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Molly J asked in Arts & HumanitiesHistory · 1 decade ago

Differences in plane use for the world wars?

I was wondering if I could have help finding the different uses between planes during WWI and WWII. Its for a school project.

If you could include sources that would be nice.

Thanks(:

4 Answers

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  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    Flying was a new concept at the outbreak of WWI. Aircraft were used mainly for reconnaissance and spotting enemy positions. Later in the war planes had machine guns mounted to them and the world saw the very first dogfights. There was honor in early aircraft warfare. Some pilots were granted mercy and could surrender by landing with the enemy on his tail. Pilots killed behind enemy lines were given military funerals by their enemy. Evidence of this can be seen into the early years of WWII. Pilots were knights of the air and there was great honor and respect among pilots, even enemy pilots.

    Advances by WWI made for faster planes, superior firepower, the ability to have large bombers and later jet fighters. Some smaller planes were used for spotting and aerial photography but the shift to using aircraft as weapons of war was made.

  • 5 years ago

    1

    Source(s): Experience Real Flight Simulation : http://flightsimulator.siopu.com/?rKF
  • 1 decade ago

    That's a wide subject with lots of applications.

    WWI planes had two wingspans and were called biplanes.

    The lower power output of the engines required this for additional lift. Though there were numerous types by several nations, the most noted were the Sopwith Camel and the Fokker Triplane, which had a three wingspan. Early uses of the plane in the war included recon missions and flyovers for spying. Later as weapons were being developed, pilots would occasionally take potshots at each other. The real change came when machine guns were affixed to the planes, and they became offensive weaponry.

    This occured around the middle of WWI and continued to the end of the war. The Monoplane, planes with a single wingspan appeared briefly at the very end of WWI due to major improvements in the power output of the new engines. Improvements to aircraft continued between the wars until the invention of the jet engine during WW2. The newer jet planes flew faster and farther and replaced the older propeller driven planes. WW2 saw the incorporation of the plane into what is known as CA or combined arms. The plane became a tactical component in the armaments of war, and was combined with other armaments for more effective military actions. CA is considered the modern way of war, and is credited in part to the campaigns of Patton.

    A good aviation history should give you plenty of material, and Osprey Editions are very informative as far as research material on the history of military equipage. Good terms to start with are Biplane, Monoplane, Air Force, Flying Circus, Air War, Jets, Modern Arms and Armament,

    and Total War.

    Source(s): Military Historian for my wargaming club
  • Frosty
    Lv 7
    1 decade ago

    I assume you mean airplanes?

    http://www.acepilots.com/wwi/main.html - Source for WW1

    http://www.world-war-2-planes.com/ - Source for WW2

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