1. War in the Air
Learning Resources

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3. The Royal Engineers’ School of Ballooning at Farnborough
© IWM (RAE-O 961)
The Royal Engineers’ School of Ballooning at Farnborough
The use of balloons for observation in war dates back to the French Revolutionary Wars of the 1790s. This technology gave commanders a new perspective of the battlefield. They were used extensively by both sides in the American Civil War ( ), and by the British Army during the Boer War ( ) and the Boxer Rebellion in China (1900). Balloons continued to be used during the First World War ( ), mainly for artillery spotting.

4. © IWM (Q 73328)
Vickers FB5 Gunbus
Aeroplanes were also used for observing the enemy from the air during the First World War. The first British use of them for that purpose was during the retreat from Mons in August The FB5 was known as a ‘pusher’ aircraft because the engine and propeller was at the rear of the aircraft. Without a propeller in the way, the observer sitting in front had a relatively clear view of the situation below. Aeroplanes were much more versatile than tethered balloons and were used for a range of tasks including bombing.

5. © IWM (AIR 232)
Flechette
During the First World War aeroplanes developed from being a multipurpose tool to being role specific. Each type of aeroplane carried out a specific function: Scout (fighter) aeroplanes patrolled the skies, reconnaissance aeroplanes observed the enemy on the ground and bomber aeroplanes attacked the enemy’s ground troops. These darts were used by both sides to attack infantry and cavalry formations on the ground. They were usually dropped in bundles from aeroplanes, as this method ensured a wide dispersal.

6. Chain Home by William Thomas Rawlinson
© IWM (Art.IWM ART LD 5835)
Chain Home by William Thomas Rawlinson
British Scientists had developed radar technology during the decade prior to the Second War ( ). Chain Home was a series of ground based radar stations which could detect approaching aircraft. This information was used to direct British fighter aircraft, like the Supermarine Spitfire, to intercept the German raiders. During 1940 and 1941 radar technology was developed for use in aircraft. This enabled Royal Air Force night fighter pilots to determine their enemies’ position even when they were out of visual range.

7. American Boeing B-29 Superfortress
© IWM (NYP 69366)
American Boeing B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress was the largest Allied bomber of Second World War. It had pressurised crew compartments which meant that crews no longer had to endure sub-zero temperatures on long-range bombing missions. Superfortresses dropped the atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima (6 August 1945) and Nagasaki ( 9 August 1945).

8. © IWM (MH 24073)
Messerschmitt Me 262
The German Me 262 was the world’s first operational jet fighter. It was far faster than propeller driven aircraft and was capable of a maximum speed of 559 miles per hour. It went into service with the Luftwaffe (German air force), in April 1944, the same month the first British fighter aircraft, the Gloster Meteor, became operational. This new technology meant that aircraft could fly faster and higher than ever before.

9. © IWM (BU 11149)
The V2 rocket
The German V2 rocket was the world’s first long range ballistic missile. It was armed with a one ton warhead which caused considerable loss of life and damage when detonated. 1,115 V2s landed in the UK between 8 September 1944 and 27 March The V2 heralded both a new age of rocket and missile technology and the arms race between the superpowers with both the Soviet Union and the USA using German scientists who had worked on the V2.

10. © IWM (KOR 80)
Army Bell 47G
Although they were invented before the Second World War, it was only during the Korean War ( ) that they were used on a large scale in combat. This photograph shows a United States Army Bell 47G about to evacuate wounded soldiers from the battlefield. The Bell 47G was modified to enable it to carry two casualties, each strapped to one side of the “chopper”. This enabled serious cases to receive treatment much quicker than in previous conflicts and as a result the casualty survival rate increased.

11. McDonnel Douglas Phantom
© Crown copyright. IWM (CT 75)
McDonnel Douglas Phantom
AAMs (Air to Air Missiles) were developed after the Second World War by various different nations. They began to be carried by aircraft on both sides of the Cold War during the mid-1950s. This new technology meant that aeroplanes no longer needed to engage in “dogfights” but could now engage their enemy out of visual range.

12. Hawker Siddelely Harrier
© Crown copyright. IWM (CT 62)
Hawker Siddelely Harrier
The Harrier was the first operational fixed wing aircraft to be capable of VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing), and was nicknamed the “jump jet.” This 1973 photograph of a Harrier on an exercise in Germany shows how the plane could be deployed for action without the usual taking off and landing facilities of an airfield. The British Aerospace Sea Harrier was a later development of the aircraft, and both types were in action during the 1982 Falklands War.

13. © Crown copyright. IWM (GLF 565)
Tornado GR1A
This photograph shows a Tornado GR1A reconnaissance aircraft of 31 Squadron Royal Air Force in flight during the First Gulf War ( ). Reduced defence budgets combined with a more sophisticated technology has meant that the military role of aircraft has now gone full cycle and the Tornado has a multipurpose role as a fighter, a bomber and a reconnaissance plane.

14. Nighthawk Stealth Fighter
© IWM (GLF 1074) - Image courtesy US government
Nighthawk Stealth Fighter
The Nighthawk, which combined the role of fighter with ground attack, was the world’s first operational aircraft specifically designed to exploit stealth technology. Although not completely undetectable by radar, the Nighthawk was a difficult target to locate and only one Nighthawk was ever lost to hostile action. The Nighthawk was withdrawn from service in 2008.

15. Thermal Imaging Airborne Laser Designation (TIALD)
© Crown copyright. IWM (GLF 1317)
Thermal Imaging Airborne Laser Designation (TIALD)
This photograph shows Laser Designators fitted to a Royal Air Force Tornado aircraft during the First Gulf War. The TIALDs could guide “smart weapons” to their targets with remarkable accuracy when compared to conventional unguided or “dumb bombs.” This technology the number of aircraft and bombs needed to destroy targets sharply decreased. During the First Gulf War two RAF Tornados, equipped with TIALD, launched more than 200 laser-guided bombs on to targets in occupied Kuwait and in Iraq.

16. Remotely Piloted Vehicle (RPV)
© Crown copyright. IWM (CT 1228)
Remotely Piloted Vehicle (RPV)
This photograph, taken on a military exercise in Germany in the 1980s, shows two British soldiers preparing to launch an RPV drone from a Bedford three ton truck. The drone was controlled by means of a remote keypad and joystick. Today, the latest drones, can fit into the palm of a soldier’s hand and send instantaneous live information back to troops in the field. Such technology means that the military today have more information regarding its enemy than at any time in the past.

17. War in the Air
Learning Resources