20 War in the Air and at Sea

Transcription

1 /1/04 3:55 PM Page 314 Chapter 20 War in the Air and at Sea Air Aces in Battle Almost everyone has heard of the legendary Red Baron. He was the most famous German flyer of World War I. But few people know that it was a Canadian, Roy Brown, who finally shot down the Red Baron. On 21 April 1918, Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron, was flying high above the Somme valley in his bright crimson Fokker triplane. Suddenly, he spotted an Allied plane far below. He put his Fokker into a steep dive and moved in on the plane s tail. His target was a young Canadian flier, Wilfred May. It was a tense moment. May s gun jammed. Luckily, another Canadian pilot, Captain Roy Brown, saw what was happening and swept in behind the Red Baron. Brown, in his Sopwith Camel, opened fire on von Richthofen. The Red Baron was hit and fell into a deadly spin. Moments later the German war ace was dead at the age of 26. Today the seat of the Red Baron s plane is displayed at the Royal Military Institute in Toronto. You can put your finger through the bullet hole in the seat. Reflecting/Predicting 1. Based on this story, describe some of the risks World War I flyers took, and some of the dangers they faced.what do you think the life of a World War I flyer was like? 2. Examine the picture. Describe the airplanes.what might be some advantages and disadvantages of these planes in battle? Manfred von Richthofen, Germany s Red Baron. Canadian pilot Roy Brown. He once said, I love flying, not killing. 314

2 /1/04 3:55 PM Page 315 Chapter 20: War in the Air and at Sea 315 Dogfights in the Air During World War I, Canada had no air force of its own. Canadians who wanted to fly joined the British Royal Flying Corps. It turned out that many Canadians were excellent flyers. At the beginning of the war, Germany seemed to have the advantage in the air. It had the most aircraft (400 compared with 156 French and 113 British). The Germans had also developed a fighter plane called the Fokker. It was armed with a machine gun that had a timed firing mechanism so that bullets did not hit its own propeller blades. The Germans also had gasfilled balloons called Zeppelin dirigibles or airships. These were used on observation missions and bombing raids. Eventually, both sides used airships. By 1917, the Allies had developed the Sopwith Camel, an excellent fighter plane. Soon, the tide began to turn. The Allies started to take the upper hand in air combat. A group of Canadian pilots called the Black Flight played an important role in gaining control of the skies. In their black planes, they shot down 10 German fighters in one day on 6 June Over the next few months, they flew many more successful missions. Canada had several famous air aces. An ace was a fighter who had shot down at least five enemy planes. The great air aces included Germany s Manfred von Richthofen, Britain s Alfred Ball, and Canada s Billy Bishop. Von Richthofen, known as the Red Baron, downed 80 Allied planes. As a group, Canadian fighter pilots brought down 438 enemy aircraft during World War I. Canadians were among the top scoring aces of all the British fliers. It was a remarkable record! Close combat between two or more planes in the air was called a dogfight. Pilots tried to manoeuvre their light planes so they could dive on the enemy from behind and fire their guns. World War I flyers lived a dangerous life.the percentage of pilots killed was higher than in any other branch of the military. In late 1916, it was said that the average life of a pilot was about three weeks.there were no parachutes to save any who were unlucky enough to be shot down.this painting of a dogfight is by Canadian artist C.R.W. Nevinson. Airships were huge balloons with a metal frame. They were filled with hydrogen gas. Some had platforms on the top. Guns on these platforms could shoot at airplanes overhead.the airships also dropped bombs on Allied cities.

