Research Paper
In World War II there were many advancements that happened that changed our way of living today. But the main thing that significantly affected the entire war had to do with science or technology based things. This brought a lot to the table because the countries who have better technology on their side are pretty much the guaranteed winner. It’s not always about numbers of soldiers but what you equip them with can make a huge difference in capability of victory. So in this essay that I wrote, I’ll be talking about all the different aspects that had happen in the World War II that changed everything. The things are the Manhattan Project, nuclear bombs, atomic bomb, different views on science and war, radar, trench warfare, vehicles, and aircrafts.
The technological advances in WW2 changed the battlefield completely as more deadly auxiliary was introduced. The technological advances since WW1 introduced such things as the nuclear bomb and new and improved sea and air warfare. New techniques had to be used in WW2 because of the updated technology. Techniques such as' mouseholing and 'lightning warfare' were used. More people died because of technology in WW2. More people were killed in WW2 than WW1, as the technology was updated in WW2. Technology can be good and bad, but in this case, it was terribly bad.
The technological advances since WW1 introduced such things as the atomic bomb and new and improved sea and air warfare. The atom bomb was a big part of WW2 as people could be killed from a bomb from a long distance. This bomb also covered a long area killing more people and people of the area bombed could still be feeling the effects in the form of cancer. New air warfare such as fighter jets were introduced in WW2. These planes carried deadly bombs and could take out a large number of people. New sea warfare was introduced, such ships as the corvette were popular, and the corvette was mostly used for shipping ammunition to Europe from North America. Also, submarines proved deadly as they were out of radar and carried deadly bombs such as the torpedo. “Most Allied experts believed that it was imminent, thereby requiring a massive retaliatory capability and extensive defensive measures. Even more horrifying was the prospect that Germany and Japan would deploy biological weapons such as anthrax, plague, and botulinum toxin, fears that Nobel laureate Sir Frederick Banting raised in the late 1930s.” Basically in this quote it talks about how the Allied team was advancing in technology than the Axis team. Also there was a development in biological weapons in Germany and Japan.What this source mainly talks about is about how technology and scientist played a very big role in World War II for all countries. What most countries mainly focused on was to give a lot of their resources on technology because they believed it was key to winning this war. One of the things they did was, instead of putting scientists into the combat service, they rather have them put in a laboratory to do research for them. “As a result, thousands of scientists were recruited for laboratory rather than combat service.” Some technology they had use to be inferior for usage in warfare but now due to the fact that they upgraded a few things about them, they now realize the potential killing power of some of those things.” In contrast, RDX explosives, chemical weapons, and biological warfare did have First World War legacies; between 1939 and 1945 , however, the potential killing power of these devices increased dramatically.” But one of the most devastating inventions that could have ever been created in the World War II history would have to be the Atomic Bomb. The destruction that this bomb caused was so severe that it destroyed tohusands of lives and still affects people till this very day. “ By 1945 the country had become an awesome weapons factory capable of producing every form of military technology, with the most spectacular achievement being the Manhattan Project's nuclear bomb program that ended the war.” The Manhatten Project was something that they could create nuclear missiles, bombs, gas, and anything to be destructive warfare technology.
Both the British and United States government felt that their country was in danger of potential attacks that could lead to the downfall of their country. They wanted their country to be well protected from these attacks so they will not lose this war. “Manhattan Engineer District,” the code name of the military project established in June 1942 for atomic-bomb research and development”. In this quote from the website, it says what the Manhattan Project was about. Basically what this project was about is the development and creation of nuclear atomic-bomb research for military use only. “In the years leading up to World War II, many scientists pondered building nuclear weapons, particularly after Lise Meitner's and Otto Frisch's startling interpretation in 1938 of earlier uranium and neutron bombardment experiments (by Enrico Fermi and others) as nuclear fission.” Uranium and neutron was the bases of the development and research of bomb making , so that’s why atomic-bomb research become more known because of Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch in 1938. There was a stretch of new scientists in World War II because a lot were put into research rather than combat. “Centralizing the many separate research efforts devoted to atomic-bomb research was essential, both for efficiency and to maintain secrecy”. The government are very efficient in keeping the research on nuclear bombs a secret to ensure that no other country will interfere or mimic their military strategy. They have separate research facilities around the country/world for reasons if any of the facilities were infiltrated. In this technological program, they began to focus toward these “gun type” bombs that consisted in the use of uranium and plutonium. This meant that fissionable material would be shot into each other. But after April 1944 they discovered a high level of spontaneous fission in reactor-made plutonium. One of the implusion bombs was successfully detonated at Alamogordo, New Mexico, on July 16 1945. After the successful bomb, president Harry S. Truman authorized dropping the uranium bomb that fell on Hiroshima on 6 August and the plutonium bomb dropped on Nagasaki on 9 August. These weapons, which killed more than 120,000 Japanese, are widely believed to have led directly to the Japanese surrender on 14 August. All this marked the nuclear age advancement which later led to the Cold War era.
