“When my brother and I built the first man-carrying flying machine we thought that we were introducing into the world an invention which would make further wars practically impossible.” Orville Wright, 1917. Sadly this was not the case. Over the span of World War II, because the technology was so new and could work well, planes were used heavily and mercilessly and because of this, more than half a million people died or were lost in combat. During the war, airplane manufacturing was important to both the Axis and Allied powers. Various types of planes were produced during the war for their different abilities and uses. During the war, plane manufacturing was important to both the enemies and allies. Most manufacturing plants were a main target for the enemies, and for the US, on missions. If the US could take out manufacturers it would slow down the production of enemy planes and give us an advantage. In terms of America’s own production rates, they skyrocketed in only 5 years. In less than 5 years aircraft manufacturing went from 41st place in America industries to first place, because of the war. Shadow factories were a major idea that arose, mainly in Britain, to be able to meet the urgent need for airplane parts. These factories were basically car factories, which helped make airplane parts, and were …show more content…
The first design of the B-17 plane, was equipped with 4 engines, was capable of 200 to 250 mph, and could fly long distance with a 2,000 pound bomb load. The major changes to the plane after the first model was produced were to it’s armor and new tail designs. Later, with newer versions they added more armament defenses, and a chin turret under the nose of the plane. The B-17 is mostly known for its toughness and ability to get through heavy flak and enemy fire, and carry the crew safely. “The plane can be cut and slashed almost to pieces by enemy fire and bring its crew home.” Wally Hoffman, B-17 Pilot, 8th Air
At first Henry Ford had said the war was just a waste of time, and did not want to profit from it. Henry Ford was a known as a pacifist, opposed America’s entry into World War II. What made Ford change his mind and want to help out in the War was that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor which happen on December 7, 1941. This inspired Ford to begin a tremendous, all-out manufacturing effort to help in all way possible in the War. Henry was able to produce bombers at a rate of one plane per hour. By the end of the war, Ford had built lots of things that help in the war such as 86,865 complete aircraft, 57,851 airplane engines, and 4,291 military gliders. Ford also made tanks, armored cars and jeeps. All this was very helpful to the War because it help the soldiers travel or kept them
Airplanes were in a similar position as tanks - the technology was really too new and immature for effective combat use. At best, the airplane provided better observation and reconnaissance ability than previously available, but, in a static trench-warfare setting (with the commonly poor European weather), the amount of benefit this provided is easy to overstate. Tactical and strategic bombing was non-existent; the airplane would have to wait for the wars of
The way that society functioned would forever be changed by the advances made during the war. For example, air warfare was central to the tactics used in WWII, and planes needed constant updates so that air warfare could be as efficient and safe as possible. “Air superiority was the goal of both the Allies and the Axis, each dedicating as much man/woman and machine power possible to produce the ultimate air weapon” (source 2) Thus, jet aircraft were born. Consistent effort and the stress of war produce significant technological progress. Due to aircraft innovation, after the war, commercial passenger planes came into existence.. Passenger planes and the changes they inspired would never be possible without the aviation progress necessitated by WWII. In the modern day, due to concerns about soldiers’ safety and the issue of human error, war has begun to be fought by self driving ground and air
Because of the tight formations and gutsy flying by the B-17 crews they were able to put thousands of tons of bombs on target with great accuracy. The insight and information of the crews was a vital part in the military to create bigger and better equipment to help the war come to a close. While many of the crews were lost, the steel on target and the information provided saved thousands of lives. The average death toll of a B-17 pilot during World War II was eighty percent. To put that in perspective CPT. Morgan, the pilot of the Memphis Belle, said it like this, “You eat breakfast with 10 of your closest buddies, go on a mission, and only two would be at
On July 28, 1935, the first porotype of the B-17 or also known as the B-299 took off from Boeing Field in south Seattle on its first ever test flight (Boeing “B-17”). Seattle Times reporter Richard Smith dubbed the new plane, with its many .30 caliber machine-guns, the “Flying Fortress,” (qtd.in Boeing). A name that Boeing quickly adopted and trademarked for the gigantic bomber (Boeing “B-17”). The U.S. Army Air Corps designated the plane as the B-17. Boeing created the plane in response to the Army’s request for a large, multi-engine bomber. The B-17 financed entirely by Boeing, went from the design board to flight tests in less than a year. In Boeings description of the B-17 was a low-wing monoplane that combined aerodynamic features
The manufacturing industry took a big hit after the war, Bugos (2001) found that “total sales by American aircraft firms were $16 billion in 1944; by 1947 they were only $1.2 billion,”. However, finances weren’t the only
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was a single-engine, single-seat, metal fighter plane and ground-attack aircraft that was made by the Americans. The P-40 Warhawk fighters first flew in 1938 and caught the attention of the United States Army Air Corps, who placed the largest fighter plane order it had ever made for fighters for a count of 524 at a cost of US$13 million. This was the earliest serious fighter in WWII and did its job until better fighters came out. It was known as a safe and secure aircraft that was able to fly pilots back home after being shot up in action. Many variants of this plane were later created. In addition, the shark teeth graphics were a big feature on this plane.
