war in the air - types of plane

Question 1

why was the BE2 favourable

Answer 1

they were easy t o mass produce and cheap to make

Question 2

what did the government want to initially use instead of planes

Answer 2

balloons and zeppelins

Question 3

what were the qualities of a plane that made them favourable to the government

Answer 3

they had to be cheap and easy to produce, this is because they did not enjoy the risk of investing too much money into the war efforts

Question 4

was the BE2 easy to repair?

Answer 4

yes !

Question 5

what was the BE2 made out of

Answer 5

some metal, but mainly wood and fabric which was easy for mechanics and ‘riggers’ to mend

Question 6

what was the average speed of the BE2

Answer 6

65 mph

Question 7

what speed was the cross winds on the western front

Answer 7

70 mph

Question 8

why did the speed of the BE2 and the cross winds lead to a perfect match for recon

Answer 8

it made the plane more steady to take photos on the glass plate negatives

Question 9

what was the type of plane called where the propeller was at the back

Answer 9

Pusher planes (vickers FB5/FE2B)

Question 10

why did pusher planes have to be invented

Answer 10

BE2s were too lightweight to hold heavy artillery and when they did, they shot their own propeller because the gunman was at the front

Question 11

what was the flaw with pusher planes

Answer 11

pusher planes were easy targets as the enemy could easily shoot the propeller in a chase

Question 12

what happened to the pilots who attempted the 360 manoeuvres

Answer 12

they often fell from their planes and the pilots would be left unprotected

Question 13

what type of manoeuvres do pusher planes enable

Answer 13

360 shooting with a machine gun

Question 14

why did the government invest in the Sopwith camel

Answer 14

pressure from trenchard

Question 15

what was the top speed of the sopwith camel

Answer 15

120mph

Question 16

what was the maximum altitude of the sopwith camel

Answer 16

22,000 feet

Question 17

what was adapting as quick as planes

Answer 17

AA guns (Accurate archie, anti-aircraft)

Question 18

what was it called where the planes would fly fast down by the trenches

Answer 18

strafing

Question 19

what did the sopwith camel eventually adapt to do

Answer 19

strategic bombing, but suffered some difficulty

Question 20

what were the early weapons on planes

Answer 20

bricks, fluchettes. machine guns were too heavy

Question 21

how were machine guns adapted to be able to be used in planes

Answer 21

they were stripped back down and their cooling systems were removed to make them light enough to use in aircrafts

Question 22

who originally pimped planes

Answer 22

Roland Garros

Question 23

how did Roland Garros pimp his plane

Answer 23

he put metal along the propeller

Question 24

when was interrupter gear invented

Answer 24

1915

Question 25

who did Fokker (dutch) work for

Answer 25

the German army

Question 26

name some stats about the Vickers-Challenger machine gun

Answer 26

could fire up to 800 yards, 600 bullets a minute and had to be reloaded after 250 rounds

Question 27

what was the best interrupter gear made by the British

Answer 27

Constantinesco oil-hydraulic gear 1918

Question 28

how did bomber planes try and avoid AA guns

Answer 28

night raids

Question 29

why did night raids not always work

Answer 29

ground troops used searchlights and sound detection to find planes

Question 30

how many engines did the bomber planes have

Answer 30

2 or more

Question 31

why were the first british bomb raids unsuccessful

Answer 31

they failed to find targets, got shot down and had bad weather

Question 32

why was bomb aiming not always accurate

Answer 32

it was based off eyesight and 'wire and nails'

Question 33

how did bomb aiming develop in 1915

Answer 33

bomb aiming adapted into Wimpers Drift Sight, although this still lacked accuracy

Question 34

what was the early role of planes in battle

Answer 34

mainly used for recon as planes were not fully developed at this stage

Question 35

what was one success of planes in early battle

Answer 35

British planes spotted Germans outflanking BEF as they retreated to mons - this is when Haig saw their value

Question 36

when was the first RFC casualty

Answer 36

Aug 22 1914 - Avro 504 scout shot down over Belgium

Question 37

what was the training process like to be a pilot

Answer 37

the process was 10 hours, 5 of which were spent on the ground in model planes and the other 5 were spent sat behind an instructor who had been discharged from the RFC for being too 'nervous'

Question 38

what accidently happened at Mons that lead to the labelling process of planes

Answer 38

2 planes were shot down in friendly fire

Question 39

how many planes were used at the 3rd ypres

Answer 39

300

Question 40

when did tactical bombing start

Answer 40

3rd Ypres, to destroy supply lines and bridge links

Question 41

why was there tactical bombing

Answer 41

tactical bombing was used to stop reinforcements/ supplies from getting through

Question 42

how many planes were used at Cambria

Answer 42

500

Question 43

why were planes used at Cambri

Answer 43

to drown out the noise of tanks and to keep them a surprise

Question 44

when did Britain have the most aerial supremacy

Answer 44

at the start of the 100 day offensive

Question 45

how much did Britain outnumber Germany at the 100 day offensive

Answer 45

ratio of 5 to 1

Question 46

at the 100 day offensive, what wouldnt have been possible without the use of planes

Answer 46

the 'perfect' creeping barrage

Question 47

how many planes did the British loose in the 100 day offensive in 4 days alone

Answer 47

243

Question 48

why did Britain have aerial supremacy in the 100 day offensive

Answer 48

Trenchards demand for government funding

Question 49

what statistic of people died in aerial situations

Answer 49

1 in 4

Question 50

why was aerial warfare so deadly

Answer 50

poor quality planes, lack of training and psychological impact

Question 51

how many pilots did the french train

Answer 51

16,000

Question 52

how many pilots did the british train

Answer 52

20,000

Question 53

were there similar losses on both sides of aerial combat

Answer 53

yes german - 16,054 britain - 16,623 french - 7255

Question 54

what was one downside to being an RFC pilot

Answer 54

always on the offensive, this caused large psychological impact

Question 55

what did the sign that the German infantry put up in Arras say

Answer 55

'for God's sake give your pilots a rest'

Question 56

what did the sign at arras suggest

Answer 56

that german morale was wearing thin

Question 57

what was the purpose of strategic bombing

Answer 57

psychological damage

Question 58

what was the role of the Aces

Answer 58

they focused on targeting recon planes as they were slower and hindered to enemy more if destroyed

Question 59

who did the press romanticise

Answer 59

the aces

Question 60

who were the aces

Answer 60

mannock and mcudden

Question 61

why did trenchard dislike the aces

Answer 61

they got romanticised

Question 62

what was the attitudes of trenchard

Answer 62

'haig of the skies' he had similar philosophies and they worked well together. he belived the aircraft should be over the enemy territory as much as possible

Question 63

what did trenchard constantly request

Answer 63

better planes and more funding and investments