W&T: Airplanes

Airplanes in World War 1

INVENTION OF THE AIRPLANE:

The airplane was invented by the Wright Brothers. It made its first flight on December 14th, 1903. This initial flight lasted for 12 seconds and flew a distance of 120 feet, which may seem like a measly distance, but it was a starting point. The Wright Brothers continued to refine and adjust their airplane and in just a years’ time they got it to fly for over five minutes. This advancement was incredible! Airplanes improved so much in the following years that they were able to be used in World War 1; even though it was only 11 years after they were invented. Airplanes were an incredibly important piece of technology in World War 1 and they have shaped the way all wars are fought today.

THE USE OF AIRPLANES:

Before the start of World War 1, planes were only used for sport. People never imagined how greatly planes would shape war itself. In 1899 at The Hague Peace Conference, people decided that “the dropping or shooting of any projectiles or explosives from the air during a time of war was forbidden and was considered a crime of war”. This all changed once the invention of airplanes came around. The French were the first to license pilots and have a working air force, but many countries soon followed. Using planes as a war mechanism was an exponential advancement. At first, planes were not the safest and most reliable. As technology improved, planes soon became a favourite war piece of war technology amongst many armies, as they were thought of as a “smarter way to fight”.

TYPES OF PLANES AND THEIR USES:

When people think of airplanes used in war they think of fighter planes and planes that drop bombs, but planes were not always used in this way. At the start of World War 1, planes were used as a means of spying on the enemy and finding what their moves or positions were. This is called reconnaissance. Airplanes were only able to be used for reconnaissance at the start of World War 1, because they were not safe and reliable enough to do anything else.

Airplanes were made to be more dependable, so they began to be used for bombing. These bombing planes could find a strategic location and the pilots would attack their enemies from above. The bombing airplanes were not perfect. They were easy to attack from the ground and they could not carry heavy loads. By the end of World War 1, long-range bomber planes could bomb from a distance and carry quite a heavy load.

When planes became more popular, it caused the idea of “war in the sky” to become popular as well. Pilots tried to throw grenades, or use rifles and pistols, but this was not quite effective. It was soon discovered that the best way to attack an enemy in the sky was to use a mounted machine gun. These mounted machine guns worked well for the most part, except if they had to be mounted near the front of the plane. The Germans quickly invented a piece of technology that was called an “interrupter”. This device enabled the machine gun to be synchronized with the propeller of the plane. This invention became implemented within many airplanes, causing all fighter planes to make use of this device. When pilots fought each other in the air it was called a “dogfight”. “Aces” were what the best fighter pilots were nicknamed. Fighter pilots flew “fighter planes”, (hence the name). The three most common categories of planes in World War 1 were:

Q  Reconnaissance Planes

Q  Bomber Planes

Q  Fighter Planes

Within these three categories there were approximately 70 different types of planes. Three famous planes were the Gotha G V, the Ansaldo SVA 5, and the Sopwith Camel.

The Gotha G V was a German long range bomber plane which had been designed to be used for night bombing. This plane could carry heavy loads and it was a great way to get an advantage on the enemy.

The Ansaldo SVA 5 was an Italian biplane. This plane was originally designed to be a fighter plane, but it was deemed to be useless for that role. This plane had quite an impressive speed and range, which made it an incredible reconnaissance plane.

The Sopwith Camel was a British biplane that could seat only one person. This biplane was introduced in 1917 as a fighter plane. This plane became one of the most iconic fighter planes of World War 1.

Airplanes had an enormous influence on the way World War 1 was fought and also how following wars were fought. Airplanes had enabled troops to spy on their enemies, drop bombs in strategic locations, and travel to new locations faster. Airplanes can be viewed as important for war, but they can also be viewed in a negative way. Making use of airplanes is a strategic way to get the “leg up” on the enemy, but they increase the number of war casualties. With this being said, I believe that war is a horrendous way to overcome problems and that war does not solve anything; however, if war must occur, the use of airplanes will help anyone increase their chances of “winning”.

PEOPLE: Canadian Women

 

The Canadian Women of World War 1

The women in ww1 had a very big effect on the war because they were recruited for many jobs when the new conscription law that was being enforced on men. This was the start of a new era; women were now employed in jobs that were previously viewed as man’s work.

