Practices_Air

toc =AIR WARFARE IN WW2=

World War II, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, with more than 100 million people serving in military units from over 30 different countries. In a state of "total war", the major participants placed their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities at the service of the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the only use of nuclear weapons in warfare, it resulted in 50 million to over 75 million fatalities. Fighting was done on land, on the seas but also in the skies. The skies were one of the most important places to control. It was the way to secretly drop into enemy’s bases. One of the only ways to get reconnaissance of the enemy which is useful for the soldiers on the seas or on the land and significantly aided strategists plan their next move. Air ware fare ultimately opened up a whole new battle ground whether it was planes against planes, or planes dropping the devastating atomic bombs on the enemies, obliterating everything in its paths for kilometres.

=BETWEEN THE WARS= Between the wars many changes occurred between the planes form WW1 and WW2:

THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENT:

 * Many people believed that war could be won single handily on air power. Air planes were were feared à Winston Churchill, House of Commons, 1933 “Air power may either end war or end civilization”. He went on to say ” Not to have an adequate air force in the present state of the world is to compromise the foundations of national freedom and independence”.
 * Any future conflict could be won by air war fare. Franklin D. Roosevelt commented on the power of air ware fare in a subtle way “Hitler built a fortress around Europe, but he forgot to put a roof on it.” Essentially expressing the idea that air war fare is crucial in breaking down the reign of Hitler
 * All countries believed they had the superiority when it came to the air force

TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT:

 * One of the most innovative periods in aviation history, was the interwar period from 1919-1939.
 * We went from fabric covered, biplanes to all metal, monoplanes. They were now metal frames and no longer wooden.
 * Speeds rose from 240kmph to 480kmph.
 * Radios, radio navigation, gyroscopic artificial horizons etc. Engines increased dramatically in power.
 * End of WW1 just begging to see the importance of planes à lots of reconnaissance, few bombing runs and start of “dog-fights”
 * Crucial part of WW2 air war fare is the bombing à therefore much focus was put on the ability to carry lots of bombs, so needed more powerful engines, and stronger frames to hold the weight. Needed more fuel to travel long distances. The extra weight allowed for planes to carry more powerful/heavier guns.
 * Wood was replaced with duraluminum a combination of copper, magnesium, manganese and aluminium (which is 93.5%).
 * As the weight increased due to metal construction, engine power had to be increased. That meant larger capacities, higher combustion ratios. It also saw the development of supercharging and turbocharging. This development gave use higher speeds but higher altitudes

AIRFIELD CONSTRUCTION

 * As Air Power was deemed a primary focus, the need for airfields throughout war plagued Europe, Asia and Northern Africa steeply increased.
 * This resulted in the formation of crews/teams that had the specific purpose of constructing airfields all over the world, this was done mainly by the Aviation Engineers Battalion (British). These teams worked extremely efficiently opening up airfields throughout Northern Africa almost every week for seven straight months.
 * The US also had their own construction battalions which focused more on the pacific, building hundreds of airfields on islands throughout the pacific. This was referred to as their “island hopping" period between 1942 and 1945.
 * The Japanese attempted to match this to some extend but their airfields could not compare as they were barely weather resistant, let alone war resistant
 * Airfield construction involved a substantial amount of transport of infrastructure, but to make it more efficient, engineers as a first option would repair and improve captured enemy airfields to save time and resources.
 * Airfield construction went hand in hand with aircraft carriers, both with the primary purpose of keeping fighter planes close to the battlefield.
 * This strategy aided all sides who possessed it having more airfields meant having more planes, which often meant domination of the skies, with domination of the skies came domination of the battlefield as many politicians at the time stated.

