Wings Questions #4

1. Why did some world leaders and theologians feel that flying would be the end of mankind? There were a wide variety of reasons that many leaders and intellectuals were uncomfortable with the idea of man in flight. Religious theologians, such as Saint John Chrysostom and Juan Caramuel Lobkowitz, believed that man taking to the sky was a way of trying to get away from God’s judgment. Some theologians even went so far as to say that flight was unnatural to man, and shouldn’t be tried for at all. Still other philosophers thought that the ability of flight would give humanity as a whole too much temptation, and bring about the downfall of man. Part of this was the fact that many of these leaders saw the potential for flying machines to be used in war, and extremely dangerous in the hands of enemies. 9. What new technologies emerged as a result of the war that would characterize the future of aviation? There were a couple of inventions that came about during the war that were very important to the future of aviation. The first of these inventions was radio. This was important during the war because it allowed communication between pilots in the air and military on the ground. Obviously this turned out to be useful beyond the war with the continuation of the use of flying machines for more commercial purposes, and affected the future of aviation. It also influenced the other invention that revolutionized flight. This second invention was radar. After the invention of radio, specialists realized that the same technology could be used to find objects from a long distance away. In the war, this was used to pick up on nearby ships and aircraft. Today the similar equipment is used to pick up objects in the same way, and allows pilots to fly safely. In this way radar also changed the future of aviation. In fact, both radio and radar contributed to the modern idea that the quality of an airplane is not only determined by how well it flies, the distance it can travel, or even how much it can carry, but also by the practicality and sophistication of the technologies inside the aircraft. 6. What role did strategic bombing play during the war and was it successful? Strategic bombing was the strategy used by the U.S. against Japan in targeting certain resources and areas with bombers. They even built a bomber for the task; the B-29. This bomber was built to be extremely streamlined, fast, able to travel far distances, and be able to carry weapons as big as an atomic bomb. By targeting factories, mills, and industrial cities, the military was able to handicap Japan’s industry altogether and leave them isolated. Beyond this, strategic bombing also killed several Japanese civilians, including women, children and families, which racked up the death toll. However, just the initial bombings were not enough. Even though Japan was completely isolated, they decided to fight on against the U.S. In the end, what really ended up bringing about the desired end to the war was the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since this ended the war, it is safe to say that strategic bombing was successful in World War II.