Impacts Of The Dambusters

The technological developments that assisted bombing, the impact of bombing on the German economy, the impact of bombing on the German civilian morale and also the effects on the German war effort all help explain why the Allied strategic bombing of Germany during the Second World War was significant to quite a far extent. Each of the following paragraphs will analyse the impacts of the Allied strategic bombing on different aspects of Germany and also what factors assisted the Allied bombing campaign in creating a significant impact on Germany during the Second World War.

“Never before had so much brain-power been focused on a single problem.”(Laurence qtd. in “Eyewitness”). Many inventions can be said to have changed the world, and the way it worked. Only a core few of these many inventions can be said to change air warfare, and few of those are as game-changing as the B-29 Superfortress by Boeing. The B-29 was the plane that dropped the atomic bombs in World War Two (“bomber”). The plane by Boeing was used most in World War Two as a strategic long-range bomber. This invention revolutionized the concept of war, and war is a factor in all life on planet earth. The B-29 bomber changed warfare by sparking the innovation of aircraft technology, saving lives, and allowing more power to be carried by the means

Few inventions have shaped war as much as the atomic bomb. The atomic bomb enabled massive indiscriminate destruction on a scale the world had never seen. The offensive capabilities of the atomic bomb were terrifying and many believed a nuclear war could destroy the world. Bernard Brodie, Albert Wohlstetter, Thomas Schelling, and André Beaufre describe the state of war the atomic bomb introduced in the Nuclear Age. Their writings show that atomic bombs changed warfare by changing the focus of arms development to avoid conflict and threats against civilians were now used to force surrender.

The book Bomb: The Race to Build–and Steal–the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon is a thrilling, fast-paced story that refines a great deal of history into interesting and understandable literature for practically any age reader. The author, Steve Sheinkin, writes to tell the story of the first atomic bomb, the people who made it possible, and those who challenged its progress. Any person who is interested in science, history, or would like an enjoyable, quick read could read Bomb and easily understand the basics behind the creation of the atomic bomb. Along with the science and mathematics of the atomic bomb, Sheinkin adds the suspense and intrigue from the viewpoints of espionage agents from the Soviet Union, Germany, Great Britain, and the

The bombs were also a warning shot to the Nazis who, according to President Roosevelt, “have proclaimed, time and again, that all other races are their inferiors and therefore subject to their orders.” (Riggs 2) Thus, Germany’s defeat

This investigation assesses to what extent the atomic bomb was necessary to end the Second World War. This investigation will be limited to the years 1939 to 1945, the duration of World War II, to assess the justifications for the bombing. However, this investigation will also examine sources as recent as the 2010s to evaluate the objective necessity of the bombing because it has remained a consistently controversial topic despite the time difference. Additionally, the necessity of the bomb is a matter that is independent from the initial bombing because its effect went beyond just ending the war, and, contextually, it is essential to examine its causes and effects with respect to events both before and after the war. Throughout this investigation, novels, memoirs, and web articles will be analyzed with evaluations of their origins, purpose, values, and limitations.

The bombing campaigns in Vietnam, Rolling Thunder, Linebacker I, and Linebacker II, still remain controversial today. The common academic threat revolves around that if Rolling Thunder saw a more destructive use of air power, as used during Linebacker I and II, it would have been successful. Mark Clodfelter wholly disagrees with this idea. Throughout his book, Clodfelter believes that Linebacker I and II saw success because they had a different political objective. In the preface, he writes that many Air Force personnel “ignore the essence of why bombing “worked” in 1972 – because it was the proper instrument to apply, given Nixon’s specific goals and the political and military situation that then existed”(p xii). This is further clarified by stating what Richard Nixon’s aim for the bombing campaigns was versus what Lyndon Johnson wanted.

There has been a terrific incident in 1889 where Johnstown Pennsylvania had a massive flood which 2,209 people were killed in total and estimated $17 million property was damaged. The main cause of the flood was the dam failure of the Southern Fork Dam on Little Conemaugh River located 14 miles upstream from Johnstown. The event was said the worst dam tragedy in the United States history.

In 1943 the British Intelligence Force authorized the bombing of a ferry boat carrying heavy water and civilians. They needed to destroy the heavy water because the German army needed it to build their atomic bomb.

In 1991 the Edwards Manufacturing Company, owner of the Edwards Dam on the Kennebec River in Augusta, ME, applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for a renewal of their license to operate a privately owned hydroelectric dam. Their application was denied; Edwards Manufacturing Company was required to come up with a plan for the enacting and financing of decommissioning the dam, as well as the restoration of the river. This was the first time in history that the federal government ordered a privately owned hydroelectric dam destroyed against the wishes of the owner. Numerous factors were involved which eventually led to this decision, namely the

Gar Alperovitz to me, is a qualified author for this subject because at the end of the article is mentions that he has been researching for the last several decades on why the United States dropped the bomb, and also that he has a Doctorate from Cambridge University.

During the Great War bombing was a new idea that was just spawned. The idea of throwing bombes out of planes was the beginning of a new way of warfare. As time advanced bombs were mounted on the bottom of bigger planes with small turret gunners to protect the bomber from enemy planes. During the thirties there was new ideas about ways of using bombers and how it would affect warfare. In Overy it says that many people like H.G. Wells in his book War in the Air shows how terrifying and chaotic bombers can be in war to civilians. Others like the Bomber Command loved the idea of bombing and thought it would be a way to win the war by devastating

Hiroshima is an outstanding recreation of the complete annihilation and devastation of during the aftermath and the year following the United States’ dropping of the atomic bomb. As the war in the east carried on, many thought this desolated war might last a lifetime, all the while hoping for an end and praying it not mean their own end. To end the war, Americans had to pick a target that would leave the Japanese government with nowhere to retreat, allowing for a crippling effect that would essentially cause their collapse and surrender. In his writings, John Hersey proclaims that Hiroshima was a “… inviting target - mainly because it had been one of the most important military command and communications centres in Japan …” (HERSEY, P. 107). In the minds of American strategists, this must have seemed a flawless method to force the Japanese military into a corner, not allowing withdrawal without laying down of arms. There was surely no doubt that dropping this bomb of god-like destructive power would, at a minimum, tear into the souls of Japanese, causing catastrophic devastation.

The leader of the Gunnerside Operation in February 1943 was Joachim Ronneberg. His order was to destroy the largest hydroelectric plant in Vermork, Norway which contained heavy water Britain was afraid the Nazis would use to make an atomic bomb. Two separate gliders were sent three months previous and failed in their mission. Ronneberg and a small group of men, one of whom was Knut Haugland, jumped out of a plane without knowing why they were to destroy the plant. It was not until the attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that Ronneberg learned why this mission was so important. Ronneberg and his men were able to blow up the plant and escaped on skies with a German division chasing after them on the ground and aircraft overhead. Ronneberg recalls

Another British bomb designed by Barnes Wallis was the Bouncing Bomb. The concept was a bomb that bounced across water to avoid torpedo nets. It was designed to allow speed and time of detonation to be pre-determined. In May of 1943, a Bouncing Bomb was used to explode German dams underwater, having a similar effect to Wallis’ other design, the earthquake bomb.