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According to most military historians, the first US military airplane 
was built by Wilbur and Orville Wright and tested and accepted in 1909. 
The first bombing in WWI was by the Germans (of Paris and London) from 
the zeppelins. The first propeller-driven aircraft used in warfare was 
by the Italian army during the Italo-Turkish War in 1911 to 1912.

I can't find any references to the work the Wright bothers did in France 
prior to WWI leading to a viable aircraft for the use in warfare. 
However, they played an important role in the development of the first 
US military plane. As with any technology there were many others hot on 
the trail and the Wright brothers happened to get there first. But the 
history is fairly clear that years leading up to and during WWI lead to 
rapid advances in aviation within a short time - partiuclarly on the 
British, German and US side with many individuals contributing to the 
advances.

Interestly General Billy Mitchell who was the first comander of the US 
Army Air Corps and the first US Ace, was court martialed after the war 
because of his opposition to the policy by the US War Deptarment and the 
US Dept of the Navy that air power was not important to the national 
defense. Years later Gen. Mitchell's court martial was overturned and 
his rank reinstated as it beacue obvious that he was truly a visionary. 
As Sen John MaCain once said, Billy Mitchell is smiling from his grave 
as he looks on the tremendious air power that has been developed by the 
US and much of it can be laid back on his vision.

Truman

Robert Ferrand wrote:

> Truman,
>
> Close, but no cigar. You may remember we just celebrated the hundredth year
> anniversary of the Wright Brothers first flight in1904…..World War I was
> 1914 - there was a ten year gap, if you Google this one you will find:
>
> “The Wright brothers at the time were perfecting five years of work on the
> Flyer—it could easily fly 10 kilometers—but it had not done so before a
> similar audience. Rejected by U.S. military authorities, the Wright brothers
> were still in pursuit of a major government contract before showing off
> their Flyer to the world. Wilbur Wright had journeyed to France and was
> painfully building another Flyer from a jumble of parts shipped there a year
> before. The French were skeptical the Wrights could fly at all, while French
> pride was invested in a handful of French pilots who were getting cumbersome
> Voisin or Farber biplanes into the air for short hops, or trying, as Louis
> Bleriot did, for a longer flight in a spindly winged monoplane (his first
> model had wings of paper).” http://www.charlesbabcock.com/
>
> Robert Ferrand
> Google fan
>
>
>  



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