First World War surveillance kite. US soldier being lifted up by a surveillance kite during the First World War (1914-1918). As the stalemate of trench warfare developed on the Western Front in the First World War, a variety of aerial reconnaissance methods were used to map enemy positions. These included aircraft and balloons. This is one of the giant man-carrying kites developed by Samuel Perkins, being tested at Camp Devens, Ayer, Massachusetts, USA. The kites were never used in action. Here, the soldier riding the kite is Lieutenant Kirk Booth of the US Army's Signal Corps. The US entered the war on 6 April 1917, playing a crucial role in helping Britain and France to defeat Germany and its allies. Photographed in 1918.