People of Literature and science all had different and independent views on science and technology. George Sarton launched the field on its modern, independent trajectory with the creation of the journal Isis in 1912 and the History of Science Society in 1924. This man changed people’s thought on war and science. He made a journal pertaining to his works on technology and also established the History of Science Society in 1924. Until World War II, historians of science paid little attention to war and the military, in spite of the fact that both loomed large in the lives and work of scientists as disparate and renowned as Archimedes, Galileo, and Lavoisier. You can tell by this statement that most historians didn’t care much about war or military until these men Archimedes, Galileo, and Lavoisier stepped up to change their views on the whole thing. Books such as Science, Technology and Society in Seventeenth‐Century England (1938) were very inspiring to historians. “The great irony about traditional military conservatism toward technological change is that it reversed itself completely after World War II. This was the first war in which the weapons deployed at the end were significantly different from those with which it was launched; the most familiar examples are jet aircraft, ballistic missiles, proximity fuses, and, of course, the atomic bomb.” Great new weapons were starting to be created in the World War II. Weapons, technology were very different during this time because it was a huge jump past their usual technology they’re used to see being used. This is important because it talks about the thoughts of many scientists. Since scientists played a big part in World War II, I think it’s important to know what they think and how they did things.
Radar probably saved tens of thousands of lives during World War II and now it is used to provide basic comforts to society like telling us when it is going to rain or snow next! This would be the thesis to this source because it has an opinion again. The author’s opinion in this is that he thinks technology in WWII can save people lives and makes our lives better. Radar technology works by transmitting strong, short pulses of radio energy into the air in a specific direction using what is called a directional antenna. When these pulses hit an object like a ship, or aircraft they bounce off the object and back to the antenna. The radar could detect a variety of different vehicles that were used in combat or any time or anywhere in the world. This played a big part in World War II technology, especially those for battle ships, and also fighter jets. It shows where enemies are located so you can engage in battle with confidence, knowing the amount of enemies. “The use of radar could have changed history for the U.S. as it discovered the advancement of the Japanese air force. What ultimately, turned the attack into a surprise one was the inability to take the radar report seriously.” This means that the use of radar could have saved thousands of lives form sneak attacks, such as the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. This could have been prevent, that if rardars were used at the time. It’s important because it talks about examples of advancement which is important to know. We should know what things were improved and such. One important benefit for the Allies concerning radar was their advancement in the technology over the Germans. With the leadership in Germany having a stronger preference for offensive weapon systems than defensive ones, the Allies were able to defend against German attacks as well as strike more precisely against German targets, weakening their war supporting industry.
The horrors of trench warfare caused military planners to focus on new weapons to restore mobility and to avoid a future war resulting in mass losses of foot soldiers. I think that this is a thesis statement because due to the fact that war requires technology then it does make sense that the military needed to upgrade. They had to focus their technology resources on weapons in order to win this war. “We can point to numerous new inventions and scientific principles that emerged during the war. These include advances in rocketry, pioneered by Nazi Germany.” This is saying that the most inventions of science was great by the Nazi’s occupying Germany. They created missles, bombs and many other destructive weapons that killed millions of people. The “rocket team” that developed these weapons for Germany were brought to the United States after World War II, settled in Huntsville, Alabama, under their leader Wernher von Braun, and then helped to build the rockets that sent American astronauts into space and to the moon. Inventions from the Nazi didn’t only benefit the Germans, it also benefited the Americans. The rockets used by Germany were somehow sent to the United States that were researched and developed in Huntsville, Alabama and we used it for our needs and development of things. One of the things we did with it was that we used the rockets form them to send our astronauts to the moon which United States became the first country to be in space.