 

 

Women at Work

  Women had all types of jobs during WW1; some actively took part in the war, whereas others filled in for the soldiers who had left their jobs. Here are some of the jobs a woman would do in the war:

·        Ambulance drivers

·        Nursing

·        Munitions factory workers (making gun shells, explosives, etc.

Jobs a woman would do back home

·        Railway guards/ticket collector

·        Buses and tram conductors

·        Postal workers

·        Police/firefighters

·        Bank tellers and clerks

·        Farming

                  

              WW1 Effects on Women’s Lives

            World War 1 changed the average life of women. When they began to work, women were paid a lot less than men were for doing the exact same jobs. This effected their home life and tended to make some of the more confident and loud women angry. Some went on strike, and some had no choice or just didn’t care and kept working. This was an unfair thing to do considering the amount of background work they did for the war.

 

            Women actively involved in war, as nurses, doctors, or ambulance drivers were heavily depended on because without them there would have been a lot more deaths. Their courage was incredible and the fact that they volunteered their lives to take part in protecting their country is heavily praised.

 

            Women did what they had to do during the war, supplying for their families, volunteering in war efforts, working in a demanding job or working in the warzone at hospitals, helping to save fallen soldiers. Without the help from women not only in Canada but from everywhere the war would have been a lot more difficult than it already was.

 

 

 

 

W&T: Rifles and Pistols

Rifles and Pistols: 

How Many Different Types of Rifles Were There?

                        One certain type of rifle was the Bolt Actions, which were the ones mainly used by the infantry in the trenches and battlefields. These bolt actions could fire around 10-15 rounds per minute with an experienced shooter at the trigger. The main rifles that the German infantry would use were the Mauser Rifles, which were very good for armor penetration and packed a great punch, (the one downside it had was that it couldn’t fire very quickly). On the other side the British had the widely famous Lee Enfield, the Canadians the Ross Rifle, (which they later replaced with the Lee Enfield due to the very poor make of the rifle). The French had in their arsenal was the Lebel, (which would sometimes fire smokeless cartridges), the French later switched to the Berthier which was a lot more reliable than the Lebel but only had three rounds, which was later increased to five.

                                                               

    

                                                                      German Mauser Rifle

                        The longer on the was went there was more development put into rifles which finally came up with the carbine, which is a smaller size than the longer rifles being used and hence had a little less range, but the weapon was a lot less unwieldy than the longer barreled weapons. One such carbine was used by the Americans called the U.S. Springfield, (received the name from where it was developed at Springfield, Massachusetts). This rifle was the standard issue weapon of the U.S. army during the time, but due to short supply around half of the U.S. soldiers overseas were given the M1917 “American Enfield”. The Austro-Hungarians also had a carbine called the Steyr-Mannlicher, this weapon was produced in Budapest and Steyr and was the standard issue rifle in the Austro-Hungarian army, its production started in 1895. This weapon was of a very strong design, it could withstand firing 50,000 rounds from the same rifle without any lubrication.

                

Who Invented the Rifles and Pistols We Know From WW1?

The rifles we know from the war were not invented by a single person, but by a company name Winchester in 1873, rifles were very basic but were very reliable and were used by many countries, the rifles were very common and extremely affordable, which meant that it was a very generic rifle used in the late 1800’s and first years of the 1900’s.

The invention of the semi-automatic pistols was credited to a man name Joseph Laumann in 1892, they were loaded into a clip underneath the weapon.

Pistols of WW1:

Pistols and revolvers of the like were originally supposed to cavalry exclusive weapons, but were then issued to infantry, officers, tank crews, airmen, and military police. Some common pistols/handguns were the British Bull Dog, Colt M1903 Pocket Hammerless, Colt M1909, Colt M1911, Enfield Mk 1 & Mk 2, Lancaster, Mauser C96, and Smith & Wesson M1899.There were three kinds of pistols that were used, revolvers, clip-load automatics, (were normally loaded through the handle of the weapon), and the “blow-backs”, they were called this because of the expanding propellant gas put in them caused the gun to reload by forcing the bolt back when fired). .People such as tank crews and airmen used pistols and revolvers were because conditions were normally very cramped without much room to properly move around, which tended to make having something such as a rifle rather unwieldy. Military Police weren’t given rifles for the simple reason of shortages and high demand, so they were given pistols and revolvers which were more accessible and easier to come by.

