Notes 4: Weapons and Technology

Developments of World War One

World Wars - WWIMs. Hamer

February 14, 2011

Beginning of Modern Warfare

While some weapons, such as the submarine and machine gun, had seen limited use before World War I, this war marked the change to modern warfare and weapons.Switch from offensive weapons and strategy to defensiveWar was spent figuring out how to best use weapons

War in the Trenches

Bolt Action RiflePrevious improvements: “rifling” –> grooves in the gun to make the bullet spin upon exit; faster, further, more accurateNew improvements: bolt action –> load a clip of multiple cartridges to fire more rapidlyBest: British Lee-Enfield (SMLE) – 10 cartridge clip = 15 rounds a minute; short enough to handle from the back of a horse

Light ArtilleryPrevious improvements: Breech loaded; gunpowder already in shellNew Improvements: Recoil was a huge problem, the solution was to set the gun on a cradleBest: French “75” –> 75 mm gun that could be reloaded rapidly and was therefore quite lethal

The 75mm Light Artillery Gun

Heavy Artillery

Harder to move than light, but could fire much furtherAllies relied on light while Germans had heavy

Machine GunPrevious Issues: First used in US Civil War, hand cranked, often overheated, cumbersome and heavySolution: Maxim Machine Gun (British version was called Vickers)

could fire 600 shots per minute water jacket kept it cool recoil of gun dropped the spent shell and

loaded the nextUse in WWI: Initially Europeans thought this a dishonorable weapon for war and just used against colonial populations. Didn’t know how to use it offensively. Became great defensive weapon

Machine GunsORIGINAL MAXIM DESIGN

1889BRITISH VICKERS GUN IN

WWI

GrenadesPrevious issues:

unreliable, fuses not of same length, often wouldn’t detonate or would detonate on you

too cumbersome to throw easily production was so slow that troops crafted their own

Improvements: more reliable and less likely to kill you easier to throw (grooves to grip and smaller) rapid production by 1916 some were rifle launched and could travel

600 feet

Progression of Grenades in WWI

JAM TIN BOMB MILLS BOMB

Poison GasGermans first used chlorine gas at Ypres on April 22, 1915Released 168 tons15,000 Allied troops dead within minutesAllies called this diabolical and monstrous, yet worked to produce their own

Chlorine GasOnly poisonous gas at firstYellow in color; heavier than air and would sink into trenchesSeared windpipe and lungs, caused choking and coughing, skin turned shiny gray-black

If enough gas was inhaled, lungs secreted a thick yellowish goo that was impossible to cough up

Highly fatal

Protection against GasAt first used cloth or sock soaked in urine over the mouth and nose – worked if gas did not get around it

Then maxipads dipped in bicarbonate of soda were manufactured by the army

Eventually an actual gas mask that covered the eyes and had a filter box connected to the mask by a tube because earlier models did not work against phosgene.

First ones didn’t fit well so a nose clip closed off nostrils and your mouth clamped on the tube.

Ones for horses did not cover eyes and were loose fitting, so only worked sometimes

WWI Gas Masks

Phosgene GasDeveloped by Allies18 times more deadly than chlorineInvisible (as opposed to the clouds of yellow for chlorine gas)Smelled good like fresh cut grassTrauma did not come until a few hours after exposure so those hit with it did not realize what was happening at first

Mustard GasEffects not detected until a few hours after exposureCaused blisters on the skin, eyes, throat, and lungsGas masks prevented internal injuries, but the gas could penetrate clothes and cause external burnsOnly needed a little amount so it could be added to shellsContaminated soil stayed that way for weeks

Trickier Gas and Effects

Combination of phosgene and chloropicrin Chloropicrin got through the gas masks and

caused a soldier to throw up - they would remove their mask to do this and inhale the phosgene

By the end of the war, more than 50 different chemicals were being used, 100,000 tons used in the 4 years of the warNot as effective as hoped because it was only a surprise at Ypres and the Germans did not use their advantage there

Poison Gas Casualties of WWI

Nation Gas casualties (estimated)Fatal Non-fatal

Russia 50,000 400,000Germany 10,000 190,000France 8,000 182,000Britain 8,000 181,000Austria-Hungary 3,000 97,000USA 1,500 71,500Italy 4,500 55,000Total 85,000 (3% of

combat deaths)1,176,500

The TankFirst used Autumn 1916 by the AlliesDesigned to cross No Man’s Land and trenchesBritish designed the Mark I

Male and Female designs (Big Willie and Mother) Male had heavy artillery Female had machine guns

Called tank because the original name, “landship” was easy to figure outProblems: crew suffered from fumes and the intense volume; treads were made thicker and deeper because they had to carry wood to get out of mud

The TankFreaked out the Germans at the Somme on September 15, 1916

Germans woke up and saw giant metal beasts rolling towards them and screamed “The devil is coming!”