INCREASE IN TRAINING

 * WW1 was renowned for the short lifespan of soldiers, this was due to both poor equipment but mainly the lack of experience pilots had with often close to 11 hours training before entering the war.
 * WW2 saw a great change, the leaders of this change were the Americans.
 * The US initiated a Civilian Pilot Training Program where citizens could learn to fly, just to fly. Once they had mastered it they could then be given the option of going to war as a fighter or transport pilot, or to continue/stop training and retain their knowledge for future battles.
 * This immediately reduced the deaths in training to a negligible amount compared to the 50% rate in WW1 by allied pilots and provided the allies with a large supply of pilots.
 * The Japanese were also experts in aviation as on the home front they had practice air stations in which they were subject to heavy amounts of training, except the values bestowed on them were far different to the Allied pilots.
 * The US air force fought in rotations of squads, sending waves as pilots would drop out and return to base. The Japanese were trained to continue fighting until the very end and in many cases they would be trained to “kamikaze” if appropriate, this was seen as a very honourable way to die.
 * The Germans were very similar to WW1, in both wars their pilots went through over hundreds of hours of training before entering the battlefield, which was less of an advantage in WW2 due to the face that the allies did too.

SURVEILLANCE

 * Due to the advancements in radio technology, WW2 saw far greater tactics than WW1.
 * Because of this pilots could relay information directly to the ground and therefore could more effectively plan attacks, routes and stratagies.
 * This also meant that ground forces could co-ordinate bombing raids and aerial attacks where and when needed.

=EUROPE= AIR FORCES
 * 1) THE LUFTWAFFE – Germany àThis was one of the most feared air forces of all time. Hitler put great emphasis on the construction of his air force and was the decisive weapon he needed.
 * It was under the command of Hermann Göring a great pilot for Germany during WW1.
 * Inter-war period due to Treaty of Versailles restrictions on the air force but Hitler blatantly broke them, pilots were trained in Soviet Union and civilian flying was encouraged
 * Its advanced technology and rapid growth led to exaggerated fears in the 1930s that helped to persuade the British and French into appeasement
 * Prime years of performance was 1939-41 à later years never ramped up, lack of military aircraft production infrastructure
 * The Heinkel He 177 was the only bombing plane they had and was quite ineffective compared to the ones other countries had à did not believe bombing was worth it
 * We saw a glimpse to which the Luftwaffe could do in the Spanish Civil War yet they never rely capitalized on their dominance there


 * 2. THE ROYAL AIR FORCE – Britain à The air force in Britain placed lots of emphasis on strategic bombing especially in the field of long-range (driven by Churchill)
 * Once it became clear that Germany was a threat, the RAF started on a large expansion, with many airfields being set up and the number of squadrons increased. From 42 squadrons with 800 aircraft in 1934, the RAF had reached 157 squadrons and 3,700 aircraft by 1939
 * Process of modernization not complete at the start of the conflict.
 * In wartime expanded to recruit pilots in the Commonwealth nations
 * RAF bombers concentrated on military and transportation targets in France and Belgium


 * 3. SOVIET AIR FORCE – Soviet Union à By the end of the war, Soviet annual aircraft production had risen sharply with annual Soviet production peaking at 40,000 aircraft in 1944. Some 157,000 aircraft were produced, of which 126,000 were combat types, while the others were transports and trainers.
 * During the war the Soviets employed 7500 bombers to drop 30 million bombs on German targets

=KEY PLANES IN BATTLES=

1. North American P-51 Mustang - allied fighter

 * Symbol of American air power
 * Versions were sent to Allied air forces across the globe. Fame was earned with the Mustang's ability to fly the bomber escort role successfully it was also used as a fighter bomber
 * It got to a speed of 716 kmh, No other combat airplane of the war could fly as high, go as far and fight as hard as the mighty Mustang reaching a ceiling of 12,770 meters

[[image:http://www.aircraftaces.com/images/p51-mustang.jpg caption="North American P-51D Mustang"]]
2. Focke Wulf Fw 190A - axis fighter
 * Was one of the most feared fighters by the Allies à Germany built plane
 * Germanys best air to ground fighter
 * Heavily armed with four cannon and two machine guns it wreaked havoc upon US daylight bombers

