Aviation and Aircraft of WWI
Pascal Fong
1914-1918
Opening statement
With the introduction of World War 1, the government had us enlisted to a new form of combat. This was more exciting and completely something different.
Usages
Reconnaissance
When aviation was first introduced in World War 1, it was mainly used for reconnaissance to follow the movements of enemies and to have an idea of the battlefield.
Bombing
Rigid airships, or Zeppelins, caused for a tactical advantage int he battlefield. Causing fear to the enemies and deadly to the people caught in the fire, airpower is a relatively advantageous tactic. But most Zeppelins were easily defeated when shot down by aircraft higher in the air.
Machine Guns and Dogfights
Later in the war, aerial combat was established. The main problem was that the most convenient place to put the machine guns was the location of the propeller. With the movement of the plane, the machine guns would shoot off the propeller while they are spinning. This problem was solved when Germans introduced an interrupter that allowed machine-gun fire to pass through the spinning propeller.
Working conditions
Usually, we had a better wage, wore smart uniforms, slept in warm beds and had better food then the soldiers in the trench because most of us had a life expectancy of seven weeks during combat. They didn't give us a parachute because they were considered cowardly. All they gave us was a pistol in case our plane caught on fire. Most of the time, casualties where caused by mechanical failure.
Suicide service
Usually they would call us the"suicide service".
1919-1923
Opening statement
After the war, most of us pilots still wanted to fly. So we found new ways to do so.
Barnstor-ming
With the longing of wanting to flight after the war, many pilots decided to fly across the country and performed daring stunt and participated in aircraft races. These shows took place on farms giving it it's name. Once the shows were over, some pilots would take payment from customers to be taken on airplane rides.
Shipment
When planes became more durable, some ex-fighter pilots decided to see this as an opportunity. They decided that they can use these planes for shipment. A few became bush pilots meaning that they would deliver certain goods from or to remote areas. And also the shipment of natural resources.
Crop dusting
After the war overseas, farmers that made money from the war by selling there agriculture were able to hire the ex- fighter pilots to dust their crops in pesticides. Pilots were willing to take the jobs because when they came back form the war, they were unable to find jobs.
Spanish Flu
During the First World War, soldiers were in close contact to each other. Well, this caused for soldiers to spread diseases quickly. One of those diseases was the Spanish flu. This was first introduced in a camp in Kansas, United States. Once the soldiers were shipped to France to fight in Trenches. The troops caused for the disease to spread very quickly from one soldier to another and later parts of Europe and North America.
1924-1929
The Royal Canadian Air Force
In 1924, the Canadian government decided to create "The Royal Canadian Air Force". This orginization was created because the government needed someone to conduct surveys, patrol forest fires and watch out for fires. It's mission today is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower to meet the defence challenges of today and into the future."
Carrier planes
At first, planes were built with cheap materials such as wood and canvas. As planes developed, some parts were starting to be built with more durable and sustainable materials like metal and later on planes became all metal. In 1927, planes were flying people to city to city.