Need help with project please
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MikeGazdik
Senior Airman
Others will chime in with much info, but I will give my .02 cents.
Before aircraft, the battle was fought only on the front lines. The farthest it would go was however far the artillary could reach. In WWI they first used aircraft only for spotting, reconnaissance. They would over fly the battlefield area and give info on troop movements and the like. That moved to using them as bombers and fighters and so on. In WWII, that was the first full exploitation of the potential of air power. You could reach deep into the enemy homeland and bomb thier factories, cities and airfields. You could attack an invading naval fleet miles before they were close enough to thier target. And, once the naval air fleet became operational they could project offensive power hundreds of miles ahead of the fleet. The devistation wrought upon Pearl Harbor would have never been so nearly as much had there been no aircraft to make the attack. The Japanese fleet would have had to expose themselves in a fleet on fleet battle. WWII was the first war to make full use of airpower, it changed the course of how battles would be fought....forever.
Before aircraft, the battle was fought only on the front lines. The farthest it would go was however far the artillary could reach. In WWI they first used aircraft only for spotting, reconnaissance. They would over fly the battlefield area and give info on troop movements and the like. That moved to using them as bombers and fighters and so on. In WWII, that was the first full exploitation of the potential of air power. You could reach deep into the enemy homeland and bomb thier factories, cities and airfields. You could attack an invading naval fleet miles before they were close enough to thier target. And, once the naval air fleet became operational they could project offensive power hundreds of miles ahead of the fleet. The devistation wrought upon Pearl Harbor would have never been so nearly as much had there been no aircraft to make the attack. The Japanese fleet would have had to expose themselves in a fleet on fleet battle. WWII was the first war to make full use of airpower, it changed the course of how battles would be fought....forever.
michaelmaltby
Colonel
".... Can someone please give me a brief overview of why airplanes were a revolution in warfare"
They allowed combattants to keep their feet dry.
MM
They allowed combattants to keep their feet dry.
MM
needhelpwithproject
Recruit
- 2
- Jan 12, 2012
I really need help with my project on how airplanes revolutionized WW2. please help immediately
michaelmaltby
Colonel
Who normally does your homework ...?
MM
MM
pbfoot
1st Lieutenant
Well there was the developement of the GPS and it sure lead to the invention of the Cathode Ray Tube
Edgar Brooks
Senior Airman
In the aviation world, there is a general mood of freely offering unequivocal help; however, stamping one's foot, and behaving like a spoilt child, does tend not to advance the likelihood of receiving that help, by a single iota.
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needhelpwithproject
Recruit
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- Jan 12, 2012
thanks
I'm not rude
I'm not rude
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vikingBerserker
Lieutenant General
IMO radar, the use of aircraft as the main naval weapon and the large scale use of gliders were pretty revolutionary.
cherry blossom
Senior Airman
- 556
- Apr 23, 2007
The development of aircraft created many revolutionary changes in warfare which made ww2 very different from earlier conflicts.
The greatest fear of the pre-ww2 leaders of Britain and France was the possibility of attacks on cities and that fear may have caused them to abandon Czechoslovakia at Munich in 1938. When war came, attacks on cities did not immediately achieve the expected effect. However, eventually attacks on Hamburg on 1943 and Tokyo in 1945 approached pre-war expectations and the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki showed that air power could decide a war by 1945.
Germany had placed more emphasis on close support of the army than Britain and France. In May 1940 this was critical for the Germany victory over France. "The Blitzkrieg Legend: The Campaign in the West, 1940" by Karl-Heinz Frieser The Blitzkrieg legend: the 1940 campaign in the West - Karl-Heinz Frieser, John T. Greenwood - Google Books gives information on the Battle of Sedan especially pages 157-160. Later, for example in Normandy in 1944, Allied close support would be decisive.
The German invasion of Crete in 1941 showed that airborne forces could win victories alone but at a high cost. Surrounded forces could also sometimes be supplied by air. The Demyansk pocket was supplied by the Luftwaffe but Stalingrad could not be supplied. The British forces at Imphal were successfully supplied. However, the biggest supply operation was that over "the Hump" from India to China.
