War in the Air Flashcards
(37 cards)
1
Q
what did Asquith do in 1908
A
- approved the formation of an Advisory Committee for aeronautics composed of politicians, army and royal navy officers
- agreed under the liberals to find an aeronautic division
2
Q
who was a great supported of the development of aeroplanes
A
- Haldane
- he made significant efforts to encourage the British army to adopt them into military service
3
Q
what was formed in April 1912
A
- the Royal Flying Corps (RFC)
- 133 officers
- led by Henderson
- within 6 months it composed of 3 squadrons of 12 manned balloons and 36 aeroplanes
4
Q
who was David Henderson
A
the guy in charge of the RFC
5
Q
why was the airforce so small initially - just 36 aeroplanes in the first 6 months
A
- why build lots of something you have no real use for
- the technology so basic it was going to need to be changed soon anyway
6
Q
what was the RNAS
A
- separate air force for the navy
- created by Churchill
7
Q
what was the purpose of the RFC and the RNAS
A
- To perform reconnaissance!!!
8
Q
what did French General Ferdinand Foch think about aircraft
A
- “interesting toys but no real military value”
- despite the fact that Samuel Cody’s Army Aeroplane No.1 flew 400m in October 1908
- Foch was wrong to dismiss aircraft and some of the best pilots by the end of the war were French
9
Q
how many deaths were their overall and in training
A
- 14,000
- 8000 in training
- have to be super brave and you’re not even at the point of war yet or combat with other people in 1813
10
Q
what was Britain’s initial opinion of aircraft
A
- still quite traditional and preferred cavalry
- they did see a potential in them more so than the French did but they were still just more of a side project for them
11
Q
what were the first planes like
A
- rudimentary
- essentially just fabric and wood
- had to be light or they wouldn’t fly
- essentially a bike with wings
- death traps
- primitive - basic
- no brakes - or protection
- cold
- learn on the job
12
Q
what is a Zeppelin and who built them
A
- essentially an airship that can drop bombs
- Germany built them as their main aerial focus was offense
- Britain built hot air balloons as their focus was reconnaissance and it was too much effort to build both
13
Q
when did the Germans bomb the British with their Zeppelins
A
- Christmas Eve 1914 (unsuccessful but encouraging)
- come back Jan 1915 and kill 5 people
- May 1915 - reach London
- 19 missions in 1915
- 22 missions in 1916
- 7 in 1917
- 4 in 1918
14
Q
why was it so monumental that Germany killed five people with their Zeppelin raid of Britain in May 1915
A
- first time the war had ever hit the British Home Front
- made it a total war
15
Q
how many people were killed and injured over all by the Germans Zeppelin raids
A
- 556 killed and 1350 injuries
- it isn’t huge in comparison to losses on the Western Front but it was the principle
- 5750 bombs dropped
16
Q
how did Britain react to the Germans Zeppelin raids
A
- blackouts
- anti-aircraft guns on coastline to shoot them down (Archie/Flak Gun)
- nets
- eventually put weapons on their planes but this takes time
- if you prepared for it and could see it, it was easy to shoot down but Britain were initially caught off guard by this and didn’t have what they needed to deal with it - thought war would be over by Christmas
- 1917-1918 Germany phase them out as Britain now able to deal with them effectively
17
Q
why did Germany do their Zeppelin raids
A
- Physiologically scary
- they were never going to flatten London to the ground with this but wanted to diminish the war effort/target industry
- wanted to break morale and British resolve
- did them at night for cover
18
Q
what was the impact of the German Zeppelin raids, did it have the effect Germany wanted
A
- they backfired
- they didn’t break British resolve but rather galvanised the people against Germany and enhanced determination
- Britain publish in papers to bring people together
- use it create morale
- spin it as propaganda and demonise the Germans
- ‘fight back’ slogans
- they also forced Britain to react and spend a bit more on their air force to play catch up
19
Q
after dabbling with airships like the Germans what did Britain prefer to use instead
A
- the Kite balloons
- allowed an observer to rise as high as 4000ft - view of about 15 miles on all sides - see behind German trench right to warehouses and supply lines
- became huge target for the RFC pilots later