Another advancement that had happen during the World War II era was a very effective in determining the victor of battle. Vehicles and tanks were very important to the whole military because they can transport ally units to the battlefield and also destroy many enemies. “Due to the increased mobility of troops in WWII (vs. the static front lines of WWI), tanks saw significant advancements, including increased speed, armor and firepower. The amphibious DUKW was another crucial development during the war and was utilized extensively for troop deployment and as a means to transport tanks to areas in need.” In 1918, Germany was banned from making Military hard ware or having tanks under her hangers. As a tactical move the Hitler, depicted tanks of rough wooden frame placed on a pram wheel with canvas on top, which looked from a distance as a real tank. Hitler wanted to strike terror in the hearts of enemy, so he used his ingenuity and utilized the model of tank to his advantage. The Tanks thus damaged more with their thunder than with the ammunition. Tanks “looked like a huge dish cover on wheels it was rejected by Lord Palmerston as being too brutal for civilized warfare”.
Aircraft development was crucial during WWII due to its increased use throughout the war – as bombers, fighters and reconnaissance. Massive bombing raids were being utilized as an alternative to static trench warfare. Air superiority was the goal of both the Allies and the Axis, each dedicating as much man/woman and machine power as possible to produce the ultimate air weapon. By the end of WWII, pilots were flying jet aircrafts. Other advancements in armament, maneuverability and radar assisted with the continual advancement of military aircraft. World War II planes had a potential to blow up if shot, they were much, much better because of their aluminum frames, and protected engines. Italy was the first to bring the airplane into World War II with its antics against Africa, they gave Germany the idea of putting planes to a better use. Soon each country had began their own air force and started to mass produce airplanes. eventually countries adapted to the greater abilities of the airplane. The Germans, Americans, and the British all worked hard to make a plane that would be superior to all others. Two jet fighters, one German and the other British, were amazing feats of jet powered engines. The German Messerschmitt Me262 and the British Gloster Meteor were effective to their desired uses “because both aircraft were necessarily of twin-engine design. This engine was unique because it had one engine on each wing. After Germans quickly dispatched Poland and most of Western Europe, they turned toward Great Britain for good reason.
In conclusion, you can see how much of a difference technology does for war. Mainly speaking, the nuclear bombs and such made the most impact due to the enormous amounts of death resulting from the use of them. Radars can tell you the location of enemies which the world didn’t have before. We can see that a lot of things could’ve been prevented such as the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor from the Japanese army. This is why technology had the most impact of anything in World War II .
The technological advances in WW2 changed the battlefield completely as more deadly auxiliary was introduced. The technological advances since WW1 introduced such things as the nuclear bomb and new and improved sea and air warfare. New techniques had to be used in WW2 because of the updated technology. Techniques such as' mouseholing and 'lightning warfare' were used. More people died because of technology in WW2. More people were killed in WW2 than WW1, as the technology was updated in WW2. Technology can be good and bad, but in this case, it was terribly bad.
The technological advances since WW1 introduced such things as the atomic bomb and new and improved sea and air warfare. The atom bomb was a big part of WW2 as people could be killed from a bomb from a long distance. This bomb also covered a long area killing more people and people of the area bombed could still be feeling the effects in the form of cancer. New air warfare such as fighter jets were introduced in WW2. These planes carried deadly bombs and could take out a large number of people. New sea warfare was introduced, such ships as the corvette were popular, and the corvette was mostly used for shipping ammunition to Europe from North America. Also, submarines proved deadly as they were out of radar and carried deadly bombs such as the torpedo. “Most Allied experts believed that it was imminent, thereby requiring a massive retaliatory capability and extensive defensive measures. Even more horrifying was the prospect that Germany and Japan would deploy biological weapons such as anthrax, plague, and botulinum toxin, fears that Nobel laureate Sir Frederick Banting raised in the late 1930s.” Basically in this quote it talks about how the Allied team was advancing in technology than the Axis team. Also there was a development in biological weapons in Germany and Japan.What this source mainly talks about is about how technology and scientist played a very big role in World War II for all countries. What most countries mainly focused on was to give a lot of their resources on technology because they believed it was key to winning this war. One of the things they did was, instead of putting scientists into the combat service, they rather have them put in a laboratory to do research for them. “As a result, thousands of scientists were recruited for laboratory rather than combat service.” Some technology they had use to be inferior for usage in warfare but now due to the fact that they upgraded a few things about them, they now realize the potential killing power of some of those things.” In contrast, RDX explosives, chemical weapons, and biological warfare did have First World War legacies; between 1939 and 1945 , however, the potential killing power of these devices increased dramatically.” But one of the most devastating inventions that could have ever been created in the World War II history would have to be the Atomic Bomb. The destruction that this bomb caused was so severe that it destroyed tohusands of lives and still affects people till this very day. “ By 1945 the country had become an awesome weapons factory capable of producing every form of military technology, with the most spectacular achievement being the Manhattan Project's nuclear bomb program that ended the war.” The Manhatten Project was something that they could create nuclear missiles, bombs, gas, and anything to be destructive warfare technology.
