53 
"The military aeroplane of the future will find its greatest 
field of usefulness in the important work of scouting. The 
military scout will carry two men: one to operate the machine 
and the other to take photographs and make reconnaissance 
sketches of the country. It would be entirely possible for 
Wilbur Wright to take an officer up with him, rise to a height 
of 1,000 to 1,500 feet, sweep over 25 to 30 miles of an enemy's 
terrain and secure a thoroughly accurate sketch of the lay of 
35 
the land " 
Whether or not Wilbur read and was prompted by this account is 
36, 37 
anybody's guess. In any event, history records that in April, 
1909, at the town of Centocelle (near Rome, Italy), he made 42 flights, 
23 of which were for training purposes, on which Italian Naval Officers 
took part. On one of these flights, a "bioscope" motion picture man, 
whose name is unrecorded, accompanied Wright and took the first aerial 
38 
motion pictures on record (Figure 28). 
One of the earliest pioneers in airplane photography was Beckwith 
Havens. Four years ago, I was browsing through the January, 1958, issue 
of American Airman magazine, and came across a picture of Mr. Havens, 
seated in a single seater Curtiss pusher airplane. The date was 1911. 
The object which attracted my attention, however, was the camera that 
had been installed beneath the wing. Curious as to details, I wrote to 
Mr. Havens, asking him for pictures of the airplane, plus any aerial 
pictures that he might have obtained. Within a week, Mr. Havens answered 
my letter, and inclosed the photographs I had requested. The airplane,