3 /1/04 3:55 PM Page Unit 4: Canada and World War I, Tech Link Aircraft and Submarines of World War I Aircraft When the war broke out in 1914, the airplane was a new and unproven invention. Few military leaders had any confidence that the airplane could be an effective weapon in war. At first, unarmed planes were used only to scout enemy positions. The earliest planes were usually single-seaters. Their maximum speed was between 95 and 125 km/h. They could stay in the air for only an hour without refuelling. As the war went on, both sides developed more effective fighter planes. Sopwith Camel (British biplane) TechFacts Maximum speed: Wing span: Length: Range: Armament: 182 km/h 8.5 m 5.7 m 249 km two belt-fed Vickers machine guns Fokker (German triplane) TechFacts Maximum speed: Wing span: Length: Range: Armament: 164 km/h 7.2 m 5.7 m 298 km two fixed 7.92 mm Spandau LMG 09/15 machine guns

4 /1/04 3:55 PM Page 317 Chapter 20: War in the Air and at Sea 317 Interestingly, the Dutch designer of the Fokker plane, Anthony Fokker, offered it first to the British. When they refused it, he sold it to the Germans and it became an excellent fighter plane in the war. Submarines World War I submarines were small. Usually, they carried about 35 sailors and 12 torpedoes. But their torpedoes could sink the largest ships. Surface boats had to develop special methods to detect and destroy enemy submarines. Navies developed hydrophones (listening equipment) to pick up the sound of the submarines engines underwater. By the end of the war, they also used sound echoes to detect the position of the submarines. The surface ships then dropped depth charges (explosive devices) to destroy the U-boats. 1. Competition to build better weapons helped to spur on technological developments during the war. Did these developments have benefits after the war? How do you think the advances in airplanes and submarines could be used in peacetime? 2. Both sides also developed effective machine guns during the war. Soldiers called them coffee grinders because they ground to pieces anyone or anything in their range. It was partly because machine guns mowed down any attacking soldiers who ventured out of their trenches that neither side could gain much territory in the war.what do you think of this technological advance? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of technological advances during wartimes? Signal mast Bridge steering wheel Periscopes Conning tower Steering rudder Torpedo hatchway Steering wheel Deck Rail Propellers Accumulators Reversing gear Sleeping berths Torpedo tubes Steering rudder Stern hydroplanes Inner water-ballast tanks Detachable safety keel Fuel oil tanks Torpedo-trimming tanks Forward hydroplanes Outer waterballast tanks Electric motors Oil engines Sleeping berths Torpedo tubes Outer hull Inner hull Central driving position Officer s quarters

5 /1/04 3:55 PM Page Unit 4: Canada and World War I, Profile Billy Bishop: Canadian War Ace During World War I, a young pilot named Billy Bishop became a Canadian hero. As a boy in Owen Sound, Ontario, Billy Bishop practised shooting at moving targets with his rifle in the woods. His firing expertise made him one of the greatest fighter pilots the Allies ever had. On his first day in action, he shot down a German plane. In one five-day period, Bishop destroyed 13 planes. Billy often flew the skies alone. On one occasion, he attacked a German air base near Cambrai, France. Two German fighters flew up to chase him. Bishop shot down both of them. Two more enemy planes came up to attack him. One fell from the deadly fire from Bishop s gun. The other was driven off, out of ammunition. Billy Bishop returned safely to his home field. Billy Bishop was awarded the Victoria Cross by Britain and the highest honours of France. He went on to become Director of Recruiting for the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II in What qualities do you think an air ace like Billy Bishop needed to have? 2. Find out more about another accomplished Canadian flyer in the war such as Billy Barker, Raymond Collishaw, Roy Brown, A.A. McLeod, or Donald McLaren.Where were they from, what role did they play in the war, and what were their accomplishments? 3. Why do you think it is important that we remember people like Billy Bishop? How can we remember all the others who fought but are not as well known?

