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The role of airpower in World War 2
The rise of airpower in the first world war
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“Air superiority was the pre-requisite to all winning operations, whether at sea, on land or in the air.”1 This belief was what Air Marshall Sir Arthur Tedder used as his guide during the Second World War, and when able to be fully implemented, allowed his air forces to dominate the skies. This complete air superiority would provide the Allied forces significant and decisive advantages throughout the course of the war. Air Marshall Sir Arthur Tedder was not always an Air Marshall, nor was he always a knight of the British Empire. Born in Glenguin, Scotland in 1890, he received an education at Magdalene College in Cambridge before enlisting in the Royal Army in 1913 at the age of 23. He quickly transitioned to the Royal Flying Corps in 1916, serving in France and Egypt for two years each. After carrying out many bombing and reconnaissance missions, he was given command of his own squadron, 70 squadron. With the formation of the Royal Air Force, he found himself charged with the duty of director of training from 1934 to 1936. Promoted to Vice Marshall in 1938, …show more content…
His plan for the invasion involved three phases: strategic bombing of Germany, focusing on the aircraft industry; bombing of railway centers17, coastal defenses, harbors, and air fields, and providing assistance to the invading ground forces.18 Once again, Tedder’s insistence on air superiority allowed the Allies to carry out Operation Overlord without interference by German fighters or bombers. Overlord involved the largest single operation of aircraft during the war, with 11,000 aircraft flying 14,000 sorties on June 5th and on D-Day. 19 As Tedder wrote in his memoirs, “Air superiority is the difference between the unhindered passage of our shipping across the Channel to the beaches of Normandy and the continual harassment our coastal shipping had suffered in the early days of the
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.
1. What do you think of when you drive by that big B-52 at the museum? Being the history buff that I am, I think about Vietnam, where that old “Buff” was used the most. “Why should I care about Vietnam?” you ask yourself. Well, last time I checked there’s a history section in the PFE guide, so there might be a test later! The intent of this paper is to inform you about Operation Linebacker II. I’ll explain the events leading up to the operation, discuss the strategy, and finally I’ll sum up the results of a bombing campaign Sir Michael Knight characterized In the book Strategic Offensive Air Operation as “...may have played a role not unlike two B-29s over Japan 27 years earlier”. (Knight: 77) I’ll start by explaining why President Richard Nixon gave the order to begin this new bombing campaign.
Thesis. Air War College, 1987. http://www.airwar.edu//a>. Maxwell, Alabama: United States Air Force, 1987. DTIC Online -.
”Battle of Britain, in World War II, a series of air battles between Great Britain and Germany, fought over Britain from Aug. to Oct., 1940. As a prelude to a planned invasion of England, the German Luftwaffe attacked British coastal defenses, radar stations, and shipping. On Aug. 24 the attack was shifted inland to Royal Air Force installations and aircraft factories in an effort to gain control of the air over S England. Failing to destroy the RAF, the Germans began (Sept. 7) The night bombing, or blitz, of London. Heavy night bombings of English cities continued into October, when the attack was shifted back to coastal installations. The Germans gradually gave up hope of invading England, and the battle tapered off by the end of October. Though heavily outnumbered, the RAF put up a gallant defense; radar, used for the first time in battle by Britain, played an important role. The Germans lost some 2,300 aircraft; the RAF 900. The Battle of Britain was the first major failure of the Germans in World War II, and it thwarted Hitler's plan to force Britain to accept peace or face invasion” (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia).
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.
This was to prepare for a ground invasion called Operation Sea Lion. “Eagle-day” is then planned to be begun by the Germans, which is a continued destruction of the RAF and a plan to install radar. However, this is delayed with poor weather conditions. Bombing continues in Britain, but the RAF are not yet defeated. They defend themselves aggressively, destroying at least 104 German aircrafts with a continued defeat of 330 German aircrafts. The British are constantly killing thousands of German troops, and Hitler eventually postpones Operation Sea Lion, with a new interest in dominating Russia. From both sides of the battle, more than 3,000 aircraft were destroyed; 1,023 from the British side, and 1,887 from the Luftwaffe. 544 RAF command pilots died, and 2,500 Luftwaffe aircraft were killed. During the relentless bombing known as “The Blitz”, 40,000 British citizens tragically died in the process. Britain had a much higher advantage in the war, due to its high performing navy, compared to Germany’s non-existing navy due to losses in Norway. If the Germans never gave up on this battle and won, the United States would probably become involved much deeper in the war. The Battle of Britain officially ended on October 31,
The Allied forces did not have the resources to carry out a strike. The Allies, especially the Air Force, were heavily engaged in actions elsewhere; any non-military mission could have possibly cost the Allies the winning of the war, and would have, at th...