Aircraft and the war materials are important to any war. The aircraft in the war was very different for each person. They had many different types of aircraft depending on their way of flying. Also the designed it based on how “dangerous” they felt they were. During the war there were over forty different versions of the very successful aircraft from Germany. They wouldn’t build them based on if they were better for fighting or if they were better for flying. They based them on how the person flying them wanted the aircraft to be. This caused problems for Germany. It is very time consuming for Germany. It took a long time to build each of the planes. Since they were all different they
Metal was needed for weapons, ammunition, tanks, planes, and ships. A single tank needed 18 tons of metal and some of the largest ships needed 900 tons (“WWII Home”). Almost as soon as America joined the war, new automobiles were not allowed to be sold and car factories were converted to tank factories. The same thing also happened with washing machines, refrigerators, sewing machines, and other appliances. The fact that these things were not being sold helped save a lot of metal and divert jobs to the war effort (“WWII Rationing”). To save metal, all kinds of things were rationed, chicken wire, farm equipment, and nonessential car parts were among them (“WWII Home”). Even pennies were coated with zinc instead of copper, and by the end of the war most coins were made from used shell casings (Whitman 33). The United States needed thousands of tons of raw materials and rationing was how they got
For many people, it is hard to think of the current world without airplanes. This simple fact is what makes them so important to talk about in society. They might be overlooked sometimes, but they have added a lot to history and should not be taken for granted for what they achieve. To focus on a few countries, the United States of America and Great Britain, the invention of airplanes had some of its largest impact on them. Whether that be in terms of travel or warfare, these countries benefited more than the average. Planes made a whole new empire and became a necessity for everyday people, while also creating more jobs through the business of creating airlines. Something very robust for the time was how planes introduced a profession
The Germans also intended to bring a brand new generation of piston engine aircraft into production around 1941. However, all but one of those aircraft failed to live up to expectations and ended up being produced in very small numbers if at all. The aircraft production of the Germans
While the onset of war led to a hugely inflated military production capacity, American industry never completed reversion back to the pre-war focus on purely civilian items. In fact, the value of military production facilities increased by 3300% between 1939 and 1944, and less than a third of all plants created during the war were converted to civilian production (Walton 551). Paul Koistinen writes,
Before and during the Second World War people were fascinated with flight, the speed and the idea of flying high in the sky has kept people interested. Bombers and fighters alike both change dramatically in the twenty years after the Great War. From cloth wings to metal wings planes became bigger, faster, agile, and can hold a lot more fire power. The air war has changes significantly since the First World War. During the First World War bombers played a big role in the air war and after it left many questions whether it is the way to win wars. There has been speculation that future wars would be won by bombers and it can crush and the enemies at home and also the soldiers. Both book, Wartime by Fusslle and Why the Allies Won by Overy explain in depth what was the actual outcome of bombers and their roles before and after the war.
In the economic aspect, the war ended the Great Depression. (Winkler,1986) In 1940, money was being spent to aid the war effort and in return boosted the American economy. (Winkler,1986) The production of war necessities such as weapons opened up door for the unemployed. (Winkler,1986) Millions of unemployed Americans returned to work to make the weapons of war needed to protect the United States. (Winkler,1986) “During the war 17 million new civilian jobs were created, industrial productivity increased by 96 percent, and corporate profits after taxes doubled.” (Goodwin,1992) War needs directly consumed over one-third of the output of industry causing a slight decrease in consumer goods production. (Goodwin,1992) U.S economy converted to wartime production therefore most consumer goods were
Towards the end of the War the airplane becomes a practical device of war being able to carry weapons. Anthony Fokker and Louis Bleriot create the most successful of early modern biplanes known as the D-VII and D-VIII. Biplanes are eventually taken over by the monoplane, or one wing. This new design allowed for faster flight and better visibility for the pilot. Air-cooled engines lead the way for commercial aircraft, and Boeing introduces the first modern airliner the 247. Airplanes are effected the greatest by supply and demand of war. New styles of war begun to emerge so did new and improved types of aircraft. The population of the U.S. also begun to grow which leads to the modern most sophisticated commercial airliner the 777. Most aircraft improvements are found in the military and intelligence field. The most high tech aircraft known today for such things as spying are the SR-71 Blackbird, and the U-2 Spy plane. The most complicated and best aircraft performance is still held by the space shuttle and probably always will be. The last 200 years have seen incredible changes in aircraft from the man with wings to heavier than air flying machines that can travel at supersonic speeds.