War in the air: background

War in the air: background

1. reconnaissance

   • aircraft originally were used for spying
     • people were skeptical but it was soon proved effective

2. bibliography

   • http://www.firstworldwar.com/airwar/index.htm
   • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aviation_in_World_War_I
   • those sheets which Mrs Cann gave us

3. air to air combat

   • the first air to air combat started when rival planes shot each other with machine guns on spying missions
   • machine guns were fitted to the front and synchronized so as not to destroy the propeller
   • dogfights were born and became a sport
     • Manfred von Richthofen (the Red Baron) scored 80 victories in the war
     • were used as propoganda and to inspire the public

4. Zeppelins

   • were the main form of air attack in ww1
   • were huge and designed to crush the morale of civilians
   • zeppelins took warfare into homes, killing women and children
   • total warfare was born
   • were eventually shot down by courageous British pilots

5. britains bombing

   • I can find no evidence that Britain bombed German civilians during the war.