A French communication system for use by airplane pilots in 1915: black powder could be puffed out into a Morse code message.
(Image: Scientific American, September 25, 1915)
Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Robert Gulley, who notes the following on his blog:
I found this interesting post from Scientific American concerning the lack of reliable wireless communication in aircraft in 1915 – just one of those fascinating historical tidbits.
You can read the full post on Robert’s website or Scientific American.
It is fascinating to see “old school” innovations that made long distance communications possible in 1915; before wireless technology became as practical and accessible as it was even only a decade later.
The “Deutsches Museum” in Munich, Germany is famous for its interactive technical exhibits. It has a branch at the oldest still active airfield in Bavaria. Even a ready-to-fly JU-52 from the 1930s is stationed there. See http://www.deutsches-museum.de/en/flugwerft/information/ and http://www.dachsel.de/JU-52/
They have an exhibit room for telecommunications there. Among the exhibits is a gap sparc transmitter of the Royal Bavarian Flying Corps that flew in WW I.
The French (and others) had very elaborate semaphore signaling system at the Tim of Napoleon.
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22909590