Significant Improvement in Standards of Bombers During the World War 2

At the height of World War 1 (WW1), the Americans were under pressure to defeat the Germans. Consequently, there was a need to develop state of the art weapons as well as aeroplanes that could deliver the weapons and soldiers to the battlefront. The advent of the first night-bombing Handley-Page aircraft, capable of carrying bombs and equipped with machine guns, in the year 1918 was a milestone in the WW1. The plane was also capable of carrying six men. The first batch of the aeroplanes was tested on 27th September 1918 in Hazelhurst and Mitchel fields under the supervision of Maj. Martin. The plane attained an altitude of 7,000 feet during the initial testing period. The handley-page plane was larger than its predecessor, the Caproni plane, and had machine guns in place and thus ready for war use. (28 Sep 1918, Page 3 - The Brooklyn Daily Eagle at Newspapers.com).

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How the developments identified in this article were a significant advance or change at the time the article was written.

The development of night-bombing Handley-Page aircraft was a significant advancement from the Caproni plane which could only fly during the day. The night-bombing plane had immense advantages. First, the Germans had not developed night-flying aeroplanes during the period and also lacked night interceptors. Secondly, unlike a DH-4Ss plane, it was fuel efficient and carried more bombs. It also boasted a larger seating capacity of six passengers, unlike DH-4s which was a two-seater. Moreover, the advent of night flying also made the bombers impervious to their opponents anti-aircraft fire and hence could bomb at low altitudes without getting noticed thus increasing the accuracy. Lastly, the weather patterns during the night consisting of calm wind and good visibility made night bombing a success (Abbatiello).

Impact of the developments in future technologies

It is worth noting that the early bombers e.g. Handley-Page aircraft had a myriad of problems. Early aircraft bombers were not strong enough and could not hold the bombs underwing. Due to their rickety nature, the weight of the bombs sometimes prevented the planes from taking off. These challenges were great lessons to the pilots and airplane manufacturers. Consequently, there have been a lot of modifications over the years that have led to the development of modern plane bombers.

In the World War 2 (WW2), there was a significant improvement in standards of bombers, signifying an advancement in technology. Unlike the WW1 bombers, WW2 bombers were built to be more powerful, faster, and also featured rocket- and jet-propelled airframes. For instance, Japanese-made Nakajima Ki-44 manufactured in the year 1940 had a higher engine capacity of 1,520 horsepower, unlike the WW1 Handley-Page which had 375 horsepower. It was also faster than WW1 planes with a maximum speed of 605 km/h. Handley-page, on the other hand, had a maximum speed of 159 km/h. The faster speeds of WW2 planes were due to higher horsepower of their engines. In terms of altitude, WW2 planes reached a higher altitude. For instance, Nakajima Ki-44 fighter had a service ceiling of 36,750 ft. On the other hand, modern bomber planes possess magnificent features. American-made B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber, for instance, is capable of attaining high altitude attack missions of 50,000 ft and has a maximum speed of 1,010 km/h. It also capable of carrying a large capacity of weapons of 40,000lb including nuclear weapons, bombs, and precision-guided munitions.

Works Cited

28 Sep 1918, Page 3 - The Brooklyn Daily Eagle at Newspapers.com. Newspapers.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Aug. 2016.

Abbatiello, John. Anti-Submarine Warfare in World War I: British Naval Aviation and the Defeat of the U-Boats. Routledge, 2006. Print.

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber. Airforce Technology. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Aug. 2016.

Fredriksen, John C. International Warbirds: An Illustrated Guide to World Military Aircraft, 1914-2000. ABC-CLIO, 2001. Print.