The use of air power was introduced during the first Great War this was the first time that total war fought on three dimension of war, land, water and, air. During WWI air power served as three general air missions which, server under 3 categories: reconnaissance, aerial combat, and bombing. Each category had its potential, however, their significance is debatable. In the context of war and strategy, significant is when something has an impact that is large enough make a difference. When weighing the significant of these three categories of air power you have to consider the following: is it effective and its purpose? Are the benefits higher than the cost? What are the advantages? Lastly the precision of their operations. While combining
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In the beginning of the war aerial combat was not as effective since “at the beginning of the war, some pilots carried pistols and shotguns aboard to shoot enemy pilots if their paths crossed. But there existed a camaraderie between these early airmen, and instead of shooting, most pilots merely waved and went about their business.” This changed when the Germans started using the Fokker (a plane designed for aerial combat with a synchronizal-interrupter) made aerial combat possible and gave the Germans an advantage over the “English pilots, whose machines were mostly outdated” as the war progressed this changed. Air power during this part of the war was effective since pilots could use machine guns and they were able to successfully aimed and fire at the same time. Henceforth, supports the suggestion that the benefits outweighed the cost; since “combat in the air served two vital functions: (1) it provided protection for friendly reconnaissance planes, and (2) it denied German observation plans access to airspace above the allied trenches and rear areas” (Johnson, 2001). The advantages of aerial combat were that it hinders the enemies means of operations, in other words, it put a stop to any standstills in the war. Air power in general, played a major significance when the war was at a deadlock at the trenches. In this situation, aerial combat was precise during their missions [destroy enemy planes] since the air life [how long a pilot would stay in the air before getting shot down] of pilots were getting shorter that factor along raised the cost or aerial combat missions because some many were dying. According to John Buckley “[the] loss rates among pilots and aircrew greatly exceeded those of other armed forces and was to remain a serious problem for the duration of the war” (pg, 42). Nevertheless, the benefit still out
In the beginning of the war aerial combat was not as effective since “at the beginning of the war, some pilots carried pistols and shotguns aboard to shoot enemy pilots if their paths crossed. But there existed a camaraderie between these early airmen, and instead of shooting, most pilots merely waved and went about their business.” This changed when the Germans started using the Fokker (a plane designed for aerial combat with a synchronizal-interrupter) made aerial combat possible and gave the Germans an advantage over the “English pilots, whose machines were mostly outdated” as the war progressed this changed. Air power during this part of the war was effective since pilots could use machine guns and they were able to successfully aimed and fire at the same time. Henceforth, supports the suggestion that the benefits outweighed the cost; since “combat in the air served two vital functions: (1) it provided protection for friendly reconnaissance planes, and (2) it denied German observation plans access to airspace above the allied trenches and rear areas” (Johnson, 2001). The advantages of aerial combat were that it hinders the enemies means of operations, in other words, it put a stop to any standstills in the war. Air power in general, played a major significance when the war was at a deadlock at the trenches. In this situation, aerial combat was precise during their missions [destroy enemy planes] since the air life [how long a pilot would stay in the air before getting shot down] of pilots were getting shorter that factor along raised the cost or aerial combat missions because some many were dying. According to John Buckley “[the] loss rates among pilots and aircrew greatly exceeded those of other armed forces and was to remain a serious problem for the duration of the war” (pg, 42). Nevertheless, the benefit still out