Casares

Juan Casares Sambueza

Professor Anne Dewey

English 190

9 December 2013

The Wars in the Sky:

Aerial Warfare in WWI and WWII

“To us who have until now been inexorably bound to the surface of the

earth, it must seem strange that the sky, too, is to become another battlefield no

less important than the battlefields on land and at sea. For if there are nations that

exist that are untouched by the sea, there are NONE that exist without the breath

of air… The army and the navy must recognize in the air force the birth of a third

brother-younger, but none the less important, in the great military family” (Douhet

27). In 1909, an era when airplanes could barely fly, let alone, be used as weapons,

Italian general Giulio Douhet pronounced these words foreshadowing the future of

aerial warfare. He saw in airplanes a potential that could rival the power of armies

(land warfare) and navies (sea warfare). He was far from being wrong.

The term aerial warfare emerged soon after the advent of aviation, when

aircrafts were introduced to the war ground in the early 20th century. Airplanes

gave war a new dimension by opening the battlefield, by introducing an aerial

perspective, and by substantially increasing damage on the battlefront and its

surroundings. By the end of WWI aerial warfare consisted of three recognizable

facets: reconnaissance, aerial bombing, and aerial combat. It continued developing

till the beginning of WWII, where three new facets emerged: air supremacy,

kamikazes, and nuclear bombing. Most historians agree that the outcomes of

World War I and World War II were greatly influenced by aerial warfare. The

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former (WWI) introduced airplanes to the battlefield, forever changing the concept

of war, and the latter (WWII) served as evidence that airplanes were capable of

causing inconceivable damage, becoming the deadliest and most effective form of

combat to date.

1. World War I

World War I (1914-1918), also known as the Great War, earned its name

because of its scope and scale. Although it only actually encompassed Europe, it

was the greatest war to the date, claiming the lives of millions and generating a

huge economical burden for Europe that would sprout it seeds twenty-odd years

later in WWII (encyclopedia Britannica). But, what allowed this war to be so

devastatingly big and branch away from other wars of great scale? The answer is

simple, aerial warfare. The introduction of airplanes opened the battlefield by

giving contenders a new dimension, the sky. The impact was such that towards the

end, air to ground combat replaced the trench warfare that had been so

representative of this war.

Trenches were the essence of war previous to the advent of aerial warfare.

Trench warfare consisted of digging lines on the ground to gain strategic

protection. Soldiers sacrificed mobility for defense. Battles were fought in the land

surrounding the trenches, no mans land, or in the trenches themselves (Trenches

in World War I); dependence on this system was inevitable. Historian Olsen in his

book A History of Air Warfare argues that this trench dependence was the reason

why air warfare was so revolutionizing. At first airplanes were used to map enemy

trenches and later, when technology allowed it, to destroy the trenches (Olsen 15).

Thus the emergence of air warfare and its progress towards the end of WWI

(1917-1918) put and end to trench warfare.

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The dawn of aerial warfare can be traced back to the start of World War I.

Most historians agree with this, however, their interpretations, and consequently,

their definitions, differ. For example, in A History of Air Warfare, Olsen describes

how reconnaissance aircrafts, specifically the Zeppelins, were used by the Germans

to gain military intelligence over their neighboring enemies (France and England);

yet, he points out that what he considers to be the dawn of air warfare was not the

use of Zeppelins for reconnaissance, but rather the fact that the French gunned

them down for the first time in history. The use of firepower against a craft

propelled aloft, thus, is what he considers to be the advent of Aerial Warfare (Olsen

7). Many historians, like John Buckley in Air Power in the Age of Total War, would

disagree with Olsen, and rightly so. Buckley, like many others, believes that aerial

warfare emerged, not with the gunning down of the airships, but with the airships

themselves as a facet of reconnaissance, highlighting its importance. He then

makes a distinction between aerial warfare and air combat, claiming that air

combat is simply another facet of aerial warfare. In fact, according to Buckley, the

event Olsen described is actually the dawn of air combat (Buckley 8). Regardless of

when air combat emerged, Buckley’s definition is more widely accepted because

he recognizes two distinct facets of aerial warfare, reconnaissance and aerial

combat, deeming both equally important. These facets would be more recognizable

with future development of warplanes during WWI.

