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Aircraft development in WW1

Aircraft development in WW1. Nigel Holden U3A November 2016. The path to WW1 weaponry. (Almost) no precedent. 17 December 1903. Pre-1914 assumptions. The role of aircraft is to observe and report on enemy military dispositions Aircraft needed a pilot and an observer

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Aircraft development in WW1

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  1. Aircraft development in WW1 Nigel Holden U3A November 2016

  2. The path to WW1 weaponry

  3. (Almost) no precedent 17 December 1903

  4. Pre-1914 assumptions • The role of aircraft is to observe and report on enemy military dispositions • Aircraft needed a pilot and an observer • 1911: the first ever bombing in Libya in the Italo-Turkish War • August 1914: the first dog fight between a Serbian pilot and an Austrian.

  5. Aircraft in 1914 • ‘Box kite on perambulator wheels’ • ‘Fragile contraptions of wood, canvas, and baling wire, fit more for the circus than the battlefield’

  6. Into the unknown fast • Design for climb, speed, versatility, visibility, etc • Production, materials • Logistics • Pilot training • Maintenance • Operational feedback • Armament, instrumentation, telegraphic equipment, camera The interruptor gear (1915), which allowed bullets to be fired between rotating blades

  7. Not just pilots and observers • But also training personnel • mechanics, electricians, welders, aerial photograph analysts, weapons personnel, carpenters, medical staff and meteorologists Not built with logistics in mind

  8. Advent of the bomber 1915 • Gotha G.V.: height - 15,000ft,=; range - 500 miles; payload – 500kgs

  9. Developments 1914/1918 • 1914 Royal Airforce Factory BE.2c: 72mph, 10,000ft • 1917 Royal Aircraft Factory SE.5a: 138mph, 20,000ft • 1917 SPAD XIII: 135mph, 22,400ft • 1915 Fokker Eindecker: 87mph, 11,500ft • 1917 Albatros D.V: 116 mph, 20,500ft • Fokker D.VIII: 124mph, 23,000ft • Seaplanes (aircraft carriers), flying boats, air-launched torpedoes

  10. Major military consequences • The air becomes a new fighting zone • Creation of a new, independent military branch • Importance of innovation (aircraft performance and training) • Significance of bombing • Aircraft did not influence the outcome of WW1, but their great potential was recognised e.g. in the Treaty of Versailles

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