Wings Reading Assignment #4 (Joseph Bradley-Hutchison)

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

The invention of flight for mankind brought new opportunities, but also presented many problems.  Like the invention of gunpowder, flight opened the gates to a new world, which idolized those who flied in the skies.  For the militaries of the world, however, it presented a new avenue of warfare that would eventually possess the power to take out an entire city.  Prime Minister Stanley Balwin believed that flight forced every civilian to “realize that there is no power on earth that can prevent him from being bombed,” and the only defense a nation had was “to kill more women and children than the enemy if you wish to save yourselves.”  Many were strong believers in Balwin’s arguments, which led Winston Churchill to suggest that only the League of Nation should possess an air force.  The threat from the skies was a serious matter for many militaries throughout the world, and with the advancing technology came faster and more efficient planes (Crouch, 356-357).

Balwin was not the first to make such statements about the down falls of flight, but in fact, many theologians of the past warned mankind that flight would disrupt the peace within the world.  It was not meant for man to fly they argued, and man was denied the ability to fly by God because men were meant to “lead a quiet and tranquil life” (Crouch, 356).  It was truly hard to imagine living a tranquil life while the threat from the skies was constantly an issue, especially for those who lived in areas affected by both of the World Wars.  Furthermore, these individuals must have feared this threat even more because they lived through one of the most advancing periods in aviation technology, and with each new innovation came devastating consequences.

Conquering the skies was truly a magnificent achievement in the history of man, but like all great moments in history come the down falls of these achievements.  The militaries of the world are always looking for ways to be more efficient on the battlefield along with the technology to keep them ahead of their enemies, which made aviation a central factor in the future of warfare after the First World War.  The threat from the skies was and still remains a central factor in many people’s minds of the down falls of this great achievement, and should be well considered by the modern militaries in our current day.  It should be considered because it poses a great threat to civilian safety, and examples of its potential can be drawn from every war since its birth in the early 20^th century.  Aviation is truly a great field of innovation, but it is now up to mankind to handle this great field with the up most responsibility in order to not give it a bad name.

2. What factors influenced the development of the aircraft carrier and what role did it play in WWII?

After the First World War, militaries were attempting to perfect the launching of aircrafts off of ships in order to bring unique advantages in using their air forces across the seas.  It was a long process before the development of the aircraft carrier was perfected, but this invention became one of the most important inventions in military aviation during the 20^th century.  It was now possible for militaries to save fuel for their planes by transporting them across the seas within a ship, and provide them a landing pad in the ocean when conducting missions on nearby continents.  It allowed for the bombing of targets of interests in a more efficient manner, and the ability to transport supplies from nearby ships to troops on the battlefield.  It truly opened the possibilities of over sea wars, and provided a vehicle to transport aircrafts around the globe (Crouch, 358-362.).

In the Second Great War, aircraft carriers were largely perfected, and were the deciding factors on the ocean battlefront.  It did not only improve the way militaries could transport their planes across oceans, but provided aircrafts ready to take out other ships.  Sea battle dramatically changed with the improvement in aircraft technology, and the ability to bomb other ships.  Those who learned to fly during this period were truly the leaders of both land and sea warfare, and the sailors of these carriers provided the vehicle for these pilots to become these leaders (Crouch, 366-368). 

It was only natural that as air forces continued to progress, so did the technology for aircrafts as well.  The aircraft carriers provided tremendous advantages for the air forces during WWII, and continued to provide advantages in the future wars of the world.  It is why this technology still remains one of the most expensive ships to own by any military, and continues to provide militaries with key advantages on both land and sea warfare.  Especially here in America where every continent of the world except for South America is separated by a vast sea requires a strategy to bring air crafts to the enemy, and the aircraft carrier is the vehicle to accomplish this task.

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

The modern form of a bomber emerged from the design revolution of the 1930’s, which gave air forces a new angle in which to attack their enemies.  The Boeing B-9 in 1931 set the stage for the advancement in bomber technology, and soon after its invention, the Boeing 247 was established.  The Martin B-10 in 1933 was the first all-metal monoplane bomber that reached a cruise speed of 200 mph, an enclosed cockpit, a rotating gun turret, and an internal bomb bay (Crouch, 390).  The ability to bomb targets from the air opened up the most deadly force a military could possess because now no defense was strong enough to withstand a deadly bomb.  With the touch of a button, a building could be destroyed, or an army obliterated through strategic bombing.  This served the air forces during WWII very well, especially for the American Air Core that was buying and using these bombers in high quantities.

After much advancement upon the B-10 model along with rigorous testing the U.S. Air Core was leading the way to a perfect bomber (Crouch, 391-393).  During the Second World War these bombers were constantly being perfected, and would play a significant role in strategic bombing.  The most significant of course was the dropping of the atomic bombs, but even for other air forces in Europe bombers provided a tremendous advantage that allowed for little to be lost on their part.  The bombing of England by Nazi Germany for example showed the true power of a bombing squad, and the potential that air forces now possessed with the ability to bomb targets.  Not one foot was needed to touch the ground in order to force a nation to concede to surrender, and with the advancements in bomber planes came advancements in bomb technology itself.  It proved to be the deciding factor in the war, and furthermore, it proved to bring military aviation into a new chapter.  No longer was air combat a central focus, but to perfect the ability to bomb targets effectively and decisively.