WWII Technological Warfare BOOM!

How Technology Improved War Weaponry WWII saw rapid advancements in weaponry technology across all types of armaments Scientists, engineers and manufacturers learned how to increase weapon reliability, strength and power Weapon diversity also increased due to mechanization and greater investment in scientific research

Some Problems with WWI Weapons Weapons used in WWI were relatively basic and generally designed for infantry combat in the trenches. Some common mechanical and technical problems were gun jams, target inaccuracy, poor-quality materials, slow armoured vehicles, overheating and undersized equipment. In WWII, design and engineering improved as did the quality and durability of materials.

Aircraft and Aircraft Carriers WWII saw a significant increase in aircraft production and the first jet engines. Engines increased in fuel capacity and power, allowing war planes such as the Spitfire (used by the British Royal Air Force) and the Aichi D3A1 (used by the Imperial Japanese Navy to bomb Pearl Harbour in 1941) to fly at higher speeds.

Aircraft and Aircraft Carriers Aerial bombing became a key tactic with the development of precise long-range bombers such as the American B-17 Flying Fortress. Fighter jets were equipped with machine guns. Aircraft carriers were superior to battleships because they were cheap to build and launched planes that sunk ships!

Tanks Tanks and armored vehicles were deployed in WWII mostly for defensive ground fighting. Tanks, such as the German Panzer ‘Panther’, were armed with machine guns or cannons. Tanks offered troops protection from the outside fighting with impenetrable and durable metal hulls. Although the majority of countries on both sides used tanks, the German armed forces ranked superior.

Submarines and Underwater Technologies Naval warfare expanded in WWII as more fighting occurred on the seas. German submarines called U-boats were strategically utilized in the Battle of the Atlantic (1939-1945) to stop or destroy the goods coming from the United States and Canada. The snorkel allowed for underwater vessels to run on diesel. Navies took advantage of SONAR and RADAR technologies to detect enemy ships and submarines. Depth charge launchers, such as the “squid” launched explosive underwater armaments aimed to destroy submarines and their crews. They were mounted on ship decks.

Submarines and Underwater Technologies

Weapons: Guns WWII saw the mass production of more reliable and more effective weapons that were also easier to use. Machine guns became the most widely-used type of gun, although soldiers still used assault rifles, shotguns and handguns. Each country produced their own small arms: American soldiers relied on the iconic “Tommy gun” and Browning Automatic Rifle; the German forces used the Karabiner 98K and the Mauser; and the British preferred the Lee- Enfield.

Mines and Grenades Militaries continued to use explosive landmines to catch the enemy off-guard (the undetectable subsurface weapons were heavily used by the Germans at Dieppe). “Bounding” mines contained fragments of metal. Hand grenades, such as the Italian one nicknamed the “Red Devil” used during the Italian Campaign, detonated upon impact.

Missile Weapons Scientific research led to the development of wartime rockets that were capable of flying faster and higher than any aircraft. The Germans designed and built the V-2 rocket, the very first ballistic missile. It weighed over 27 000 pounds, had a speed of over 3 000 mph and had a range of 200 miles! Rockets were also very mobile and could cause extensive damage. Missiles made for excellent long-range weapons as they could cross continents! Torpedoes were self-directing devices (used to attack Pearl Harbor in 1941).

LAST BUT NOT LEAST: Bombs and Nuclear Warfare Bombs came in all shapes and sizes; from Japanese “balloon bombs” filled with gas and armed with incendiary devices to “cluster bombs” that ejected small explosive munitions. Advancing scientific lab research on nuclear fission reactions resulted in the development of the controversial atomic bomb in the United States (the Manhattan Project). The Americans dropped the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 1945. Over 200, 000 people lost their lives.