Both the British and United States government felt that their country was in danger of potential attacks that could lead to the downfall of their country. They wanted their country to be well protected from these attacks so they will not lose this war. “Manhattan Engineer District,” the code name of the military project established in June 1942 for atomic-bomb research and development”. In this quote from the website, it says what the Manhattan Project was about. Basically what this project was about is the development and creation of nuclear atomic-bomb research for military use only. “In the years leading up to World War II, many scientists pondered building nuclear weapons, particularly after Lise Meitner's and Otto Frisch's startling interpretation in 1938 of earlier uranium and neutron bombardment experiments (by Enrico Fermi and others) as nuclear fission.” Uranium and neutron was the bases of the development and research of bomb making , so that’s why atomic-bomb research become more known because of Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch in 1938. There was a stretch of new scientists in World War II because a lot were put into research rather than combat. “Centralizing the many separate research efforts devoted to atomic-bomb research was essential, both for efficiency and to maintain secrecy”. The government are very efficient in keeping the research on nuclear bombs a secret to ensure that no other country will interfere or mimic their military strategy. They have separate research facilities around the country/world for reasons if any of the facilities were infiltrated. In this technological program, they began to focus toward these “gun type” bombs that consisted in the use of uranium and plutonium. This meant that fissionable material would be shot into each other. But after April 1944 they discovered a high level of spontaneous fission in reactor-made plutonium. One of the implusion bombs was successfully detonated at Alamogordo, New Mexico, on July 16 1945. After the successful bomb, president Harry S. Truman authorized dropping the uranium bomb that fell on Hiroshima on 6 August and the plutonium bomb dropped on Nagasaki on 9 August. These weapons, which killed more than 120,000 Japanese, are widely believed to have led directly to the Japanese surrender on 14 August. All this marked the nuclear age advancement which later led to the Cold War era.
People of Literature and science all had different and independent views on science and technology. George Sarton launched the field on its modern, independent trajectory with the creation of the journal Isis in 1912 and the History of Science Society in 1924. This man changed people’s thought on war and science. He made a journal pertaining to his works on technology and also established the History of Science Society in 1924. Until World War II, historians of science paid little attention to war and the military, in spite of the fact that both loomed large in the lives and work of scientists as disparate and renowned as Archimedes, Galileo, and Lavoisier. You can tell by this statement that most historians didn’t care much about war or military until these men Archimedes, Galileo, and Lavoisier stepped up to change their views on the whole thing. Books such as Science, Technology and Society in Seventeenth‐Century England (1938) were very inspiring to historians. “The great irony about traditional military conservatism toward technological change is that it reversed itself completely after World War II. This was the first war in which the weapons deployed at the end were significantly different from those with which it was launched; the most familiar examples are jet aircraft, ballistic missiles, proximity fuses, and, of course, the atomic bomb.” Great new weapons were starting to be created in the World War II. Weapons, technology were very different during this time because it was a huge jump past their usual technology they’re used to see being used. This is important because it talks about the thoughts of many scientists. Since scientists played a big part in World War II, I think it’s important to know what they think and how they did things.
