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Use of airplanes in ww1
Military use of airplanes in ww1
Military use of airplanes in ww1
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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.
In today’s world, the use of airplanes in wars or in everyday life has become a part of how we live as human beings. Removing the air forces of the world is like taking a step back in time when wars were only fought on land or sea. WWI began only eleven short years after the Wright brothers achieved powered flight in 19031 and yet aircrafts were being used for surveillance and eventually combat purposes. It is understood that these aircrafts were primitive, but they laid down the foundation for what we know today as fighter jets. The Fokker Eindecker “revolutionized air combat by successfully employing a synchronized forward -firing machine gun mounted on the engine cowling”2. Because this airplane became the first to successfully use a synchronized machine gun, it allowed its pilots to become the first aerial combat tactitions3.
Airmen: An Illustrated History: 1939-1949.” Oct. 2012. Vol. 65 Issue 4, pg. 316-319. 4p. Ebsco Host. Tucker, Phillip Thomas, 1953. Web.2014.
World War One was known as the war that would end all wars. At first, airplanes in the war were thought to have just little combat use. An unknown British general even commented, " The airplane is useless for the purpose of war." In the beginning of the First World War, the airplanes were pretty simple and raw. By the end of the war, aircraft had become more advanced and had split off into fighters, bombers and long-range bombers. The specifications of the airplanes were changed to meet the war's requirements. When the War started in August of 1914, British airmen were associated with the British army and their commissioned officers had army ranks. Before the United State’s declaration of war in 1917, American nationals had enlisted in British and French air services including the Lafayette Escadrille. By the time the war ended in November of 1918, the Royal Flying Corps no longer prevailed and was absorbed into the recently developed Royal Air Force. The Royal Air Force now had its own command structure away from the army and provided its own ranks.
"World War II". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 05 Nov. 2013. .
This paper will briefly discuss or attempt to discuss the evolution of Aerial Reconnaissance. I will talk about what reconnaissance is exactly and why it is important to every aspect of conflicts; before, during and after. Early methods of reconnaissance will be discussed and then lead to how aerial reconnaissance came about. I will talk about what platforms were used for aerial reconnaissance and what their missions were in the beginning. World War I forces aircraft technology to start advancing out of necessity, reconnaissance starts moving further and further out front as capabilities improve. During World War II cameras are being used on aircraft as that technology improves. During World War II we see aerial reconnaissance mainly
Johnson, David E. Fast Tanks and Heavy Bombers: Innovation in the U.S. Army, 1917-1945. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1998. Print.
Aviation was big during the 1920’s. The first airplanes that were developed were made of wood and canvas, they were later modernized and than made of an increasing amount of metal during this era. Airplanes were typically only used to carrying heavy loads and for wars, but during this era they were able to start taking passengers as well. It was only in 1927 that an airport terminal in the form of a waiting room and ticket-office for airplane passenger...
Lawson, Robert L., and Barrett Tillman. U.S. Navy Air Combat: 1939-1946. Osceola, WI: MBI Pub., 2000. Print.
What would the world be like without flight? Today we take aircraft for granted but for centuries man could only dream of flight. It was not until the late nineteenth century that human flight started to become a reality. During this time people started to see flight as a possibility, and enthusiastic inventors began working on and experimenting with many different types of flying machines. Although there were many determined people trying to develop an airplane, the Wrights were the first because of their good methods of testing, and their focus on understanding and developing lift and control.
Canadian Air Force Office of Public Affairs. (1996). The Flying Career of William Avery Bishop. [WWW Document] Retrieved May 2nd, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.ukans.edu/~kansite/ww_one/comment/bishop.html
Planes have developed immensely through the years. The Wright brothers developed the first plane in 1903.
"The Wright Brothers | The Aerial Age Begins." National Air and Space Museum |, Alcoa, airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/wright-brothers/online/age/. Accessed 30 Nov. 2016.
Heppenheimer, T. (2001). A Brief History Of Flight: From Balloons to Mach 3 and Beyond. Canada: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Alex Kershaw’s “The Few The American ‘Knights Of The Air’ Who Risked Everything To Fight In The Battle Of Britain” doesn’t just tell the story of the seven American aviators who flew for the British as but also their enemies, the Luftwaffe’s point of view. This book is told through this group of Americans and from the viewpoint of the Royal Air Force pilots they fought with but also the perspective of the Luftwaffe fliers that they fought against during the battle. For example, in one part of the book, there was this one German lookout who had commented on how much of an advantage the British had because of their radars that could locate enemy planes while they crossed the English Channel; the lookout considered the radar an “unfair” tool.
Unikoski, Ari. “The War in the Air - Summary of the Air War”. First World War.com. 2009. http://www.firstworldwar.com/airwar/summary.htm