Guy Gibson, the glorious WWII pilot, was not always the dashing manly hero he was known to be when he unfortunately was shot down. In fact, he was denied the first time he applied to the Royal Air Force because of his short stature; he was only 5’6” (Hickman, "World War II: Wing Commander Guy Gibson."). However, a determined “Gibson reapplied in 1936 and was accepted for flight training” (Hickman, "World War II: Wing Commander Guy Gibson."). The zenith of his career was when he successfully and very precisely dropped a large bomb on the dam of Ruhr Valley while his very talented squad of aircraft pilots was fired upon by high caliber rounds from AA(Anti-Aircraft) Guns and enemy aircrafts which flew in to intercept the British heroes. His action-packed battle with the Germans involved a new method of bombing and a high speed battle of aircrafts. Gibson’s fast military preparation led him to be the best of the best WWII pilots in history. Gibson’s first kill in Squadron No. 83 was on March 21, 1941. As his kills of German pilots started racking up, his squad became inactive and Gibson had to wait long periods of time before another mission would take place, rather than wait, Gibson requested a transfer, he wanted more. He was then moved to squadron No. 29 to begin his exciting journey of heroism (Hickman, "World War II: Wing Commander Guy Gibson.").
It began to emerge the differences in tactics. The question was whether to continue so far the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Forces Europe, General Eisenhower’s tactics attacking on a broad front, or due to problems of supply to take just one mighty blow. In that period Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery developed a new operation plan, which would include the use of 1st Airborne Army (Lieutenant General Lewis H. Brereton), actually 1st Airborne Corps (Lieutenant General Frederick Browning). The Corps comprised of 82nd US Airborne Division (Brigadier General James M. Gavin), 101st US Airborne Division (Major General Maxwell D. Taylor), and 1st British Airborne Division (Major General Robert “Roy” E. Urquhart) supported with, under his command, 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade (Major General Stanislaw Sosabowski). These units should be dropped along the roa...
Few tales from history have held as much fascination as that of the Battle of Britain. The notion of the RAF fighting against the might and power of the Luftwaffe, and winning, has captured the imagination of generations. Yet few people know who the man responsible for the victory really was. Most of the time, Prime Minister Winston Churchill is portrayed as the man who saved Britain. To some extent, this is true. If Churchill had not kept up the spirits of the British people, and had not refused to give in to Germany, then the battle would have been lost. But the man who actually kept the Germans from taking control of Britain was Air Chief Marshall Hugh Dowding. He not only won the battle, but quite possibly saved the free world. Dowding won the battle by his backing and use of radar, his insistence of a strong fighter force instead of a bomber force, and his brilliant, revolutionary defensive tactics.
Since the beginning of modern warfare, controlling the high ground has been a key strategy to military success. With the advent of aerial warfare, this philosophy remained true, however the new high ground became airborne supremacy. Early uses of close air support, during World War II and Korea, utilized fixed forward weapon systems, primarily through strafing roles. While these aircraft were very effective during their conflicts, a new issue arose out of the dense foliage jungle canopies of Vietnam. Many of these newer aircraft utilized jet engine propulsion, which led to pilots struggling to identify targets, especially during multiple engagement on the same target (Ballard, 1982). Given the vital successes of previous conflict impacts on enemy logistics, and the apparent shortcomings during the early years of Vietnam, a new methodology had to be developed, refined and implemented.
Unikoski, Ari. “The War in the Air - Summary of the Air War”. First World War.com. 2009. http://www.firstworldwar.com/airwar/summary.htm
planning ahead and military superiority. Having control in the air was a major goal of
The Battle of Britain took place during World War II and was Germany’s attempt to dominate the skies of Great Britain. The Royal Air Force (RAF) was significantly outnumbered in one of the biggest air battles in history and managed to emerge victorious against the German air force, the Luftwaffe. German’s unexpected defeat was attributable to their underestimation of Britain’s strength, their inexperience in aerial warfare and their tactical and technological liabilities.
There are many inventions of the future that people either know or hope will happen and some inventions that people have never thought that would happen in this or the next lifetime. For instance, one piece of future technology that I believe may come to pass is the invention of flying cars. Since the time of being young and watching the Jetsons, many people have been waiting to see the first flying car. While bringing up the idea of a flying car to a lot of people would seem absurd or downright impossible to some, I actually believe that it is very much so possible to create given how far technology has come in the past few decades. I think that it is a very logical conclusion to assume that at some point in the future engineers, car makers, and others will start to pursue other alternatives to avoiding traffic jams and other problems on the road, and instead begin to examine the possibilities of taking to the air as an alternative solution. There is much talk about it over the internet and many people would like to try flying cars. While it would greatly improve traffic for those that prefer staying on the ground, it may prove dangerous in the beginning because of accidents in the air with other cars, planes, trees, and buildings. Some would say though, that the convenience would outweigh the risks because there would not be traffic jams, or detours because of road work. These cars would need something like a GPS system and an anti-wrecking system so people would not run into each other or other objects (How Flying Cars Will Work).