WWI- Technology

Technology on Land

Sam Hughes Why was fighting in the trenches so bad for Canadians? – Sam Hughes (Minister of Militia and Defence) – Insisted on Canadian manufacturing for supplies which produced supplies that were ineffective Sponsored the development of the Ross Rifle the rifle was a target rifle- great for precision shots BUT, the rifle was very prone to jamming during rapid fire and was very heavy to carry Often the rifle was tossed aside by Canadian soldiers for the better British guns—the Lee-Enfield rifles

Sam Hughes Continued Sir Sham Shoes Another supply that Hughes provided was boots that had cardboard soles (as a way to save money) This meant that the boots fell apart in the trenches because the cardboard would get soaked Due to this he was nicknamed “Sir Sham Shoes” MacAdam Shield-Shovel A shovel meant to serve the dual purpose being a shield for enemy fire and being a shovel – Had a hole in it for soldier to fire through – The shovel was not sharp enough to dig, did not block bullets and had a handle that was too short

Sam Hughes Continued Shell Committee – Sam Hughes was in charge of the Shell Committee which was responsible for creating and supply the British with all of the shells they would need for battle – For the most part Hughes gave the jobs in this Committee to his close friends – The committee spent $170 million 5.5 million shells – The shells were inferior and tended to explode before being fired which caused the death of gun crews

Technology on Land Chlorine Gas – First used at Ypres by the Germans – Yellow-Green colour that spread quickly – Caused suffocation and burning in throat and chest Phosgene gas – More potent and harder to detect – Broke down respiratory system Mustard Gas – More advance, caused blisters in side and outside – Damaged internal organs, causing pain – Is exposed could cause blindness

Technology on Land Machine gun – Place on flat tripod and used crew of 4-6 – Could fire bullets a minute – Would overheat –so used in short bursts Flamethrower – Used by Germans in early phases of war Tanks – Man named Swinton designed the tank to be used for the first time in WWI – The tanks could: Travel at minimum speed of four miles per hour climb a five foot high obstacle successfully span a five foot trench be immune to the effects of small-arms fire possess two machine guns have a range of twenty miles be maintained by a crew of ten men

Technology on Land German Railways – On land the Germans had superior railway systems that allowed them to mobilize their troops quickly

Technology on Land Mortars – Projectile canons – Could be fired from the trenches – Sent up at a 45 degree angle to drop on top of the enemy – Detonation in bottom of 4 inch tube that was ignited when the projectile was dropped in – Used first by the Germans, who had 3 sizes of mortars, against the French – British sped up development and a year later had their own

Technology in the Air Airplanes – To be a part of the war effort in the air Canadians had to join the Royal Air Corps of the British, Canada did not have their own airforce at this point – Pilots referred to as air aces – At first planes used for scouting – Some planes added an extra seat and man to fire a gun at enemy planes – Later equipped with machine guns – Not until the end of the war that German planes became metal plated and fired against the trenches as attack planes – War in the air against German planes, “dogfights” – Billy Bishop- highest scoring ace (72 victories)

Technology in the Air Observation balloons (Zeppelins) – Referred to as blimps – air balloons used to gather information about the enemy – Also carried guns and eventually bombs to perform bombing raids – proved ineffective because they were easily shot down

Technology at Sea German U-Boats – A fleet of deadly submarines – Carried 12 torpedoes – Able to defeat the British navy ships(sinking 200 ships by end of the war) – Sunk many Canadian merchant ships and even passenger ships such as the Lusitania Canada’s Shipyards – Produced more than 60 steel anti-submarine ships – Navy increased to 112 vessels by end of war – Q Ships– a new type of boat created in order to target the U- boats These had trained Royal Navy crews, hidden guns, echo-sounders and depth charges to find and destroy the submarines

Technology at Sea Merchant Marines – Canadian ships that transported goods to relieve the soldiers over seas – Would carry weapons and food to the Allies – Many of the men on these vessels were not part of the Navy but fisherman using their own boats to aid the cause Naval Blockades – Developed as a strategy to block the enemies transported goods and essentially starve them to death Underwater mines – A network of mines set up under the water to cripple enemy boat moves Convoy System – Boats moved in groups to attack enemy vessels rather than taking them on one-on-one