1. The War in the Air & the Sea

2. The War in the Air 1914: airplane is new and an unproven invention (military leaders didn’t really have confidence in it) Canada had no air force of its own, so any CDNs who wanted to fly had to join the British Royal Flying Corps Trench warfare was known for being awful, and not at all glorious, so young men flocked to be part of the War in the Air.

3. Early Airplanes Max. speed: between 95 and 125 km/h Airborne for 1 hour without needing to refuel First used to only scout for enemy positions. Pilots would carry a pistol; others carried bricks or chains?

4. Other Air Vehicles Germany had about 400 aircraft French: 156; British: 113 Germans also developed a new plane (Fokker) that only had one set of wings.  Armed with machine gun and a firing mechanism timed so that the bullets did not hit the plane’s own propeller blades. Germans also used Zeppelin dirigibles or airships for observation missions or bombing raids. (The Allies eventually used them too.)

5. Allies’ Airplane Development By 1917, the Allies had developed the Sopwith Camel, a fighter plane. Fighting technique: engage in aerial dogfights (duels), manoeuvre their lighter planes to dive on the enemy from the rear.

6. The Life of a Pilot Received better food and pay Wore better-looking uniforms Slept in warm beds at night Percentage killed was higher than in any other branch of the military In late 1916, it was said that the average lifespan of a pilot was 3 weeks. No parachutes Half of the casualties were due to mechanical failure. Ace: a pilot who has shot down at least 5 enemy planes

7. Famous Aces Red Baron Germany’s Manfred von Richtofen Shot down 80 planes in his career Taken out by a Canadian in April 1918

8. Canadian Ace: Capt. Roy Brown The Baron spotted an Allied plane below and went after it. His target was an inexperienced pilot, Wilfred May. May’s gun was jammed. Behind the Baron came Capt. Roy Brown, who opened fire. The Baron fell into a deadly spin, and died at the age of 26.

9. Canadian Ace: Billy Bishop As a boy growing up in Owen Sound, Bishop practiced shooting at moving targets with his rifle in the woods. Made him one of the greatest pilots in the British Commonwealth. On his first day, he shot down a German plane. In one 5-day period, he shot down 13 planes.

10. Canadian Aces Canadian fighter pilots brought down 438 enemy aircraft during WW1. 4 of the top 7 leading aces of the Royal Air Force… … were Canadian.

11. The War at Sea Early May 1915, the British luxury liner Lusitania was crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The ship was unarmed and carried almost 2000 passengers. Suddenly, a torpedo streaked through the waves toward the full of the Lusitania. Moments later, there was an explosion, panic, chaos, and death. 1198 people drowned at sea. Thus begins the use of the newest weapon at sea: the submarine.

12. German Submarines Prowling the seas since the beginning of the war. Downed 200 British ships by the end of 1914 and warned that passenger ships would not be spared. The Lusitania was different. More than half of its passengers were American. (Talk about waking a sleeping giant…) Germany knew that commanding the seas was important to Britain, it being an island nation.

13. The German U-Boat Unterseeboot Early submarines could stay submerged for 2.5 hours, carrying a crew of 35 and 12 torpedoes. Torpedoes could be shot underwater. U-boats preferred to come to the surface and shoot at its targets with gunfire. By 1916, German submarines were sinking an average of 160 ships per month! Germany predicted an early death for Britain.

14. The German U-Boat In 1917, Germany decided to take more drastic action to defeat the Allies. German navy introduced a new policy: “unrestricted submarine warfare” (sound terrifying?) German U-boats would sink any Allied or neutral ship approaching Britain! During the first 4 months of this operation, Germany sank over 1000 British ships. What were they going to do????

15. The Convoy System Cargo ships stopped sailing alone from Canada and the US to Britain. They sailed in fleets and were escorted by armed destroyers, which watched for German U-boats. German U-boats were incredibly successful, but sinking the Lusitania eventually brought the US into the war in 1917.

16. Canadian Contributions Providing sailors and ships for the Royal Navy Canadian shipyards built more than 60 anti- submarine ships and more than 500 smaller anti-submarine motor launches. Several thousand Canadians served in the British Royal Navy, the Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve, and in the Royal Naval Air Service.

17. For Homework Take a look on p. 24 in your textbook under the heading, “Death Ship”. Read that section as it outlines the Halifax Explosion. Then, on p. 26, answer Q. 1, 2, and 3. Questions 1 and 2 are from the note you just took. Question 3 is from the pages you just read.