German Aviation during World War I

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A: Plan of Investigation

This investigation will examine the extent to which World War I encouraged aeronautical advancements in Germany from 1914 to 1918. A comparison of the crude airplanes developed before the brink of war to the end models will be evaluated to determine the Great War’s impact on aviation. Motivations for these advancements such as excellent piloting, number of deaths, need for ground assistance and competition with other countries will be considered, but specificities other countries aeronautical advancements will not be studied. Furthermore, the use of the airplane, which changed dramatically during the war, will be assessed to see its effect on Germany’s aeronautical advancements.

Sources 1001 Questions Answered About Aviation History by C.H. Hildreth and Bernard C. Nalty and War in the Air 1914-1945 by Williamson Murray will be evaluated during this investigation.

B. Summary of Evidence

American brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright largely inspired by German aeronautical engineer Otto Lilienthal, were able to achieve flight with their glider, the Kitty Hawk, in September of 1903 (Bell 13). At the brink of World War I ten years later, aircrafts were light and could only travel short distances because of their small fuel tank (Hildreth 111). Military use of the airplane was thought to have been practical solely for observation and most military authorities felt investment in experimentation would be a waste (Hildreth 125). As the war progressed, however, “the military believed that aircraft had a far greater value than just” (Trueman) aerial photography or reconnaissance- observation of enemy. The men that flew planes for this purpose had an “unspoken code” (Copper 4) that prevented them from shootin...

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...p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. .

Munson, Kenneth. Aircraft of World War 1. New York: Doubleday, 1968. Print.

Murray, Williamson. War in the Air, 1914-1945. London: Cassell Military, 2002. Print.

Rolfe, Douglas, and Alexis Dawydoff. Airplanes of the World: 1490 to 1962. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1962. Print.

Trueman, Chris. "Aircraft and World War One." Aircraft and World War One. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. .

Unikoski, Ari. "Firstworldwar.com." First World War.com. N.p., 22 Aug. 2009. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. .

Winter, Frank H., and Van Der Linden F. Robert. 100 Years of Flight: A Chronology of Aerospace History, 1903-2003. Reston, VA: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2003. Print.

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