False-Failed Innovation

Abstract

History is littered with technologies that failed as innovations. Others, such as gliders and airships, were like desert flowers. They flourished briefly and withered. Then there is the false-failed innovation-a technology that is examined and discarded but that gets a second chance under other conditions and succeeds. Perhaps the best example is inflight refueling, an idea pioneered in the 1920s to extend the range of wood and fabric biplanes. The Army Air Corps set the technique aside in the1930s as aircraft range and endurance improved. Rediscovered in the late 1940s when the United States tried to build an intercontinental jet bomber, the technology proved invaluable. Air refueling became a capability that quickly spread throughout the services and to other countries. This article looks at airships, gliders, and air refueling to determine why some promising innovations are permanently discarded while others are profitably resurrected.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2000
Accession Number
AD1024273

Entities

People

  • Gregory C. Wilmoth

Organizations

  • Joint Chiefs of Staff

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Electronic Warfare
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Defense
  • Air Force
  • Aircraft Carriers
  • Aircraft Equipment
  • Aircraft Industry
  • Aircrafts
  • Airplanes
  • Airships
  • Navy
  • Passenger Aircraft
  • Refueling
  • Tactical Aircraft
  • Tanker Aircraft
  • Transport Aircraft
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Aerospace logistics and air mobility.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy
  • Autonomy - UAVs