Airpower also became decisive at sea. The Germans could not have taken Norway without the Luftwaffe. Taranto and Malta illustrate its importance in the Mediterranean. Pearl Harbor, Coral Sea and Midway showed that aircraft were critical in the Pacific. By 1943, aircraft, both land based and from escort carriers, were critical in defeating the German U-boats.
Of course, I wouldn't want to spoil your chance to do research. Try to understand peoples fears in 1938 by looking at pre-war predictions. To see the difference between 1939 and 1945, you can look at the difference in the load carried by a B-29 and a 1939 bomber and also look at their ability to find a target in the dark. You may also want to understand what a firestorm was. For the close support issue, you can look at why Sedan was important and also find out what happened at St. Lo and Mortain. Similarly, find out about the naval battles.
Good luck!
The greatest fear of the pre-ww2 leaders of Britain and France was the possibility of attacks on cities and that fear may have caused them to abandon Czechoslovakia at Munich in 1938. When war came, attacks on cities did not immediately achieve the expected effect. However, eventually attacks on Hamburg on 1943 and Tokyo in 1945 approached pre-war expectations and the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki showed that air power could decide a war by 1945.
Germany had placed more emphasis on close support of the army than Britain and France. In May 1940 this was critical for the Germany victory over France. "The Blitzkrieg Legend: The Campaign in the West, 1940" by Karl-Heinz Frieser The Blitzkrieg legend: the 1940 campaign in the West - Karl-Heinz Frieser, John T. Greenwood - Google Books gives information on the Battle of Sedan especially pages 157-160. Later, for example in Normandy in 1944, Allied close support would be decisive.
The German invasion of Crete in 1941 showed that airborne forces could win victories alone but at a high cost. Surrounded forces could also sometimes be supplied by air. The Demyansk pocket was supplied by the Luftwaffe but Stalingrad could not be supplied. The British forces at Imphal were successfully supplied. However, the biggest supply operation was that over "the Hump" from India to China.
Airpower also became decisive at sea. The Germans could not have taken Norway without the Luftwaffe. Taranto and Malta illustrate its importance in the Mediterranean. Pearl Harbor, Coral Sea and Midway showed that aircraft were critical in the Pacific. By 1943, aircraft, both land based and from escort carriers, were critical in defeating the German U-boats.
Of course, I wouldn't want to spoil your chance to do research. Try to understand peoples fears in 1938 by looking at pre-war predictions. To see the difference between 1939 and 1945, you can look at the difference in the load carried by a B-29 and a 1939 bomber and also look at their ability to find a target in the dark. You may also want to understand what a firestorm was. For the close support issue, you can look at why Sedan was important and also find out what happened at St. Lo and Mortain. Similarly, find out about the naval battles.
Good luck!
Edgar Brooks
Senior Airman
One of the most far-reaching results is the modern revulsion against indiscriminate attacks on the civil population, so that it is now viewed as a war crime.
A4K
Brigadier General
My advice: Look up the history of the Blitzkrieg, or the Battle of Britain. Classic examples of the importance of airpower.
drgondog
Major
Key words:
Force Projection, Mobility, control of airspace over the battleground (or conversely - deny the enemy control of the air over the battleground), ability to destroy tactical and strategic targets far from the front lines of the ground battle, ability to interdict and destroy supply chain leading to the battlefield.. ability to supply your own forces more effectively, ability to move airborne divisions behind enemy lines, ability to insert spies and support guerilla forces behind enemy lines -
To name a few attributes of airpower.
Force Projection, Mobility, control of airspace over the battleground (or conversely - deny the enemy control of the air over the battleground), ability to destroy tactical and strategic targets far from the front lines of the ground battle, ability to interdict and destroy supply chain leading to the battlefield.. ability to supply your own forces more effectively, ability to move airborne divisions behind enemy lines, ability to insert spies and support guerilla forces behind enemy lines -
To name a few attributes of airpower.
