The War in the Air, 1914-18 Flashcards
Before WW1 how many aircraft did Britain have?
113
What percentage of sorties throughout the war were reconnaissance missions?
over 90%
What technological advancements improved aerial reconnaissance during the war?
- 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)
What piece of equipment was used to see long-distance into enemy territory?
tethered balloons
In what year was a plane successfully fitted with a machine gun that wouldn’t shoot its propellor?
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
Who had the advantage in the sky in the second half of 1915?
Germany had the advantage due to Fokker planes
How many allied aircraft did the German Fokker planes shoot down in the second half of 1915 in the ‘Fokker scourge’?
over 1000
Who had aerial superiority in the second half of 1916?
the allies
Example of a plane the British developed in 1916, that was better/ equal to the German planes?
Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter
What made ground attack missions unreliable?
The planes were vulnerable as they swooped down to strafe enemy positions
Aerial bombing was fairly inaccurate
What is indirect artillery fire?
Shooting targets not visible from the guns due to radio guidance from pilots and maps
What were 4 better elements of fighters in 1917-18 than previous years?
- better speeds
- more powerful engines
- more manoeuvrable
- better rate of climb
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?)
The RFC lost 151 aircraft and 316 crew
The Germans lost 66 planes and 119 crew
What British planes shot 87 German aircraft between May-September 1917?
Sopwith Triplanes (there were 5 of them, no British losses)
What plane invented in late 1917 became the leading British fighter for the rest of the war?
The Sopwith F-1 Camel, which was the first British aircraft to have two synchronised machine guns
How many enemy planes did the Sopwith F-1 Camel shoot down?
1300
Who were ‘aces’?
pilots with more than 5 kills
Why were ‘aces’ used as propaganda?
They were seen as gallant, chivalrous and boosted morale
How many planes per month were the allies producing in 1918?
How many were the Germans?
over 11,000
less than 2000
- this allowed the allies to reconnoitre fields of battle with relative impunity, and gave Haig a great advantage
How many civilians died to zeppelin bombing in Britain during WW1?
556
(1350 injured)
How many civilians died to aeroplane bombing in Britain during WW1?
850
(2000 injured)
What was the name of the German bomber planes?
Gothas
When was the RAF formed?
April 1918
Who was chief of staff of the RAF (previously head of the RFC)?
Major General Hugh Trenchard
By what time did British bombers regularly hit industrial targets in West Germany?
Summer 1918
How many tons of bombs did Britain drop on Germany?
665 tons
What were 3 impacts of bombing?
- 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
Main aims of fighter planes?
Shoot down enemies and protect friendly reconnaissance planes
What caused increased recognition for the need for a bigger and better equipped RFC?
The Fokker Scourge of 1915
When did the German’s start strategic bombing (though there had been raids since 1914)?
May 1917
Who said that with enough planes Germany could be bombed into submission? When?
General Jan Smuts was tasked with judging air power and in October 1917 claimed that enough planes could make Germany submit
How many British planes were lost on bombing campaigns?
450
