How long has the term "situational awareness" been used in aviation? I was puzzled to read (Wikipedia article on situational awareness) that:


  The term can be traced to World War I, where it was recognized as a crucial skill for crews in military aircraft.


but in the next paragraph:


  There is evidence that the term Situational Awareness was first employed at the Douglas Aircraft Company during Human Factors Engineering research while developing vertical and horizontal situation displays and evaluating digital-control placement for the next generation of commercial aircraft.


and then the next:


  Situation awareness appears in the technical literature as early as 1983


I imagine that the concept found work in understanding piloting very early on; what is the history of the term in aviation?
According to M. Press, in his 1986 unpublished manuscript Situation Awareness, let's get serious about the clue-bird which is cited by many authors, the concept of SA can be traced back to aces of WW1, in particular Oswald Boelcke.

According to M. Press, his success was due to him being aware of the enemy before the enemy sees him.

From Situation Awareness Analysis and Measurement, Mica R. Endsley, Daniel J. Garland, p7:


  The earliest discussions of SA undoubtedly derive from the pilot
  community going back as far as World War I (Press, 1986)