the war at sea and in the air canadian history 1201
TRANSCRIPT
THE WAR AT SEAAND IN THE AIRCanadian History 1201
THE WAR AT SEA
THE WAR AT SEA
When the war broke out, Great Britain was still considered the greatest naval power in the world
Germany had been building up a large modern navy
Many Canadians fought for the British navy, but some fought with Canada’s own navy
At the start of the war, the Canadian navy had 2 cruisers (the Niobe and the Rainbow) and only 350 personnel
By the end of the war, Canada had 112 war vessels and 5000 officers
JUTLAND
Neither country could afford to have their navy destroyed, so there was only one major battle at sea
May 31, 1916 at Jutland, off the coast of Denmark
149 British warships met 99 German warships head on
Britain suffered greater losses both in ships and sailors
The German fleet was more modern then the British fleet
GERMANY’S SUBMARINE
The submarine, or U-Boat (Unterseeboten) was Germany’s most deadly weapon
It could stay under water for 2 ½ hours and carry a crew of 35 people and 12 torpedoes
The U-Boat could rise to the surface and use gunfire as well
By late 1916 German subs were sinking about 160 ships a month
GERMAN U-BOATS
UNRESTRICTED SUBMARINE WARFARE This was a German policy created in 1917 that
meant U-Boats would sink ALL ships approaching Britain (Allied or Neutral) to cut off supplies
Britain was an island and needed supplies
Britain tried to do the same to Germany
In the first four months, they sunk 1000 British ships
The Allied response was the Convoy System Cargo ships would travel in fleets surrounded by military
cruisers / destroyers to get supplies through
THE CONVOY SYSTEM
THE CONVOY SYSTEM
SINKING OF THE LUSITANIA
On May 7, 1915, the British luxury liner Lusitania was sunk by submarine torpedo
1198 people drowned Over half of the victims were Americans
Until now the US was neutral and planned to stay out of European wars. But the attack turned Americans against Germany and ultimately brought the US into the war
THE WAR IN THE AIR
AIR WARFARE
Planes were a new technology in WWI They were used mainly for reconnaissance, bombing
and ground attacks
The percentage of pilots killed was higher than in any other branch of the military
In late 1916 it was said the average life span of a pilot was 3 weeks
There were no parachutes to save those unlucky enough to be shot down
THE GREAT AIR ACES
Germany’s Manfred von Richthofen downed 80 planes in his career
He was called “The Red Baron”
He was only 25 when he was shot down on April 21, 1918
THE GREAT AIR ACES
Canada’s Billy Bishop
Brought down 72 enemy aircraft during WWI
He brought down 2 enemy aircraft while fighting off 4 more
The Red Baron being one of the 4!
Bishop was only 24 when the war ended
THE GREAT AIR ACES Bishop was one of the
greatest fighter pilots in the Commonwealth
First day behind the front lines he shot down a German plane
In one 5-day period he destroyed 13 planes
Was awarded the Victoria Cross and the highest honours in France
Among the top 3 Allied Air Aces
Canadian Captain Roy Brown shot down and ultimately killed “The Red Baron”
Brown flew in a Sopwith Camel (a fighter plane)
Brown was only 25 when he shot down von Richthofen
THE GREAT AIR ACES
THE GERMAN ADVANTAGE
Germany had the most aircraft 400 planes compared to 156 French and 113 British
Germans had developed a superior plane called the Fokker
A monoplane (had one set of wings) and armed with a machine gun that had an advanced firing mechanism that was precisely timed so a bullet did not hit its own propeller blade
Germans had rigid frame, gas filled balloons called Zeppelins (Dirigibles or Airships)
They were used on observation missions and bombing raids
FOKKER
A REPLICA BUILT OF THE FOKKER
ZEPPELIN (DIRIGIBLE)
TASK
Complete the questions on the “The War at Sea and in the Air” sheet.