6 /1/04 3:55 PM Page 319 Chapter 20: War in the Air and at Sea 319 Fast Forward Billy Bishop Goes to War Billy Bishop Goes to War is one of the most successful Canadian plays ever written. It celebrates the life and accomplishments of Bishop and is dedicated to all who fought in World War I. You can still see the play performed across the country. It was inspired by a book called Winged Warfare, an autobiography of Billy Bishop including accounts of his famous flights. In 1981, the play won the Governor-General s award for drama. It has been seen by over people and has aired on television. Billy Bishop Goes to War is dedicated to all those who didn t come back from the war, and to all those who did and wondered why. writer, John Gray The War at Sea In early May 1915, the British passenger liner Lusitania was crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Suddenly, a torpedo streaked through the waves toward the ship. Moments later there was an explosion, panic, chaos, and death. The Lusitania was destroyed and 1098 people drowned. At sea, there was a new terror that torpedo had been fired from a submarine! The submarine or U-boat (Unterseeboot) was Germany s most deadly weapon. German submarines had been prowling the seas since the beginning of the war. By late 1916, German submarines were sinking an average of 160 ships per month. Germany was predicting an early defeat for Britain. But the sinking of the Lusitania was a turning point. Many of the passengers on the Lusitania were Americans including many women and children. Up to that point, the United States had stayed out of this European war. But the attack on American citizens shocked the American people. It turned public opinion in the United States against Germany. Eventually, the United States entered the war on the side of the Allies. A German submarine sinks an American ship.the early submarines could stay under the surface for two and a half hours. Each carried 12 torpedoes that could be fired underwater at a moving target. German U-boats were the gravest threat the Allies faced. U-boats downed 5408 Allied ships during the war. Germany lost only 178 submarines.

7 /1/04 3:55 PM Page Unit 4: Canada and World War I, The U-boat Menace By 1917, the war on the Western Front still had not been won. Germany decided that more drastic action was needed to defeat the Allies. The German navy introduced a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare. This meant that German U-boats would sink any Allied or neutral ships approaching Britain, not just warships. They wanted to cut off all supplies of food and weapons from getting through to Britain. The results of this policy were almost disastrous for Britain. In the first four months, Germany sank over 1000 Allied ships. Britain had to find a way to deal with the U-boat threat. One answer was the convoy system. Supply ships used to sail alone from Canada and the United States to Britain. Now they began to sail in fleets. The ships were escorted by armed destroyers. The destroyers kept constant watch like sheepdogs guarding a flock of sheep. The convoy system helped get necessary supplies through to Britain again. Another key turning point came in 1917 when the United States entered the war. German U-boats had continued to sink American ships and the United States had had enough. American soldiers and vast new supplies of equipment got ready to go to Europe. This move helped to turn the tide in favour of the Allies. Canada s main contribution to the war at sea was providing sailors and ships for the Royal Navy. Canadian shipyards built more than 60 anti-submarine ships and more than 500 smaller anti-submarine motor launches. Thousands of Canadians served in the British Royal Navy, in the Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve, and in the Royal Naval Air Service. Canada s navy was formed in 1910, but at the beginning of the war in 1914, it had only two warships.yachts and other vessels were bought, refitted, and armed for combat.these ships had little to defend them against German U-boats, but many took part in convoys protecting vital supply ships on their way to Britain.This painting by N.Wilkinson shows the transport of Canadian troops. By the end of the war, Canada s navy had 112 vessels and 5500 members.

8 /1/04 3:55 PM Page 321 Chapter 20: War in the Air and at Sea 321 Fast Forward Canada s Armed Forces Today, Canada s navy, army, and airforce are united into the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). While the role of the Armed Forces is still to protect Canada against any military threat, it is also involved in many other important activities at home and around the world. At home, the Armed Forces help during times of emergency such as environmental disasters (floods, avalanches, forest fires, etc.), in search-and-rescue missions, in stopping shipments of illegal drugs, in protecting Canada s fisheries, and in responding to The Last Hundred Days By the spring of 1918, Germany faced a crisis. German submarine attacks on supply ships had failed to force Britain to surrender. Now the United States had entered the war. Austria- Hungary and Turkey, Germany s allies, were on the point of collapse. The only hope for Germany was to launch a mighty offensive on the Western Front before the full United States army could arrive in Europe. any terrorist activities or civil unrest (violent protests, etc.). Around the world, the Canadian Forces take part in peacekeeping missions and humanitarian efforts such as delivering food, building roads, bridges, and schools, and caring for the sick and wounded. In the 1990s, Canadian peacekeepers served in such areas as Haiti, Somalia, Rwanda, and Bosnia. Find out more about Canada s Armed Forces today by visiting their web site at Thousands of German soldiers poured into France. But on 8 August 1918, Canadian and Allied troops launched a counterattack. Fresh American troops with tanks had arrived and were a great encouragement for the Allies. Supported by 500 tanks, the Allies swept north and east toward Germany. The Germans fought hard, but they fell back steadily. Eventually, the Allies re-captured all of France and then Belgium. By November, the Allies had reached the borders of Germany. On 11 November 1918, at a predawn ceremony, Germany formally surrendered. Fighting ended at 11:00 a.m. on that morning. Five minutes before 11:00 a sniper shot George Price. Price was the last Canadian to die in World War I. For some Canadian troops, the war ended on the streets of the Belgian town of Mons.They freed the town from German control. Belgians proudly flew their country s flags and grateful Belgians shouted their thanks, Vive les braves Canadiens! The war was finally over.