Radar probably saved tens of thousands of lives during World War II and now it is used to provide basic comforts to society like telling us when it is going to rain or snow next! This would be the thesis to this source because it has an opinion again. The author’s opinion in this is that he thinks technology in WWII can save people lives and makes our lives better. Radar technology works by transmitting strong, short pulses of radio energy into the air in a specific direction using what is called a directional antenna. When these pulses hit an object like a ship, or aircraft they bounce off the object and back to the antenna. The radar could detect a variety of different vehicles that were used in combat or any time or anywhere in the world. This played a big part in World War II technology, especially those for battle ships, and also fighter jets. It shows where enemies are located so you can engage in battle with confidence, knowing the amount of enemies. “The use of radar could have changed history for the U.S. as it discovered the advancement of the Japanese air force. What ultimately, turned the attack into a surprise one was the inability to take the radar report seriously.” This means that the use of radar could have saved thousands of lives form sneak attacks, such as the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. This could have been prevent, that if rardars were used at the time. It’s important because it talks about examples of advancement which is important to know. We should know what things were improved and such. One important benefit for the Allies concerning radar was their advancement in the technology over the Germans. With the leadership in Germany having a stronger preference for offensive weapon systems than defensive ones, the Allies were able to defend against German attacks as well as strike more precisely against German targets, weakening their war supporting industry.
The horrors of trench warfare caused military planners to focus on new weapons to restore mobility and to avoid a future war resulting in mass losses of foot soldiers. I think that this is a thesis statement because due to the fact that war requires technology then it does make sense that the military needed to upgrade. They had to focus their technology resources on weapons in order to win this war. “We can point to numerous new inventions and scientific principles that emerged during the war. These include advances in rocketry, pioneered by Nazi Germany.” This is saying that the most inventions of science was great by the Nazi’s occupying Germany. They created missles, bombs and many other destructive weapons that killed millions of people. The “rocket team” that developed these weapons for Germany were brought to the United States after World War II, settled in Huntsville, Alabama, under their leader Wernher von Braun, and then helped to build the rockets that sent American astronauts into space and to the moon. Inventions from the Nazi didn’t only benefit the Germans, it also benefited the Americans. The rockets used by Germany were somehow sent to the United States that were researched and developed in Huntsville, Alabama and we used it for our needs and development of things. One of the things we did with it was that we used the rockets form them to send our astronauts to the moon which United States became the first country to be in space.
Another advancement that had happen during the World War II era was a very effective in determining the victor of battle. Vehicles and tanks were very important to the whole military because they can transport ally units to the battlefield and also destroy many enemies. “Due to the increased mobility of troops in WWII (vs. the static front lines of WWI), tanks saw significant advancements, including increased speed, armor and firepower. The amphibious DUKW was another crucial development during the war and was utilized extensively for troop deployment and as a means to transport tanks to areas in need.” In 1918, Germany was banned from making Military hard ware or having tanks under her hangers. As a tactical move the Hitler, depicted tanks of rough wooden frame placed on a pram wheel with canvas on top, which looked from a distance as a real tank. Hitler wanted to strike terror in the hearts of enemy, so he used his ingenuity and utilized the model of tank to his advantage. The Tanks thus damaged more with their thunder than with the ammunition. Tanks “looked like a huge dish cover on wheels it was rejected by Lord Palmerston as being too brutal for civilized warfare”.
Aircraft development was crucial during WWII due to its increased use throughout the war – as bombers, fighters and reconnaissance. Massive bombing raids were being utilized as an alternative to static trench warfare. Air superiority was the goal of both the Allies and the Axis, each dedicating as much man/woman and machine power as possible to produce the ultimate air weapon. By the end of WWII, pilots were flying jet aircrafts. Other advancements in armament, maneuverability and radar assisted with the continual advancement of military aircraft. World War II planes had a potential to blow up if shot, they were much, much better because of their aluminum frames, and protected engines. Italy was the first to bring the airplane into World War II with its antics against Africa, they gave Germany the idea of putting planes to a better use. Soon each country had began their own air force and started to mass produce airplanes. eventually countries adapted to the greater abilities of the airplane. The Germans, Americans, and the British all worked hard to make a plane that would be superior to all others. Two jet fighters, one German and the other British, were amazing feats of jet powered engines. The German Messerschmitt Me262 and the British Gloster Meteor were effective to their desired uses “because both aircraft were necessarily of twin-engine design. This engine was unique because it had one engine on each wing. After Germans quickly dispatched Poland and most of Western Europe, they turned toward Great Britain for good reason.
In conclusion, you can see how much of a difference technology does for war. Mainly speaking, the nuclear bombs and such made the most impact due to the enormous amounts of death resulting from the use of them. Radars can tell you the location of enemies which the world didn’t have before. We can see that a lot of things could’ve been prevented such as the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor from the Japanese army. This is why technology had the most impact of anything in World War II .