- have maps, paper pens in the basket to draw what they see
- had 15x more than the Germans by late 1916
20
Q
why was reconnaissance such as the Kite Balloon so important for Britain
A
- Germany had dug in first and thus had most of the high ground
- need it to plan an attack
21
Q
what were the limitations of the British Kite Balloons
A
- anchored to the ground - static viewing point - can’t zoom in for closer look
- once you’ve seen everything a bit useless
- weather limited
- enough to get you started by need more info
- when planes get better and have guns they were just shot down - only good for first 18 months of the war
22
Q
what are the benefits of the British Kite Balloons
A
- safer than aircraft
- ran a telephone line down to the ground for instant communication
- get a lot of valuable information they might not have had without balloons at the start of the war
- had intelligent people going up that knew exactly what to look for
23
Q
when was the first experiment with wireless telegraphy (using morse code in radio waves)
A
- September 1914
24
Q
what was squadron number 9
A
- Jan 1915
- it was formed to develop radio communication
- section of the munitions invention department
- ran by DLG
25
what was the initial problems with radio
- unreliable in 1914 - need big telegraph poles, short distance and good weather
- too bulky for aircraft initially but worked on balloons
- had to build radio stations close to where the planes would fly
- no guarantee the enemy wouldn't have radio too and no frequency blocking at this point so enemy could listen
26
when did radio become more useful
- 1917 onwards - quite stable on aircraft
- not useful at Somme/Paschendaele as unrealiable, weather, distance
- worked to an extent at Passchendaele but was not fully effective
- By Summer Offensive of 1918 it was perfect and Haig used it well during Amiens and the 100 days
- trusted to prove critical live updates
27
discuss Britain and aerial photography
- experimented with as early as 1912
- easier from balloons as still but mobility of aeroplanes made it more valuable
- BE2 chosen for its stability - cameras mounted outside aircraft
- later mounted to cockpit floor
- early cameras used metal/glass plates later did automatically-loaded film
28
what was interesting about the Germans photgraphy
- despite their aerial efforts been focused on offense rather than reconnaissance, the German cameras were much better than the British ones
- the Zeiss company was the envy of the world
29
in 1916 how many photographs were taken
- the RFC took 19,000 aerial photographs
| - over 430,000 of the Somme battlefield
30
what was the BE2 aircraft
- first proper reconnaissance aircraft
- chosen for its stability to ensure pics were accurate
- cameras on side but shit pics - move to cockpit
- shows their lack of knowledge as didn't know best place originally - learning on the job
31
what was one of the initial problems were cameras
- super heavy - have to find the balance between good camera and speed
- balance weight, size and power
32
what was the initial danger with the British camera planes
- they didn't have guns on them so they were sitting ducks
- if they ran into a German plane they were screwed
- had to fix that later
33
how did cameras get better over time
- smaller and lighter so planes can fly faster
| - photographs are gold dust
34
who was Hugh Trenchard
- became commander of the RFC in 1916
| - Trenchard transformed it to the RAF in April 1918
35
why did Britain have to start thinking about offense
- British recon planes been shot down too much
- Germans were taking their own pics and Britain wanted to prevent that
change is to protect your reconnaissance - main goal still reconnaissance but have to fight back now
- army reactive again
36
what were the four key objectives established by Trenchard
- perform reconnaissance
- stop the enemy from securing their own reconnaissance
- to engage and destroy enemy aircraft where and when possible
- provide strategic bombing of enemy trenches and men
37
what was the demographic/class make up of the RFC
- young - physical demands of job
- academically inclined - need to have a good knowledge of maths, mechanics, engineering, mapping and navigation
- need good eye sight
- upper class chose it for conscription services - they preferred it
- arrogant
- got it through nepotism
- the only exception to class levelling
- made more sense for training and doctrine
- became celebrities, fast tracked for medals etc...