9 /1/04 3:55 PM Page Unit 4: Canada and World War I, Skill Building: A Research Report Part 2 You have researched information for your report.what s next? You need to organize your information and choose an exciting way to present your report.there are many different ways of communicating your information.take a look at the chart of possibilities below.you can choose one or a combination of these.whichever method you choose, your report will be most effective if you go through the following steps. Step 1 Prepare an Outline 1. Develop an outline for your report.your outline is a way to organize the information you have researched. It gives you a framework for your report. Ways of Presenting a Report For example, in your research you decided to investigate three types of planes. Enter these sub-topics on an outline organizer like the example on the next page.your subpoints would include the three main aspects of your topic that you focused on: technical descriptions of the planes, how they were used, and how effective they were. Plan where you would include photos, diagrams, charts, or any other features of your presentation. If you will be presenting your report as a museum exhibit or scrapbook, for example, outline what you will show at each station of the exhibit or on each page of the scrapbook. As a conclusion, you could present your ideas on how effective the planes were.you could also tell how technology can be used for both positive and negative purposes. Oral/Audio skit role play panel discussion radio broadcast interview talk with visuals demonstration news broadcast puppet show simulation game music and recordings Visual slide show overheads collection of artifacts scrapbook models diagrams charts and graphs maps film or video bulletin board display photo collection cartoon or comic strip timeline mural poster brochure/pamphlet costumes time capsule learning centre vertical file Written report booklet newspaper letter or diary poem play memoir Step 2 Draft Your Report 2. Prepare a draft copy of your report.your report will have three main parts, no matter what form of presentation it takes. A) Introduction Decide on an introduction that will grab the reader s, listener s, or viewer s attention. It should give a clear and concise statement of the focus topic. B) Body In the body of your report, develop each of your main ideas or sub-topics. Be sure the main idea is clearly expressed in a topic sentence or heading.the subpoints should refer to and develop the main idea. Put the main ideas in the most effective order, leaving the best idea to the last.

10 /1/04 3:55 PM Page 323 Chapter 20: War in the Air and at Sea 323 Sample Outline Organizer Names in group: Teacher s Name: Class: Due Date: Topic/Question: Types of airplanes used in World War I Main Idea/Sub-Topic: Main Idea/Sub-Topic: Main Idea/Sub-Topic: Fokker Sopwith Camel Airships Subpoints: Subpoints: Subpoints: Conclusion: C) Conclusion Include a conclusion that: summarizes your main points supports what you have said leaves your audience with something interesting to think about. Step 3 Edit and Revise 3. Edit your draft. Be sure that: you have done what the assignment asked the report is organized and makes sense to the reader/listener/viewer the sentences vary in length and structure and the spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation are correct any diagrams, pictures, charts, graphs, models, audio clips etc. are clear, well presented or explained, and clearly support the ideas you want to get across 4. Have a partner review your report and give suggestions for improvements. Something may not be clear, or there may be too much or too little information in some areas. Make changes and polish your report. Step 4 Present Your Report 5. Set up your presentation at a station in your classroom. Other students can tour the room and visit the various presentations. 6. Develop ten questions about your topic.your classmates can answer the questions when they visit your display. Encourage them to ask questions as well. Step 5 Evaluate 7. Have others evaluate how useful your presentation was in helping them learn about your topic.what could you do differently next time to improve your work?