3. B-17 Flying Fortress - allied bomber > > 4. Junkers Ju 87 Stuka - axis bomber 5. Messerschmitt 262 "Schwalbe"
 * the most famous bomber of WWII. It was a huge plane able to carry many bombs at once, an exceptionally long-range and also could take a beating without spinning out.
 * 2 out of every 5 bombs dropped during WWII were dropped by the B-17 Flying Fortress.
 * The plane was a dive-bomber and was greatly feared on ground.
 * Adaptable and cheap, the 'Stuka' became a potent anti-tank machine on the Eastern Front.
 * Known for its deadly accuracy
 * The Ju 87 destroyed more tanks than any aircraft for Germany
 * It was the first jet-engine powered aircraft to enter the war. The Me262 was 100mph faster than the best the Allies had to offer. Four 20mm cannons worked extremely well at ripping other fighters and bombers to shreds.
 * The Me262 was greatly feared by American and British pilots alike. It was swift, durable, and powerful. Fortunately for the Allies, Hitler's blunder of delaying the 262's production for modification into a fighter-bomber and its late entry into the war over Europe made the 262 unable to stop the Allied advance into the German heartland.



= = =STRATEGIC BOMBING=
 * Strategic bombing is the idea of bombardments that countries used that were strategically planned out
 * This includes the sustained bombing of railways, harbors, cities (civilian areas), and industrial areas in enemy territory as to weaken the “total war” effort
 * The strategy is the Air power theory that major victories can best be won by attacking the enemy's industrial and political infrastructure, rather than purely military targets
 * USA and Britain worked in collaboration to annihilate Germany while the bombardments of Germany had generally little effect. US would bomb by day, Britain by night.
 * They targeted cities as to break the people will to fight, however generally the bombings had an opposite effect on the population
 * As the war progressed the countries became less restrictive
 * E.g. Battle of Britain
 * Ø The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940
 * Ø The German Luftwaffe’s Messerschmitt Bf109E and Bf 110C fought against the British RAF’s Hurricane MKI and the Spitfire MKI.
 * Ø From July 1940 coastal shipping convoys and shipping centers were the main targets of the attacks; one month later the Luftwaffe shifted its attacks to RAF airfields and infrastructure. As the battle progressed the Luftwaffe also targeted aircraft factories and ground infrastructure and eventually resorted to attacking British towns and cities.
 * Ø The Germans planned to invade Britain with the objective of landing 160,000 soldiers along a fourty mile coastal stretch of South-East England
 * Ø Hitler’s generals were very worried about the damage that the Royal Air Force could inflict on the German Army during the invasion and so Hitler therefore agreed that the invasion should be postponed until the British Air Force had been destroyed. Accordingly the campaign objective was one of gaining air superiority over the RAF
 * Ø The Battle of Britain marked the first defeat of Hitler’s military forces.
 * Ø Both countries suffered in this battle but Germany were not able to achieve their goal, while Britain was happy to have Germany gone

=PARATROOPERS=
 * This was another form of air war fare used in WW2, though it was not common it was used a few times, especially by the Germans in the early years
 * An example were they were successful was for Germany and their invasion of Crete
 * They were also used on D-Day in a successful manner
 * Germans keen on the idea of paratroopers and Goering formed his first squadron in 1935 in time for the Spanish Civil War
 * First time used in WW2 was the capture of Norway in securing bases at Oslo
 * With the Crete invasion though it was successful Hitler lost many men and decided to can the idea of paratroopers. He sent the paratroopers to the Eastern front. While Churchill saw this as a god idea and decided to construct a squad of paratroopers for Britain
 * After a while US also created their 1st Airborne Division
 * E.g. Operation Market Garden also known as Battle of Arnhem
 * Ø It was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time.
 * Ø Attempt to take control over the Rhine and the Ruhr à used airborne troops excessively to attempt to get this done
 * Ø They seized a bit of territory, but was met with fierce opposition and ultimately were force to flee
 * Ultimately paratroopers were not the most effective type of air ware fare in WW2 in Europe