The German army had the Luger, this weapon was mainly used by the officers but were given to soldiers who were given a wide variety of tasks, (close-quarter jobs).

            

   

                 German Luger

The British army had the Webley Mk IV revolver, this pistol was standard issue and was very reliable in every condition, but the weapon needed much training to fire accurately since it jumped a lot while firing.

                      Webley MK IV Revolver

The French’s standard issue weapon was the Pistole Revolveur Modele 1892, which was manufactured in the areas of Belgium and Spain. The weapon is very accurate and well-made but the only downside was that it didn’t pack much of a punch

How Much of a Difference Did These Weapons Make?

These weapons made a huge impact on the war; they were much more effective at killing and maiming people than every other weapon that was ever made. They were a huge breakthrough and led to even more developments in weaponry and sciences, these weapons also had an indirect impact on all technologies that would soon be developed later on in time because of all the new technology that made construction and the performance of these weapons better.

W&T: Machine Guns

Machine guns

In Sweden 1873, Helge Palmcrantz patented the multi-barrel, lever-actuated machine gun. This gun was used a lot in WW1. Both sides of the war had it and they used it because it would fire a rapid amount of bullets at the enemy within minutes killing many soldiers at once. This gun was really good for defensive purposes because it could be set up anywhere and it would stop soldiers from taking over a base, beach or a bridge. Also it was too heavy for rapidly advancing infantry troops but many planes and tanks had ones on them. They did try to make lighter machine guns but they were still too bulky to move. It would take 4 people to move it with ease. It was a very effective gun and it made a huge difference in the war.

PEOPLE: African-Canadian Soldiers

African-Canadian Soldiers By:A.J

The African-Canadian soldiers were from Africa. They were used for war. They were also told that they were not wanted or needed.  African Canadians simply refused to be sidelined. Small Counties were full of young blacks that were ready to fight against tyranny. Seeing themselves as loyal British soldiers they refused to be robbed of their time to stand up and fight for the freedom. During World War I, an all-Black unit was made up of men from all over Canada. It was called the No. 2 Construction Battalion. they did not to fight for their country. they built shelters and trenches instead.

 

W&T: Armoured Vehicles

Armoured Vehicles

Armoured vehicles, what are they? An armoured vehicle is a regular car that they had in the 1890’s with metal all around the body of the car. The very first armoured car was designed and built by British inventor F.R. Simms in 1898. When he created it, it was a bike with a gun attached to the front with an iron shield protecting your face. 

 
 

                                        

 

 

The first armoured car was used in September 1920. While it was in use, the car didn’t have very good protection. If the soldiers were being shot at they would crouch down. There was many different builds of the car which also did not provide much protection. I’m not quite sure how they drove these around but they managed to pull it off.

 

 

 

 

 

                        

 

W&T: Bayonets

                                                                    Riley Schafhauser

Bayonets

Ramuloth here, and today I will be talking about bayonets in WW1. A bayonet is a blade that attaches to the bottom of a rifle. It was meant to invigorate the soldier wielding it and invoke terror in the enemy, also allowing a soldier to fight close quarters without needing to take the time to sheathe their gun and draw their sword. During WW1 the Americans and Germans both had their own takes on the bayonet. The Germans were equipped with the Gewehr 98, which was adapted to utilize enemy bayonets, while the Americans wielded the US M1917 Enfield. The first “bayonet” was the plug bayonet which fit into the muzzle of the gun, but unfortunately prevented the gun from firing until the blade was removed. It slowly evolved until it was manufactured with the ability to attach the blade with utmost efficiency in the 1800’s. The creator of the plug bayonet is unknown, but Armand-Marie-Jacques de Chastenet, Marquis of Puységur eventually made the much better socket bayonet. The bayonet was/is believed to have been made in a French town called Bayonne. Bayonets were carried by troops like any other rifle, strapped over their shoulder. Bayonets were used in the beginning of the First World War and over the course of the war, and nobody is sure if it actually made a difference during it. The main importance the bayonet served was being the primary close quarter’s melee weapon a soldier would have. As of today bayonets
have been used for around three hundred years.

