| Lawrence Sperry in Flight, 1914, One of the
most important inventions resulting from wartime R&D was Elmer Sperry's
use of the gyroscope for airplane and ship stabilization. In this photo,
Lawrence Sperry, Elmer's son, and brave French mechanic Emile Cachin demonstrate
their stabilized flight near Paris in 1914 as Sperry raises his hands with
Cachin walking on the wing. This invention made "precision bombing" possible.
Source: Thomas P. Hughes, American Genesis: A century of Invention and
Technological Enthusiasm, 1870-1970. |
