World War I, one of the largest conflicts in history, saw incredible technological advances in every aspect of a state at war: citizens revolutionizing manufacturing, engineers building increasingly deadly weapons, and generals constantly devising plans to outwit the enemy. However, the field that witnessed the greatest leap in innovation was undoubtedly aviation. In the prewar world of 1910, airplanes were an amusing novelty, often ignored by government and military officials with more pressing matters to attend to3. It took just eight years (and a massive war) for air forces to emerge in nearly every world power’s military. Additionally, these were no longer the fun gliders of 1910, these were machines of war that could fly twice as high
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Whereas manufacturing power, weapon effectiveness, and strategy of attack transformed over the course of the war to improve upon their specific functions, air power transformed to carry new functions. These specific tasks, or missions, obviously carried varying degrees of importance as they appeared throughout the war. In order for an air power mission to be truly significant, it must be effectively utilized with a relatively small number of friendly causalities while still presenting the enemy a decisive disadvantage. Significance can also be represented by promise that certain missions portrayed, whether or not they were effective at the time. In World War I the most significant air power missions were the ones first used: reconnaissance and command of the air, with the latter two, interdiction and close air support, proving themselves much less useful at the time. It’s important to remember that the significance of various air power missions will vary battle to battle, depending on the given resources, time, and situation, as well as current technology at the disposal of each army. However, as a rule, air power missions were less effective as they came into being throughout WWI, perhaps due to theorists and airmen getting ahead of themselves and
Whereas manufacturing power, weapon effectiveness, and strategy of attack transformed over the course of the war to improve upon their specific functions, air power transformed to carry new functions. These specific tasks, or missions, obviously carried varying degrees of importance as they appeared throughout the war. In order for an air power mission to be truly significant, it must be effectively utilized with a relatively small number of friendly causalities while still presenting the enemy a decisive disadvantage. Significance can also be represented by promise that certain missions portrayed, whether or not they were effective at the time. In World War I the most significant air power missions were the ones first used: reconnaissance and command of the air, with the latter two, interdiction and close air support, proving themselves much less useful at the time. It’s important to remember that the significance of various air power missions will vary battle to battle, depending on the given resources, time, and situation, as well as current technology at the disposal of each army. However, as a rule, air power missions were less effective as they came into being throughout WWI, perhaps due to theorists and airmen getting ahead of themselves and