ROCKETS

 * World War Two was the first war to see the concerted use of rockets – be they rockets fired at civilians such as the V1 and V2, rockets fired from planes at trains etc as was seen so clearly in the early days after D-Day in June 1944 and rocket systems such as the Katyusha used to support the infantry by the Russians in their advance to Berlin. Rockets were used in a variety of ways
 * Rockets was not a thing in the inter-war year but was stimulated by the outbreak of WW2
 * The countries most associated with rocket development were Germany, America, Great Britain and Japan
 * Two main rockets created in WW2 period was the V-1 and the V-2
 * V-1 flying bomb also known as buzz bomb
 * Ø Initially turned down in 1939 but the idea revitalised in 1942
 * Ø Consisting of few moving parts, the pulse jet operated by air entering into the intake where it was mixed with fuel and ignited by spark plugs. The combustion of the mixture forced sets of intake shutters closed, producing a burst of thrust out the exhaust. The shutters then opened again in the airflow to repeat the process. This occurred around fifty times a second à quite a basic design
 * Ø The flying bomb was directed to its target through the use of a simple guidance system which relied on gyroscopes for stability, a magnetic compass for heading, and a barometric altimeter for altitude control. A vane anemometer on the nose drove a counter which determined when the target area was reached and triggered a mechanism to cause the bomb to dive. à quite basic system lead to lots of inaccuracy – 25% hit their targets
 * Ø At its peak, more than one hundred V-1s a day were fired at southeast England, 9,521 in total, decreasing in number as sites were overrun until October 1944, when the last V-1 site in range of Britain was overrun by Allied forces. This caused the remaining V-1s to be directed at the port of Antwerp and other targets in Belgium, with 2,448 V-1s being launched. The attacks stopped when the last site was overrun on 29 March 1945
 * V-2 rocket short range ballistic missile
 * Ø As well similar to the V-1 targeted at London and later at Antwerp
 * Ø known human artifact to enter outer space.[5] It was the progenitor of all modern rockets, however still a long way off the pace of rockets as we know nowadays
 * Ø Beginning in September 1944, over 3,000 V-2s were launched as military rockets by the German Wehrmacht against Allied targets during the war, mostly London and later Antwerp and Liège. Quite effective attacks resulted in the deaths of an estimated 9,000 civilians and military personnel, while 12,000 forced labourers and concentration camp prisoners were killed producing the weapons.
 * Ø Still quite ineffective at times due to its basic guidance system
 * Ø Towards the end of war used this as almost a last hope weapon

=The Pacific=

Japanese attack on Pearl harbour Air power significance in the Pacific Use of nuclear weapons
 * December 1941
 * A total of 353 Japanese bombes, fighters and torpedo planes were launched in two waves, 45 minutes apart, from 6 aircraft carriers.
 * 15 US ships were damaged and 188 US aircraft were destroyed. Over 2000 US soldiers died in the attack.
 * The attack caused the US to declare war on Japan the next day, bringing another allied power into the war.
 * An extremely effective attack by the Japanese.
 * The use of the air force was key to japans success in the pacific and Asia.
 * Planes were particularly useful in the pacific due to the geography. Troops were hard to manoeuvre as boats were needed often. Other places where the Japanese and allies fought such as Singapore and Papua New Guinea often had particularly harsh terrain (mountainous, soft ground in tropics, jungles). Planes were able to bypass all of this
 * Planes were much more developed in WW2 compared to WW1. They were faster and better built.
 * Bombs caused more damage than a troop could do with his gun. However a disadvantage of planes was that hitting a target from the skies was particularly difficult.
 * AAF (American Air Force) Qthe RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) fought against the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service and the Imperial japanese Army Air Service.
 * In the battle of Okinawa a decisive battle in the pacific theatre of war, the allies used air force more effectively and lost less than a quarter of the Aircraft of the Japanese. The allies ended up winning this battle
 * North Australia was bombed at least 97 times during ww2 by Japan. Most significantly the bombing of Darwin in 1942 which killed 243 people or more.
 * In august 1945 the US used atomic bombs against Japan
 * The first was dropped on Hiroshima, flattening the city and killing tens of thousands of civilians
 * The second was dropped three days later in Nagasaki once again with massive death tolls.
 * This caused the Japanese to surrender.

QUESTIONS
1. How was air warfare was involved in sparking the war in the Pacific? 2. How did the change in tactics and technology between WW1 and WW2 make it more appealing to be a fighter pilot? 3. Who created the first jet-engine plane? Why could this have been a "game changer"? 4. What was the roll of construction battalions and how did they influence the war? 5. How effective where the V-1 and V-2 rockets? 6. Where were paratroopers used during WW2? 7. Compare and contrast air warfare in WW1 and WW2 in reference to theoretical and technological developments?

General notes:
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