The War in the Air, 1914-18 Flashcards

1
Q

Before WW1 how many aircraft did Britain have?

A

113

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2
Q

What percentage of sorties throughout the war were reconnaissance missions?

A

over 90%

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3
Q

What technological advancements improved aerial reconnaissance during the war?

A
  • Switching from hand-held cameras to cameras fitted in the fuselage
  • improvements to planes
  • the use of radio to give reports (rather than in person)
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4
Q

What piece of equipment was used to see long-distance into enemy territory?

A

tethered balloons

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5
Q

In what year was a plane successfully fitted with a machine gun that wouldn’t shoot its propellor?

A

1915 - French fit steel plates
mid-1915 - German fit device which will stop the gun firing as the propellor passes, giving the Germans a huge advantage

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6
Q

Who had the advantage in the sky in the second half of 1915?

A

Germany had the advantage due to Fokker planes

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7
Q

How many allied aircraft did the German Fokker planes shoot down in the second half of 1915 in the ‘Fokker scourge’?

A

over 1000

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8
Q

Who had aerial superiority in the second half of 1916?

A

the allies

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9
Q

Example of a plane the British developed in 1916, that was better/ equal to the German planes?

A

Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter

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10
Q

What made ground attack missions unreliable?

A

The planes were vulnerable as they swooped down to strafe enemy positions

Aerial bombing was fairly inaccurate

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11
Q

What is indirect artillery fire?

A

Shooting targets not visible from the guns due to radio guidance from pilots and maps

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12
Q

What were 4 better elements of fighters in 1917-18 than previous years?

A
  • better speeds
  • more powerful engines
  • more manoeuvrable
  • better rate of climb
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13
Q

In April 1917 how many aircraft did the British lose due to the German Albatross D-type planes? (how many german planes lost in the same period?)

A

The RFC lost 151 aircraft and 316 crew

The Germans lost 66 planes and 119 crew

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14
Q

What British planes shot 87 German aircraft between May-September 1917?

A

Sopwith Triplanes (there were 5 of them, no British losses)

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15
Q

What plane invented in late 1917 became the leading British fighter for the rest of the war?

A

The Sopwith F-1 Camel, which was the first British aircraft to have two synchronised machine guns

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16
Q

How many enemy planes did the Sopwith F-1 Camel shoot down?

A

1300

17
Q

Who were ‘aces’?

A

pilots with more than 5 kills

18
Q

Why were ‘aces’ used as propaganda?

A

They were seen as gallant, chivalrous and boosted morale

19
Q

How many planes per month were the allies producing in 1918?
How many were the Germans?

A

over 11,000

less than 2000
- this allowed the allies to reconnoitre fields of battle with relative impunity, and gave Haig a great advantage

20
Q

How many civilians died to zeppelin bombing in Britain during WW1?

A

556
(1350 injured)

21
Q

How many civilians died to aeroplane bombing in Britain during WW1?

A

850
(2000 injured)

22
Q

What was the name of the German bomber planes?

A

Gothas

23
Q

When was the RAF formed?

A

April 1918

24
Q

Who was chief of staff of the RAF (previously head of the RFC)?

A

Major General Hugh Trenchard

25
Q

By what time did British bombers regularly hit industrial targets in West Germany?

A

Summer 1918

26
Q

How many tons of bombs did Britain drop on Germany?

A

665 tons

27
Q

What were 3 impacts of bombing?

A
  • strengthened belief that the Germans were barbarous enemy
  • cost more to bomb than the damage inflicted was worth
  • bombing had little impact on the outcome of the war, despite being disruptive
28
Q

Main aims of fighter planes?

A

Shoot down enemies and protect friendly reconnaissance planes

29
Q

What caused increased recognition for the need for a bigger and better equipped RFC?

A

The Fokker Scourge of 1915

30
Q

When did the German’s start strategic bombing (though there had been raids since 1914)?

A

May 1917

31
Q

Who said that with enough planes Germany could be bombed into submission? When?

A

General Jan Smuts was tasked with judging air power and in October 1917 claimed that enough planes could make Germany submit

32
Q

How many British planes were lost on bombing campaigns?

A

450