Popular images of chivalrous World War I aviators, goggled with silk scarves flowing, were quite different from the dark reality of the skies above Western Europe. As the war stalemated and casualties began to mount, aviation became a critical component in planning and operations. This presentation explores how aviation became sophisticated to meet the war’s unprecedented demands. Bill Fischer will present this program.Email RRoberts@albright.org for the Zoom link. For adults. 

Bill Fischer recently retired from Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton. Prior to joining the National Park Service, Bill taught high school in central Ohio after retiring from the US Air Force, where he served in weather, missile operations, intelligence, and as an assistant professor of history at the US Air Force Academy. He is the author of The Development of Military Night Aviation to 1919 and other publications and presentations.