Different war necessities encouraged the development of different types of

aircrafts. In the first years of the war, reconnaissance was highly valued. It

provided aerial perspective, crucial for mapping enemy trenches. Thus, the first

aircrafts were developed with that in mind. Further technological developments

during the war allowed airplanes to carry guns and bombs, consequently shifting

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the necessities. Rough bomber and fighter airplanes were developed in

accordance. Towards the end of the war, destruction became a priority and

airplanes, through bombing first, and air-air combat later, became the tools of

destruction. This evolution and shift in necessities within WWI is described by

historian Vivek Kapur in his article, Evolution of Aerial Combat. He says that the

first WWI aircrafts were used for reconnaissance until pilots found it advantageous

to attack from above, carrying guns and bombs with them for this purpose.

However inaccurate these strategies proved to be, they encouraged warplane

designers to mount weapons in their designs, and according to Kapur, paved the

way for the first prototypes of bomber and fighter airplanes, which would later

influence the outcome of war.

Those aforementioned prototypes emerged by the second year of the War

thanks to technological advancements and national investments in air force. The

first true bomber, the Voisin VIII, was developed by France, the first nation to have

an Air Force. Germany, Italy, and Great Britain also joined the bombing frenzy.

However, Germans, who had invested heavily in aerial warfare, soon saw their

effort rewarded. They mounted the first machinegun in an airplane, and developed

the Fokker Eindecker, the first fighter aircraft. According to Buckley, this gave the

Germans (and the Central Powers) almost a year of aerial dominance, until the

British (Allies) captured a German airplane and, through backward engineering,

developed their version of a fighter plane (Buckley 12). With both sides of the

players (allies vs. central powers) accordingly equipped a new facet of combat, air

to air combat, emerged. Historian Vivek Kapur described it as “close proximity

tight turning fight,” more commonly known as dogfighting (Kapur 3). Dogfights

and air bombing continued to evolve in the final year of WWI. In a span of 4 years,

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air warfare had developed three distinct facets, from simple reconnaissance, to air

to ground combat (bomber warfare), to full-blown air combats (dogfights),

foreshadowing the future of wars.

Even though the aircrafts introduced during WWI weren’t all that powerful

or fast, they still provided advantages that land vehicles couldn’t even dream of

providing. For one, they gave a new dimension to war, the sky. This opened the

battlefield and introduced new perspective, the aerial one. This perspective

provided intelligence (reconnaissance) that was previously unattainable,

rendering trench warfare inadequate. In only four years air warfare was able to

adapt to different war necessities, from reconnaissance to bombing and fighting. It

proved to be the most revolutionary and manageable form of combat, forever

changing the way war was fought. This would become evident some twenty years

later at the start of the deadliest war to date, Word War II.

2. World War II

Many things changed in the years preceding WWII: ideologies, economies,

weapons, borders, treaties, etc.; however none of these affected the outcome of the

war to the extent that aerial warfare did. By WWII, the three facets of aerial

warfare that had emerged in WWI, reconnaissance, bombing, and aerial combat,

evolved significantly and three new ones appeared: aerial supremacy, kamikazes

and nuclear bombing, hence redefining Aerial Warfare.

While many historians describe WWI as a trench war, WWII is usually

referred to as the War in the Air, characterized, of course, by aerial warfare (Olsen

28). WWII is considered to be the deadliest and most gruesome war ever fought.

Statistics vary according to different sources, however, it is estimated that between

50 million and 80 million people died during WWII, over 2.5% of the world

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population at the time. Whereas most of the casualties in WWI were from military

personnel, most of the casualties in World War II were from civilians, in part due to

the huge improvement in aerial bombing. The war was fought between the Allies

and the Axis and it started when Germany invaded Poland (Encyclopedia

Britannica). European countries were the most damaged for obvious reasons, most

of the enemies were within close proximity; however, unlike WWI, huge

improvements in aerial warfare allowed WWII to branch away from Europe,

affecting countries from all corners of the world, specifically those in the Pacific.

These facts together deem WWII, the holocaust aside, the deadliest conflict in

human history. But, how did aerial warfare change in barely twenty years to allow

this war to be even deadlier than WWI?

Every facet of aerial warfare previously mentioned, reconnaissance,

bombing, and aerial combat, evolved exponentially in the years prior to WWII.

Airplanes could fly higher, faster and longer and what’s most important, they were

developed solely for one of the three specific facets. The effort of perfecting every

aspect of aerial warfare paid off accordingly. By the start of WWII most world

powers had a working Air Force and invested a lot of money in it because of its

decisive role in WWI.

The three most important air forces at the time were the German Luftwaffe,

the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Army Air Force (AAF).

They had a relative advantage over the rest of the world and, for this reason,

greatly influenced the outcome of the war. What’s important to highlight is that all

three air forces had distinct specialties they chose to exploit. The Germans had

their dive-bombers and thick wing fighters, the English had the radar, and the

Americans had the final word, the atomic bomb.