November 1917 Battle of Cambrai, Allies gained 7 miles on Germans in just hours with 400 tanks

Lack of WeaponsBoth sides expected war to end quickly and did not have enough weapons to sustain a war in the beginning, especially ammunitionRussia was especially bad:

Could turn out 50,000 rifles/month, but had 1.5 million troops

In some battles, 1/3 of the men had no rifles and had to wait for their comrades to be shot down to take their guns

The Air War

AirplanesInitial problems:

Many models (1 set of wings or 2, engine in the front or rear)

Flimsy (plywood and cloth held together with bailing wire)

No brakes and couldn’t go above 50mph Often victims of friendly fire

Benefits: more maneuverable than balloons and could cover more ground – originally used for reconnaissanceImprovements: painting of country flags prevented a lot of friendly fire

Airplanes in WWIMONOPLANE BIPLANE

DogfightsInitial plane to plane weapons were throwing knives, revolvers, and bricks!Machine guns were soon used, but were difficult to load and use (Vickers guns were easier to load)Allied pilot, Garros, put deflectors on his propellers to have a front mounted machine gunGermans found out, but improved it with the Fokker designed interrupter gear

Fokker’s plane could also fly 80 mph – first real fighter plane

Fighter Planes

The Red Baron’s Fokker Tri Plane

Dogfight Panorama

AcesAverage age : 20Were trained to fly since few had even been in a plane before60% of Allied air deaths occurred during trainingAfter training life expectancy was 3-5 weeksWere seen as modern knights and heroes

More eccentric then other soldiers

The Flying Aces of World War I

Eddie Rickenbacher, US

FrancescoBarraco, It.

Rene PaukFonck, Fr.

Manfred vonRichtoffen, Ger.

[The “RedBaron”]

Willy Coppens deHolthust, Belg.

Eddie “Mick”Mannoch, Br.

ZeppelinsInitially used by the Germans – had 26 at start of war500 feet long, aluminum frame, propellers and crew of 20 were supported by the gondola that suspended beneathDropped bombs on London at nightFirst constant attack of civilians in European warfareBomber planes were developed by Allies

Faster planes that could carry a ton of bombs and fly farther than fighters

Anti-Zeppelin Measures

Zeppelins could fly much higher (6,000 feet with load compared to 1500 feet for planes)Anti-aircraft 13 pound gun (later 18 pound) + searchlightsFaster aircraft – British Martinsyde-Scout + incendiary weapons like bullets with phosphorousAir horns to warn civilians

Airplanes vs. BalloonsBalloons were initially better for reconnaissance than airplanes because you could get a longer and more steady lookImprovements to the aerial camera allowed it to be mounted to the plane and automatically take a picture every few seconds

War at Sea

ShipsIronsides after US Civil WarBritish Dreadnought built in 1906 – faster, more and bigger guns, oil instead of coal

Both England and Germany had these by the start of the war

Were so expensive that there weren’t really any battles between these except

Battle of Jutland May 31, 1916 – Germans sunk 3 British Dreadnoughts, 2 through a design flaw that left the shell magazine exposed and would set the ship on fire

From Top Left, clockwise:British Grand Fleet sailing in 1914; HMS Indefatigable sinking; Battle of Jutland Maps

HMS Dreadnought 1906

Battle of Jutland May 31 – June 1

1916Only major naval battle

Allied Losses Central Losses

6,094 killed 2,551 killed

510 wounded 507 wounded

177 captured 1 pre-dreadnought

3 battlecruisers 1 battlecruiser

3 armoured cruisers 4 light cruisers

8 destroyers 5 Destroyers

(113,300 tons sunk) (62,300 tons sunk)

Submarine / U-BoatInitial models were seen in both the American Revolution and Civil WarPre WWI Models were larger – about 500 tons and could travel on the surface at the same speed as merchant shipsHad controlled ballast and most could stay underwater for up to 24 hours as well as fire underwater missiles (torpedoes)Germans improved the U-Boat with more stability on the surface

U-Boat

Use of SubmarinesBritish thought they would just be defensiveGermans immediately began attacking British shipsUnrestricted submarine warfare – Germans began attacking merchant ships headed to England

Anti-Submarine Measures

Seagulls and seals did not work…Hydrophone could hear it

Groups of three listening ships could determine direction and speed

Depth charge Did not have to directly hit a sub – shock waves were

enough to spring leaks and break fuel linesQ-Ship

Military ship pretending to be a merchant ship would fire on a U-Boat when they surfaced

Dazzle Camouflage Made it hard to determine size, direction, and speed of ship

American made mines with 35’ long “antennae” Mined the German entrance to the North Sea in 1917

Depth Charge Exploding

Hydrophone

Dazzle Camouflage

WWI Movie ClipOriginal US footage – weaponry

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