Changing Nature Of Air Warfare Flashcards
What were the German dive bombers?
Stukas
What was the German Airforce?
Luftwaffe
Before D-Day, where did the Allies bomb?
Normandy hinterland
Where was Hitler convinced the D-Day invasion would take place?
Calais
When did the Germans bomb Warsaw?
September 1939
When was the destruction of Rotterdam?
May 1940
What was the codename for the German invasion of Britain?
Operation Sealion
When was the Battle of Britain?
The summer of 1940
When did Germany begin a full scale raid on the south east of England targeting radar and sector stations?
13th August
On the 18th August why did the Luftwaffe target airfields in the south east?
To try and destroy the British fighter planes
When did Britain get lucky during the Battle of Britain?
7th September
Why did Britain get lucky during the Battle of Britain?
Hitler diverted the Luftwaffe to the bombing of London
When did the Luftwaffe try to bomb London in daylight?
15th September
How many planes did they lose during the daylight bombing of London?
56 planes
When did Hitler postpone the invasion of Britain?
17th September
Why was radar so effective?
It ensured that the British fighter planes could intercept German attacks
What did the sector stations do?
Direct the fighter planes
What are the two British fighter planes?
The Hurricanes and Spitfires
What was the German fighter plane?
Messerschmitt 109
Why was the Battle of Britain important?
It prevented a German invasion and was a morale booster for the British public
From September 1940 what was the bombing of Britain called?
The Blitz
What was the aim of the blitz?
To destroy the morale of the British people and to seriously disrupt production and communication
When was London bombed?
From 2nd September to 2nd November every night, they continued to May 1941
What was the damage in London?
Over 15000 were killed and 250000 made homeless
When was Coventry’s worst attack?
On 14th November 1940
At Coventry how many incendiary bombs were used?
30000
How long did it take Coventry to return to production?
Within five days
How many bombers attacked Liverpool on 3rd May 1941?
500 bombers
What was the damage in Belfast?
1000 were killed and 150000 were made homeless
When was Glasgow attacked?
13-14th March 1941
What was the damage at Glasgow?
500 were killed, hundreds injured and almost 12000 houses destroyed
At Plymouth what was the main target?
The royal dockyards at Devonport
When did the Plymouth raids start and end?
From early 1941 to the 30th April 1944
At Plymouth how many bombings were there?
59 bombing attacks
What was the damage at Plymouth?
1172 people were killed and 4448 were injured
When did Hitler call off the Blitz?
May 1941
Why was the Blitz called off?
The Luftwaffe was needed for the invasion of the Soviet Union
What weapons were used during the second blitz
The V-1 and V-2 missiles
What was the V-1?
A flying bomb which came down when it ran out of fuel
How many V-1’s reached Britain?
6000
How many people died as a result of V-1’s?
20000
What was the weakness of the V-1?
The Allies could intercept these bombs
Why was the V-2 more dangerous?
It was very fast and could not be shot down travelling at 4000 kmph
How many V-2’s hit London?
500
How many died as a result of V-2’s?
900
Why was the V-2 ineffective?
It was used too late in the war to have a direct impact
Why was the blitz counter-productive?
It made the British more determined to resist the Germans
What was the overall damage of the blitz?
Over 3mn houses were destroyed and 60000 citizens were killed
Why did the Allies bomb Germany?
To disrupt German war production, to reduce German morale and to finally defeat Germany
In May 1942 where was the first thousand bomber raid?
Cologne
How many people died in Cologne?
40000
How many people died in Hamburg?
60000
Where and when was the most controversial Allied raid?
Dresden in February 1945
Who was head of British Bomber Command?
Air Marshall Harris
Why was the raid on Dresden controversial?
Dresden was not an industrial city and was full of refugees
How many casualties were there at Dresden?
100,000
Why was there criticism of the Allied bombing?
It was morally wrong to target civilians, the bombing was counter-productive and bombing had little effect on German industry as it only fell by 10%. Moreover 140,000 airmen died
During the Cold War why did technology develop?
As the US and SU were competing to produce the most destructive military aircraft
What could new jet aircraft do?
Travel at higher altitudes, at greater speed and carry nuclear weapons
What was the most significant missile developed?
The inter-continental ballistic missile
What are some other changes to air warfare during the Cold War?
Air to air guided missiles as well as under the radar aircrafts
On the 5th June 1967 how many Arab aircrafts had been destroyed?
416
What airforces did the Israelis destroy?
Jordan, Syria and Iraq
When was Operation Rolling Thunder?
7th February 1965
What was Operation Rolling Thunder?
A widespread bombing raid on military and industrial targets in North Vietnam
How long was Operation Rolling Thunder originally supposed to last?
8 weeks, it actually lasted 3.5 years
How effective was the bombing of North Vietnam?
It damaged North Vietnam’s war effort and disrupted its supply route. However the bombing mainly damaged the countryside which caused further support for the Vietcong. Also it did not stop supplies arriving from the North
How much did it cost the USA to kill one Vietcong soldier?
$400000
How did the USA try and force the Vietcong into battle?
Chemical weapons to destroy the jungle that the enemy hid in
What were two chemical weapons?
Agent Orange and Napalm
How many litres of Agent Orange was sprayed?
82mn litres
What was another US tactic?
Search and Destroy
What were Search and Destroy raids nicknamed?
Zippo raids
In the Vietnam war what was the problem with US tactics?
High civilian casualties
When was the extensive bombing campaign at the start of the Persian Gulf War?
17th January 1991
How many sorties did the coalition fly over and how many tons of bombs did they drop over?
100000 sorties and 88500 tons of bombs
In the Persian Gulf War what did the bombing achieve?
It destroyed military and civilian infrastructure, especially the Iraqi airforce and anti-aircraft facilities and communication facilities.
What is the term stealth commonly applied to?
To a aircraft or missile system that have been designed to produce as small a radar signature as is practicable
What were two US stealth aircrafts?
The F-117 Blackhawks and the B-2 Bomber
What could the US stealth aircrafts do?
The shape of the aircrafts could bounce radio waves at different, odd angles and also they were coated with radar absorbing material.