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The German Air Force, the Luftwaffe, focused on developing small,

maneuverable, and fast airplanes in accordance with their strategy. The Stuka

dive-bombers and the ME BF 109 (thick wing) fighter were their emblems. The

Stuka were small but fast and effective against ground targets. The ME BF 109 was

Germany’s wildcard because even though it was designed as a fighter, Germans

used it as an escort and even as a bomber. The Luftwaffe’s weakness was their lack

of radar technology, rendering them semi-blind at night; The Royal Air Force

would exploit this handicap.

The RAF invested a lot of money on radar technology in the years prior to

WWII. Great Britain developed the Range and Direction Finding (RDF) radar

system and immediately incorporated it into their Air Force. Thanks to this,

bombers were able to fly at night, invisible to the enemies, and raid supply lines in

land and sea. The RDF coupled with a strong Air Force gave England an advantage

over Germany and other members of the Axis.

Nonetheless, the United States Army Air Force played the most vital role in

WWII because it ended the war. Americans concentrated their intellectual and

economic efforts in developing the ultimate bomber because they knew it was the

most accurate and deadliest form of combat. They had been working on the atomic

bomb for years, yet they needed a transporter. Hence, they developed the Boeing

B-29, a “monster aircraft [that] featured pressurized crew compartments… a range,

maximum altitude, and carrying capacity far in advance of any bomber that came

before it.” All of this, however, “paled in comparison to its payload,” the atomic

bomb. Two of these dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively would end

the war and shock the world for years to come (Warplane: A century of Fight and

Flight). As one can observe, much technology was developed in terms of airplane

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performance. They could fly faster, carry more cargo, fly at night, and reach longer

distances. New tactics and combat systems were developed in accordance to the

performance and the roles of these new airplanes.

Aerial warfare in WWI was characterized mostly by reconnaissance and to a

lesser degree by dogfights and trench bombing. It served its purpose and helped

to eradicate trench warfare and end the war. However, by the time of WWII, it

became outdated. Reconnaissance wasn’t as useful because most enemies had

airplanes and thus, slow, unarmed airships could be easily gunned down. Instead,

the development of Aerial Warfare in WWII was directed to the facets of aerial

combat and tactical bombing.

The combination of aerial combat and tactical bombing gave birth to the

concept of air supremacy. Air supremacy was achieved through the elimination of

all enemy fighters airplanes and the subsequent bombing of supply lines.

According to Andreas Olsen, the purpose of aerial warfare was to gain control over

the airspace above the battlefield, support ground troops, and eliminate enemy

supply lines. Fighter planes in double formations were used to gain airspace

control, while bombers raided supply lines (Olsen 30). At times, the sky above the

battlefield would be full of airplanes, from bombers to fighters (Kapur 5). Gaining

total air supremacy granted the winners control of the land under the airspace,

enabling them to allocate supplies and reinforcements (ground troops) in the next

battlefield. Air supremacy was the main tactic used by the Western Allies in Europe

and one of the reasons why they won the war in the continent.

WWII was fought in Europe and in the Pacific, therefore, the allies had to

achieve total supremacy in both to win the war. Most historical sources claim that

the allies won the first part of the war in Europe by achieving air supremacy over

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the Axis in the year 1944. The British took advantage of their advance radar

technology allowing them raid by night and to detect enemy airplanes on the radar

much before the enemy detected them. In 1944 with the help of the Army Air Force

(USA) and their P-51 Mustangs, the allies were able to sweep the Luftwaffe fighters

and clear the skies for strategic bombing. Bombers cut axis supply lines and

weakened the Luftwaffe to a crippling degree. The final stages of the war in

Europe, once air supremacy was achieved, consisted of close air support. The

British used the Spitfire fighters and the American P-47 bombers to assist allied

ground troops in the battlefield, bombing tanks and firing at exposed infantry

(Olsen 35-9). By May 1944, the Luftwaffe had lost 50% of its frontline fighter

airplanes and 50% of its pilots. The Allies were able to invade Normandy, putting

an end to the war in Europe, although Germany wouldn’t officially surrender until

May 1945 (Buckley 37).

Once supremacy was achieved in Europe, the allies had to achieve it in the

Pacific by defeating Japan. Once again, aerial warfare played the crucial role.

