 1916.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In the spring of 1915, as revolutionary turmoil spilled across the Rio Grande, the U.S. Army was just beginning to imagine what airplanes might do in war. From the old cavalry drill field at Fort Brown, two Signal Corps aviators took a fragile Curtiss biplane aloft to scout the movements of Pancho Villa's forces along the border. When ground fire struck their machine, it marked the first time an American military aircraft came under fire in hostilities—a small, dangerous milestone in the birth of American air power.
Why it matters
This border patrol flight stands at the very threshold of U.S. military aviation, foreshadowing how aircraft would soon reshape reconnaissance and warfare for the American century to come.
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Related people
- · Byron Q. Jones
- · Thomas Milling
- · Pancho Villa
Related events
- · Mexican Border conflict, 1915–1916
Themes & tags
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