W&T: Battleships

BATTLESHIPS ON WWI

A Battleship itself

These vessels were a step up from past creations, they were typically large enough to displace 15,000 to 17,000 tons during the pre - dreadnought era and were equipped with many high caliber weapons. Now considering their massive size it only makes sense that for the technology of the time these massive boats only moved at speeds of up to 16 knots (30km/h).

Types of battleships

• BATTLESHIPS - Built to take a lot of pain, had thick armor and were equipped with the largest weapons, typically used to fight other battleships. The HMS-DREADNOUGHT was the largest battleship of the era.
• CRUISERS - Varying in size, they were the fastest of the ships and could remarkably stand up for themselves, size varied from very small to possibly larger than a battleship.
• DESTROYERS - Shortened name for the old Torpedo Boat Destroyer (TBD). These vessels had a large emphasis on weaponry and were shy of armor, they were primarily made to stop TBD's
• MONITORS - A ship used for coastal bombardments that had a low draught (they could go in shallow water). Not very suitable for fighting other boats because they were very slow and lacked armor.

                               A WWI MONITOR VESSEL

BRIEF HISTORY

Battleships have been in use even since the 1500's, but they really started to take to the front lines of war with the creation of the HMS-DREADNOUGHT. The dreadnought was created in 1906 by a British Admiral named Jackie Fisher. The dreadnought was absolutely massive, it displaced roughly 19,000 tons when it hit the surface of the sea. Idea's had been speculated for years about an "all-big-gun" boat, The Japanese had originally put this thought to reality but were beaten by the British. The HMS-Dreadnought introduced new electronic weapons targeting systems that revolutionized the war and was proven to be far superior to the old method of "yell in a brass pipe" (A very ineffective way of giving directions during a LOUD WAR). The British had secured their position as the strongest naval force, until Germany built 2....

OPERATING A BATTLESHIP

Operating and living on a battleship was not easy, a small vessel typically had around 44 men all living and eating in the same mess hall, there was no internal heating during the winter so they had moveable furnaces to help keep soldiers from dying of frostbite (this happened a lot). Soldiers slept in hammocks. In order to actually fire the large cannons, they typically needed 5-6 men, one aiming, one shooting and the others reloading the massive shells.

COST AND EFFECT

Battleships could cost anywhere from 1.5mil-2.5mil British Pounds (1.9-3.2mil American) so they weren't cheap. However, the cost had a great payout in return, battleships were extremely effective weapons of war, not only could they be used for offensive barrages and shore charges, they could also be used to defend the homelands shores and dominate the sea.

 



OVERALL EFFECT

Battleships were great at the time, they helped to give a country a slight edge over their enemy, but in my opinion any weapon capable of massive killings isn't a win...

W&T: Flamethrower

Flamethrower

Hello I will be talking about the flame-thrower and its uses in the world war and how much of a difference the Flame-thrower made in the war. The flame-thrower shoots fire out of its barrel and it was used to put a man on fire there is two types of the flame-thrower during the war. Richard Fielder developed both small and large flamethrowers in the early 1900s. one flamethrower is for portable uses carried by one man and can reach far as 18 metres from where it was shot from. The bigger flamethrower can’t be used by one person and a waste of fuel and can be shot twice the distance the first use of the flamethrower is on July 30 1914 3:05 AM from the Germans to the British in the Hooge in Flanders. They had 6 people operating 3 flamethrowers with 2 each to a flamethrower. Later on the British developed a portable 1 man flamethrower superior to the German version of the flamethrower in 1917 the flamethrower had a benefit of self-lighting and later on it had made it to the tank so the tank would have a flame thrower in to blow flames at enemies and the flamethrower is still being used to this day. So the flamethrower has been upgraded quite a bit through-out the years as early as 5^th century B.C  and now it’s 2017 so it has been used for 2517 years the flame-thrower has been used.                                                                    

                                                                                                  

Canadian WWI Propaganda