However, the role it played was different. Aerial Warfare in the war in Europe

consisted of achieving control over the air space above the battlefield and then

draining enemy supply through intense bombing. In the Pacific War this was

impossible because the distance between United States and Japan (the two main

contenders) was enormous. Both countries would have to use naval warfare to

support their aerial warfare. In 1941, the Japanese naval forces (aircraft carriers)

in conjunction with their aerial forces attacked Pearl Harbor. They sank four out of

8 U.S Navy battleships. This led to the American entry to World War II in a

campaign that lasted from 1941 to 1945 (Olsen 54-60). One of the characteristics

of the attack on Pearl Harbor and the rest of the Pacific War was the first use of

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Kamikazes, a new and peculiar facet of air warfare. The Japanese lacked the

technology to create good fighters or bombers, however they had an excess of

pride and honor. Therefore they would literally use airplanes as pilot-guided

(suicide) missiles, exerting great damage on enemies. Although Kamikazes proved

to be extremely effective, the Americans had a secret weapon that would shock the

world. In 1945, the Americans set to finish the War once and for all. They loaded

two of their massive B-29 with their secret weapon, “the Little Boy” and aimed for

Japan. On August 6, 1954 the first atomic bomb atomic bomb was dropped over

Hiroshima. Three days later, the second one was dropped in Nagasaki. The damage

was total; both cities were completely erased from the map. Six days later, with the

mushroom clouds still looming over Japanese skies, Emperor Hirohito surrendered

and WWII ended.

The different applications of Aerial Warfare allowed WWII to be the

deadliest confrontation in the history of humanity. Airplanes were designed with

specific purposes. In the European campaign, because of the close proximity

among enemies, airplanes were used to gain supremacy over the air and

subsequently, control over the ground. Thus fighter planes and small but agile

bombers were designed to fulfill these roles. In the Pacific campaign, distances

deemed these designs useless; therefore, another facet of aerial warfare was

prioritized. The Japanese, hampered by their lack of aerial technology, relied on the

honor of their kamikaze whereas the Americans backed by science and ambition,

relied on sheer destructive power. In the end, the American method proved more

effective and WWII was terminated. However it introduced a whole new method of

warfare, nuclear warfare, with the potential to destroy the world.

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3. Conclusions

Aerial Warfare proved to be crucial in both WWI and WWII; however its

facets seemed to be quite different in each. While WWI introduced the innovative

idea that airplanes could be used for warfare, WWII took it to the next level. In

WWI airplanes were a novelty and not many countries had much experience with

them. They were bulky and slow, yet much more dangerous than ground vehicles

such as tanks. From observation posts, to light fighters and small bombers,

airplanes opened the battlefield in every direction. They helped map trenches and

strategically bomb them from the air. Ultimately, trenches became obsolete. So,

regardless of their young and inexperienced history, airplanes were able to exert

enough influence to terminate WWI and eradicate a form of warfare that had been

going on for years. This feat alone gave countries the guarantee they needed to

invest in aerial warfare. From here onwards, advances in technology and

weaponry caused aerial warfare to evolved exponentially till the start of WWII.

Airplanes now were designed taking into account their purposes, which allowed

for distinct strategies. Three different facets, among other smaller ones, of Aerial

Warfare emerged in one war: aerial supremacy, kamikazes, and atomic bombings.

All three played a role in the outcome of WWII: Kamikazes were revolutionary and

effective at first, yet obsolete in the long run because of the limited amount of

pilots willing to die; aerial supremacy proved effective and resulted in the Allied

victory in the European campaign of WWII; and the atomic bombing turned out to

be especially effective because it ended the biggest war in humanity; however, it

inadvertently introduced a new concept of warfare, nuclear warfare, which would

spark a new and different type of war in the years to come.

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Works Cited

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War. London: UCL, 1999. 1-22. EBSCOhost. Web. 24 Oct. 2013.

Buckley, John D. "The Birth of Air Power." Air Power in the Age of Total War.

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n.d. Web. 7 Nov. 2013.

<http://history1900s.about.com/od/worldwari/a/Trenches-In-World-

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History of Air Warfare. 1st ed. Washington, D.C.: Potomac, 2010. 27-52.

EBSCOhost. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.

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Olsen, John Andreas. "Part 1: 1914-1945: The Air War in the Pacific, 1941-1945." A

History of Air Warfare. 1st ed. Washington, D.C.: Potomac, 2010. 53-79.

EBSCOhost. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.

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History of Air Warfare. 1st ed. Washington, D.C.: Potomac, 2010. 3-79.

EBSCOhost. Web. 5 Nov. 2013.

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<http://www.pbs.org/wnet/warplane/topicfeature.html>.

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