War in the Air Tiffany Morales, Erica Verga, Melissa Dominguez

Background on War in the Air The air war threw up a new breed of fighter, and in general the Allied and Central Powers' governments proved quick in exploiting the successes of their airmen for propaganda purposesCentral Powers' Hot-air balloons were widely used in World War 1 because they were cheaper then planes. Dog fights, meaning a battle between two or more planes, were a big part of World War 1. The first successful controlled plane flight was December 17, The Wright Brothers gained worldwide fame for their “flying machine”. When they offered their design to the US, the US turned it down. Air craft became faster and more powerful, but many of the technologies that were common at the start of war, had disappeared by the end of it.

Zeppelin General Ferdinand Zeppelin, a German Aristocrat devoted himself to the study of aeronautics. At the age of 60, he decided to invest all of his money in a company producing airships. By 1898, he and 30 other men assembled his first airship. The main principle of Zeppelin's invention was that hydrogen-filled gas- bags were carried inside a steel skeleton In the early part of the war Zeppelins were used for bombing raids. A Zeppelin bombed Liege in Belgium on 6th August, 1914 but was forced to land after encountering artillery-fire. Three more Zeppelins were destroyed by ground forces over the next two weeks. Although easy to hit, the Germans continued to use them on attacks on France After the war Zeppelins were used for luxury passenger transport.

Aircraft and Airships in 1914

Dogfights Dogfight means an aerial battle between two or more aircraft. The first fighter planes were only equipped with machine guns which were fixed onto the top wing. These early fighter aircraft had two two seats, with a man sitting in the rear controlling the guns. Dogfights were extremely difficult because the pilot would have to dodge other enemy aircraft while listening to the commands of the gunner as to where to fly to get the enemy into his sights. The first dog-fight is believed to have taken place on 28th August 1914.

Bombing Raids on Britain German air force carried out 103 aerial bombing raids over Great Britain. At first Germany used Zeppelins to bomb Britain. However, these were fairly easy to shoot down so in June 1917 Germany began sending the long-range bomber, the Gotha G-V to Britain. The Gotha, with its giant wingspan (24 meters), was easy to identify. The Gotha bombing raid killed 95 people and wounded 195 more. This raid caused more casualties than any of the Zeppelin attacks that had taken place in the early stages of the war. The British used searchlights, anti-aircraft guns and fighter aircraft and balloon barrages against the Gotha attacks. A total of 61 Gotha G-V aircraft were lost over Britain between September 1917 and May Germany decided to abandon the policy of bombing Britain. and for the rest of the war.

 What advances took place in the various technologies used? The first successfully controlled plane flight was December 17, Not many people realized the full potential of the plane. Observation balloons were floating high above the trenches. They commonly had a crew of two, equipped with parachutes. Blimps and balloons contributed to air-to-air combat among aircraft, because of their reconnaissance value, and to the trench stalemate, because it was impossible to move large numbers of troops undetected. Germany led the world in the design of Zeppelins and used these airships to make occasional bombing raids on military targets.

 How important was the type of warfare in WW1? From a strategic standpoint air warfare was of important interest initiating with reconnaissance work. Troop movements and artillery locations were readily reported from aerial observation. This soon brought on the role of the fighter plane whose job, initially, was to protect the observation planes. By the war's end, the impact of air missions on the ground war was mainly tactical – strategic bombing, in particular, was still very basic. Aircraft helped create the trench situation and aided in the strengthening of the stalemate. Even though the air battle for the skies was more fluid than the trench battles, the air war had some localized effects on the ground but outside of that not much else.

 Did any particular warfare change the course of the war? The airplane changed the course of the war because they realized that small handheld bombs or percussion grenades could be dropped on the enemy lines from the air. This realization led to the development of the fighter, which was built to shoot down other aircraft, and the bomber which was built to attack enemy troops and cities.

Resources up9/airwar.htm up9/airwar.htm mmary.htm mmary.htm during_World_War_I#Air_warfare WWair.htm WWair.htm