THE WAR AT SEA AND IN THE AIR Canadian History 1201

THE WAR AT SEA

 When the war broke out, Great Britain was still considered the greatest naval power in the world  Germany had been building up a large modern navy  Many Canadians fought for the British navy, but some fought with Canada’s own navy  At the start of the war, the Canadian navy had 2 cruisers (the Niobe and the Rainbow) and only 350 personnel  By the end of the war, Canada had 112 war vessels and 5000 officers

JUTLAND  Neither country could afford to have their navy destroyed, so there was only one major battle at sea  May 31, 1916 at Jutland, off the coast of Denmark  149 British warships met 99 German warships head on  Britain suffered greater losses both in ships and sailors  The German fleet was more modern then the British fleet

GERMANY’S SUBMARINE  The submarine, or U-Boat (Unterseeboten) was Germany’s most deadly weapon  It could stay under water for 2 ½ hours and carry a crew of 35 people and 12 torpedoes  The U-Boat could rise to the surface and use gunfire as well  By late 1916 German subs were sinking about 160 ships a month

GERMAN U-BOATS

UNRESTRICTED SUBMARINE WARFARE  This was a German policy created in 1917 that meant U-Boats would sink ALL ships approaching Britain (Allied or Neutral) to cut off supplies  Britain was an island and needed supplies  Britain tried to do the same to Germany  In the first four months, they sunk 1000 British ships  The Allied response was the Convoy System  Cargo ships would travel in fleets surrounded by military cruisers / destroyers to get supplies through

THE CONVOY SYSTEM

SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA  On May 7, 1915, the British luxury liner Lusitania was sunk by submarine torpedo  1198 people drowned  Over half of the victims were Americans  Until now the US was neutral and planned to stay out of European wars. But the attack turned Americans against Germany and ultimately brought the US into the war

THE WAR IN THE AIR

AIR WARFARE  Planes were a new technology in WWI  They were used mainly for reconnaissance, bombing and ground attacks  The percentage of pilots killed was higher than in any other branch of the military  In late 1916 it was said the average life span of a pilot was 3 weeks  There were no parachutes to save those unlucky enough to be shot down

THE GREAT AIR ACES  Germany’s Manfred von Richthofen downed 80 planes in his career  He was called “The Red Baron”  He was only 25 when he was shot down on April 21, 1918

THE GREAT AIR ACES  Canada’s Billy Bishop  Brought down 72 enemy aircraft during WWI  He brought down 2 enemy aircraft while fighting off 4 more  The Red Baron being one of the 4!  Bishop was only 24 when the war ended

THE GREAT AIR ACES  Bishop was one of the greatest fighter pilots in the Commonwealth  First day behind the front lines he shot down a German plane  In one 5-day period he destroyed 13 planes  Was awarded the Victoria Cross and the highest honours in France  Among the top 3 Allied Air Aces

 Canadian Captain Roy Brown shot down and ultimately killed “The Red Baron”  Brown flew in a Sopwith Camel (a fighter plane)  Brown was only 25 when he shot down von Richthofen THE GREAT AIR ACES

THE GERMAN ADVANTAGE  Germany had the most aircraft  400 planes compared to 156 French and 113 British  Germans had developed a superior plane called the Fokker  A monoplane (had one set of wings) and armed with a machine gun that had an advanced firing mechanism that was precisely timed so a bullet did not hit its own propeller blade  Germans had rigid frame, gas filled balloons called Zeppelins ( Dirigibles or Airships )  They were used on observation missions and bombing raids

FOKKER

A REPLICA BUILT OF THE FOKKER

ZEPPELIN (DIRIGIBLE)

TASK  Complete the questions on the “The War at Sea and in the Air” sheet.