Wings Questions #4 - by Kara Bobka

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

Not only were there those who favored it, but there were also those who feared the power of flight because they felt it gave men [and countries] potential for mass destruction.  Specifically, some world leaders and theologians felt that aerial attacks, especially on civilian targets, would end all civilization since “there is no power on earth that can prevent him from being bombed” (356).  In fact, Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin believed that the bomber would always get through any defense.  He also thought that offense was the only key to success, and thereby, life.  Yet, the only offense he saw successful was the idea that one had to kill more [men, women, children, etc.] than his enemy.  Hence, the ending of civilization – all inhabitants and cities would be destroyed via these hostile bombers and aerial attacks.

Others, such as the Spanish theologian, Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz, and the English philosopher, William Derham, had similar outlooks on flight.  Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz believed that if men were meant to fly, then God would have granted them the means to do so.  Yet, he denied them the faculty of flight so that they would lead a quieter, tranquil life.  Likewise, Derham felt flight would only ignite the fuel in the minds of ill men, allowing greater opportunities for mischief, and thereby, disrupting world peace.  Furthermore, the German experimenter, Johann Daniel Major feared flight because he saw it as something more ruinous than gunpowder.  He thought the rapid, persistent firing of cannons or the throwing of fire and stones, which in turn would stir up smoke, would raze everything – buildings, cities, and even people – to the ground, destroying mankind forever.

So, when the Japanese conquest of Manchuria occurred on the streets of Shanghai in January 1932, where the Japanese staged a Chinese mob to attack five Buddhist priests, it did nothing but credit or heighten the world leaders and theologians fear of flight, and thereby, the end of mankind.  It made it seem as if the old prophets of those established by Baldwin and Major, which were discussed above, were coming true.  Thus, some world leaders and theologians felt that flying would be the end of mankind because it gave the bad the pleasure of invading the good from the sky, allowing for potential destruction of everything, including life.

3.  What new technologies revolutionized aerial combat in WWII?

Besides the addition of several new models, like the aircraft carrier, the dive bomber, and the monoplane, several new technologies, such as all-metal construction, bombsights, radar [radio] detection, and high-octane aviation gasoline revolutionized aerial combat in WWII.  Aluminum and bombsights both played important roles.  Not only was aluminum useful for its strength and durability, but also its powders that were used to produce bombs, shells, and flares to assist in combat.  In addition, bombsights, which were devices used by aircrafts to accurately drop these aluminum made bombs, advanced aviation during the second World War because they allowed for an “efficient delivery of destruction in a clean, precise fashion.” 

Beginning in 1887, Heinrich Hertz generated an electrical wave via a spark that created the radio.  Little did he know that ten years later those waves would be capable of broadcasting a radio message.   From this, others found that not only could radio waves enable communication, but also detection of distant objects.  It was those ideas that laid the foundation for the two Navy researchers of the U.S. Signal Corps, F.R. Furth and S.M. Taylor, to begin experimenting with radio detection systems in the 1930s.  During the same decade, Dr. Rudolph Kuhnhold was using a radar system to detect ships within 7 miles, where he “accidentally” found that the system could locate aircrafts in flight as well.  Because it allowed communication to occur ground-to-air and air-to-air and enabled one to detect various ranges to various targets, this discovery revolutionized aerial combat in WWII as well.

Besides the previously mentioned technologies, the development of the high-octane aviation gasoline advanced aviation during WWII.  In fact, according to Oscar Westover, the Assistant Chief of the Air Corps, believed that it contributed more than any other achievement.  With the development of these newer engines, airplanes were now capable of flying up to 400 miles longer than previous models.  The only downfall was that by having faster engines, higher internal heat was being created which in turn reduced power and destroyed the engine.  Yet, after years of research from various scientists, Thomas Midgley found that if you add lead to the gasoline, it would reduce this knocking effect, whereas Shell Oil was credited for the creation of a 100-octane gasoline that prevented the deleterious effects of internal temperature.  Thus, the 1930s was filled with new discoveries within the field of aviation that helped to revolutionize aerial combat in WWII.

4.  What type of aircraft emerged from the design revolution of the 1930’s and what role would it play during WWII?

Emerging from the design revolution of the 1930s was the modern bomber.  Debuting first in 1931 in scant quantities, the Boeing B-9 was equipped with a pencil-thin fuselage, a light bomb load, a limited defensive armament, and open cockpits.  In 1933, the first all-metal monoplane bomber, the Martin B-10, was the first to enter service, cruising at 200 mph, which was 45 mph faster than the Boeing B-9.  Unlike the B-9’s open cockpits, the B-10 had completely enclosed ones, along with an internal bomb bay and a rotating gun turret.  Thus, it is no wonder that the United States and other foreign air forces together purchased a total of 200 B-10s.

Yes, the B-9 proved its worth, but the B-10 demonstrated more.  First, it proved the advancements of the American aviation industry.  It was a lot quicker even than those established by the French.  In fact, the B-10 flew the fastest beating the French Amiot 143 by 10 mph.  Not to mention, its design, both interior and exterior, far surpassed other models, such as the Handley Page Heyford – a historic biplane made of fabric and wood and equipped with open cockpits and fixed landing gear.   

Not only was the B-10 model better designed exteriorly and interiorly, but it also proved a valuable role in WWII.  It carried the legendary Norden bombsight – a device used by aircraft to accurately drop bombs.  Because of its precision, the Norden bombsight symbolized the way in which Americans executed war via an “efficient delivery of destruction in a clean, precise fashion.”  In fact, General Benjamin Delahauf Foulois, who was the chief of the Air Corps in 1934, commented that the Norden bombsight proved to be the most significant, yet secretive military project of the Air Corps.  Despite this single device's publicity and importance to the war effort, the Norden bombsight and its innards remained so clandestine that bombardiers swore to defend the area with their lives.  Thus, because of the B-10 bomber that carried it, the Norden bombsight grew to be the best-known American “secret” of World War II in which its precision and accuracy of dropping bombs proved to be significantly valuable.