Machine Gun Fired from Airplane for First Time

May 8, 1912

A machine gun was fired from an airplane for the first time, in a test conducted near the College Park, Maryland, airfield by the U.S. Army. Charles deForest Chandler, chief of the Aeronautical Division of the Signal Corps, was able to fire a 28-pound Lewis Gun to hit targets on the ground, while Lt. Thomas D. Milling piloted the Wright biplane