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.