Wings Assignment #4- Taylor McKinley

1. Why did some world leaders and theologians feel that flying would be the end of mankind?

Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin was one of the world leaders who strongly opposed of flying. His theory was that there was no human power that could prevent someone from being bombed. He thought that these aerial attacks on civilian targets would be the end of civilization. He recognized that the only defense was offense, in which case one would have to kill more women and children than the enemy if they wanted to save themselves. Adding in a more modern comparison, this is especially interesting to me. I am looking at the controversy on drones in another class, and a lot of people feel the same way about drone technology today as these people felt about flying then. Will we be looking back on drones in 100 years in the way that we looked at flight almost 100 years ago?

3. What new technologies revolutionized aerial combat in WWII?
In 1935, the development of high-octane aviation gasoline "contributed more to aeronautical development in the world than any other single accomplishments in the previous eight years." Additionally, the improvements in engine performance, according to Leonard Hobbs, allowed about 75 percent of the 400-mile increase in the speed of fighter aircraft between the two world wars. Another technology that improved aerial combat was the modern bomber. From the 1930s, the Boeing B-9 and the Martin B-10 both emerged from this era. These planes were revolutionary in that they encompassed new concepts such as an all-metal plane, faster speeds, and enclosed cockpits.

7. What is meant by the phrase “abandonment of all restraint” as it relates to WWII and the military tactics used by both sides? 400, 408
This phrase is in reference to the complete global war that the world developed into due to the aerial nature of war that emerged throughout World War I. "The airplane had given birth to the awful reality of total war," allowing things like flying across the ocean to become commonplace. The military tactics used by both sides were expanded wider than imaginable in that time-- the pressures of war pushed airplane technology to its limits because of its vast expansion. Opening the door to the future of war and aerial tactics, the war allowed advancements such as nuclear weapons, the first practical computers, and jet and rocket propulsion became more than just a theory.