11 /1/04 3:55 PM Page Unit 4: Canada and World War I, Culture Link In Flanders Fields In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. War Poetry Take up our quarrel with the foe; To you, from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae John McCrae was a Canadian doctor from Guelph, Ontario, serving in France. On 3 May 1915, he was sitting on the step of an ambulance. The Battle of Ypres was in its ninth day. The previous night McCrae had buried his best friend who had been blown to bits by an artillery shell. Looking over the desolate scene of the crosses in the fields, he wrote the lines of a poem that started, In Flanders Fields the poppies blow... The poem was completed in about 20 minutes. McCrae made copies of the poem and gave them to all his friends. The poem was published in 1915, and is one of the most memorable war poems ever written. In Flanders Fields was read at the first observance of Armistice Day in 1918 when the war finally ended. This poem and the poppies described in it have been part of the 11 November Remembrance Day ceremonies ever since. A soldier who was there said, It seemed to me that this poem was an exact description of the scene. 1. What images does this poem create? Describe the scene in your own words or create a sketch. 2. Who is speaking in the poem? Why do you think the poem is written from this point of view? 3. What makes this poem memorable? 4. John McCrae wrote the poem while battles were still raging in World War I. He never witnessed the peace. In 1918, he was killed while on active service in France. Write a one stanza response to John McCrae s poem, telling of the peace. o Netsurfer Find out about some World War I poets and their poetry by visiting this web site English/LostPoets

12 /1/04 3:55 PM Page 325 Chapter 20: War in the Air and at Sea 325 Activities Understanding Concepts 1. Add these new terms to your Factfile. airships dogfight convoy system Black Flight Lusitania 11 November 1918 ace U-boat 2. a) Describe the various roles played by the air force in World War I. b) What were the dangers of being a pilot in World War I? c) In spite of the dangers, why do you think men signed up for the airforce? 3. In what ways did the purpose and design of airplanes change as the war went on? Why was Fokker s invention so important? 4. a) Why was the submarine a revolutionary new weapon? b) How did the Allies try to defend themselves against the threat of submarines? c) Which method of defence do you think was the most effective? Why? Digging Deeper 5. a) THINK Explain why Germany sank the Lusitania. b) DISCUSS Was the sinking of a civilian passenger ship a justifiable act in a time of war? Explain your answer. 6. CREATE Create a political cartoon that makes a statement about the sinking of the Lusitania. Imagine the cartoon will appear in an American or Canadian newspaper. 7. WRITE Why did Germany start a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare? How effective was it? Write a news bulletin announcing the policy and the expected effects.write it either from the German or Canadian point of view. 8. DIAGRAM Create a web diagram to illustrate how Canadians helped to win the war in the air and at sea. Making New Connections 9. DEBATE Debate the pros and cons of hitting civilian targets (e.g., sinking passenger ships, bombing cities) as a strategy of war. 10. THINK/COMPARE Brainstorm some differences between modern wars and World War I. Consider the types of weapons used, how they are used, the

13 /1/04 3:55 PM Page Unit 4: Canada and World War I, number of countries involved, the number of soldiers involved, and the number of casualties. Use a comparison organizer in your answer.write some conclusions about the major differences between modern warfare and warfare in World War I. [HINT:You may want to use the Gulf War in your comparison. It was one of the most recent wars in modern history.] 11. INVESTIGATE The Snowbirds are the most famous modern Canadian flyers. Find out what qualifications someone needs to become a Snowbird flyer. How are these flyers trained? What is their major role today? How does it compare with the role of flyers during World War I? 12. CURRENT EVENTS In groups, go through the international news sections in recent national newspapers or magazines such as The Globe and Mail, The National Post, or Maclean s. Find reports on the actions of Canadian peacekeepers in various parts of the world. Create a bulletin board display with articles and pictures.