Over the last century the arrival of flight to the human race has been revolutionary. From the very first barmy contraptions of eccentric inventors, to making useful contributions to the development of modern warfare.
War without doubt sped up the development process. The need to be faster, more powerful and better armed than the enemy pushed the boundaries of technology for the time. The Bi-planes of WW1 first sparked the obsession with the fighter pilot. Down below on the ground nothing but attrition, death and hellish anarchy. For the men, who took to the air soaring above the battlefield, they must have felt an overwhelming sense of relief and freedom.
Back home the endless amount of casualties would have drained the morale of a nation. The press played their part in making the great pilots of this era heroes of the people. Von Richtofen, Mick Mannock, Billy Bishop to name a few. Young boys would look to these men as idols and not overpaid worthless sports stars. No doubt many of the Aces of WW2 were influenced by these pioneers of air combat.
From being slow lumbering scouts to forward firing dogfighters such as the Sopwith Camel and the Fokkers, in a short space of time the future of warfare was decided. Being able to inflict damage on the enemy from the air was soon to be a key element in any nations arsenal. Gone were the horses, pitched battles and trenches. Now with Tanks, Aeroplanes and long range artillery the scene was set.
Hitler being a revolutionary (and running around the trenches getting shot at himself) knew the best way to crush an enemy was to combine both the use of Armour and Strategic air support to produce what was known as Blitzkreig (Lightning war) this i feel contributed to his poor decisions when it came to the crunch.
Germany throughout the 1930's pushed the air arms race further. The Spanish Civil war prepared the well trained Luftwaffe pilots for what was to come. The British company Supermarine won the Schneider Trophy, setting faster and faster speed records. WW2 made arguably the biggest leaps in aeroplane performance. The switch from Props to jet engines signalled the end of the traditional dogfight.
The Germans began a new method of warfare when they began developing rockets. Von Braun after the war ended up in America somehow and his work contributed in getting Men on the Moon. With ICBM's at the press of a button the need for a hero in a cockpit isn't really called for anymore.
Spare a thought for all of those men and women who gave their lives to Aviation the next time you hop on a flight to Somewhere sunny. Oh and the planet!
100 years of progress
