20 War in the Air and at Sea - Greater Essex County District ......Manfred von Richthofen,Germany’s Red Baron. Canadian pilot Roy Brown.He once said,“I love flying,not killing.”

Almost everyone has heard of the legendary“Red Baron.” He was the most famous Ger-man flyer of World War I. But few peopleknow that it was a Canadian, Roy Brown, whofinally shot down the Red Baron.

On 21 April 1918, Manfred von Rich-thofen, the Red Baron, was flying high abovethe Somme valley in his bright crimson Fok-ker triplane. Suddenly, he spotted an Allied

plane far below. He put his Fokker into a steepdive and moved in on the plane’s tail. His tar-get was a young Canadian flier, Wilfred May.

It was a tense moment. May’s gun jammed.Luckily, another Canadian pilot, Captain RoyBrown, saw what was happening and swept inbehind the Red Baron. Brown, in his SopwithCamel, opened fire on von Richthofen. TheRed Baron was hit and fell into a deadly spin.

Moments later the German war acewas dead at the age of 26.

Today the seat of the Red Baron’splane is displayed at the Royal Mil-itary Institute in Toronto. You canput your finger through the bullethole in the seat.

Chapter

20 War in the Air and at SeaAir Aces in Battle

Reflecting/Predicting1. Based on this story, describe some of

the risks World War I flyers took, andsome of the dangers they faced.Whatdo you think the life of a World War Iflyer was like?

2. Examine the picture. Describe theairplanes.What might be someadvantages and disadvantages of theseplanes in battle?

Manfred vonRichthofen, Germany’sRed Baron.

Canadian pilotRoy Brown. Heonce said,“I loveflying, not killing.”

314

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Chapter 20: War in the Air and at Sea 315

Dogfights in the AirDuring World War I, Canada had no air force ofits own. Canadians who wanted to fly joinedthe British Royal Flying Corps. It turned outthat many Canadians were excellent flyers.

At the beginning of the war, Germanyseemed to have the advantage in the air. It hadthe most aircraft (400 compared with 156French and 113 British). The Germans had alsodeveloped a fighter plane called the Fokker. Itwas armed with a machine gun that had atimed firing mechanism so that bullets did not

hit its own propeller blades. The Germans alsohad gasfilled balloons called Zeppelin dirigi-bles or airships. These were used on observa-tion missions and bombing raids. Eventually,both sides used airships.

By 1917, the Allies had developed theSopwith Camel, an excellent fighter plane.Soon, the tide began to turn. The Allies startedto take the upper hand in air combat. A groupof Canadian pilots called the Black Flightplayed an important role in gaining control ofthe skies. In their black planes, they shot down10 German fighters in one day on 6 June 1917.Over the next few months, they flew manymore successful missions.

Canada had several famous air aces. An acewas a fighter who had shot down at least fiveenemy planes. The great air aces includedGermany’s Manfred von Richthofen, Britain’sAlfred Ball, and Canada’s Billy Bishop. VonRichthofen, known as the Red Baron, downed80 Allied planes.

As a group, Canadian fighter pilots broughtdown 438 enemy aircraft during World War I.Canadians were among the top scoring aces ofall the British fliers. It was a remarkablerecord!

Close combat between two or more planes inthe air was called a dogfight. Pilots tried tomanoeuvre their light planes so they could diveon the enemy from behind and fire their guns.World War I flyers lived a dangerous life.Thepercentage of pilots killed was higher than inany other branch of the military. In late 1916, itwas said that the average life of a pilot wasabout three weeks.There were no parachutesto save any who were unlucky enough to beshot down.This painting of a dogfight is byCanadian artist C.R.W. Nevinson.

Airships were huge balloons with a metal frame.They were filled with hydrogen gas. Some had plat-forms on the top. Guns on these platforms couldshoot at airplanes overhead.The airships alsodropped bombs on Allied cities.

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Unit 4: Canada and World War I, 1914-1919316

Aircraft

When the war broke out in1914, the airplane was anew and unproven invention.Few military leaders had anyconfidence that the airplanecould be an effective weapon inwar. At first, unarmed planeswere used only to scout enemy

positions. The earliest planeswere usually single-seaters.Their maximum speed wasbetween 95 and 125 km/h. They could stay in the air foronly an hour without re-fuelling. As the war went on,both sides developed moreeffective fighter planes.

TechLink Aircraft and Submarines of World War I

Fokker (German triplane)

TechFactsMaximum speed: 164 km/hWing span: 7.2 mLength: 5.7 mRange: 298 kmArmament: two fixed 7.92 mm

Spandau LMG 09/15machine guns

Sopwith Camel(British biplane)

TechFactsMaximum speed: 182 km/hWing span: 8.5 mLength: 5.7 mRange: 249 kmArmament: two belt-fed Vickers

0.303 machine guns

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Interestingly, the Dutch designer of the Fokkerplane, Anthony Fokker, offered it first to theBritish. When they refused it, he sold it to theGermans and it became an excellent fighterplane in the war.

SubmarinesWorld War I submarines were small. Usually,they carried about 35 sailors and 12 torpedoes.But their torpedoes could sink the largestships. Surface boats had to develop specialmethods to detect and destroy enemy sub-marines. Navies developed hydrophones (listen-ing equipment) to pick up the sound of thesubmarines’ engines underwater. By the end ofthe war, they also used sound echoes to detectthe position of the submarines. The surfaceships then dropped depth charges (explosivedevices) to destroy the U-boats.

1. Competition to build better weapons helpedto spur on technological developments dur-ing the war. Did these developments havebenefits after the war? How do you think theadvances in airplanes and submarines couldbe used in peacetime?

2. Both sides also developed effective machineguns during the war. Soldiers called them “cof-fee grinders” because they ground to piecesanyone or anything in their range. It waspartly because machine guns mowed downany attacking soldiers who ventured out oftheir trenches that neither side could gainmuch territory in the war.What do you thinkof this technological advance? What are someof the advantages and disadvantages of tech-nological advances during wartimes?

PeriscopesSignalmast

Rail

Torpedotubes

Torpedotubes

Sleeping berths

Sleeping berths

Officer’s quartersCentral driving position

Conning tower

Steeringwheel

Bridgesteeringwheel

Inner water-ballast tanks

Oil enginesElectricmotors

Reversing gear

Accumulators

Stern hydroplanesDetachable safety keel

Fuel oiltanks

Forwardhydroplanes

Deck

Propellers

Steering rudder

Outer hull

Steering rudder

Torpedo hatchway

Outer water-ballast tanksTorpedo-trimming tanks

Inner hull

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During World War I, ayoung pilot named BillyBishop became a Canadianhero. As a boy in Owen Sound,Ontario, Billy Bishop practised

shooting at moving targetswith his rifle in the

woods. His firingexpertise made him

one of the greatestfighter pilots theAllies ever had.On his first dayin action, heshot down aGerman plane.In one five-dayperiod, Bishopdestroyed 13planes.

Billy oftenflew the skies

alone. On oneoccasion, he

attacked a Germanair base near

Cambrai, France.Two German fighters

flew up to chase him.Bishop shot down both of

them. Two more enemy planescame up to attack him. One fellfrom the deadly fire fromBishop’s gun. The other wasdriven off, out of ammunition.Billy Bishop returned safely tohis home field.

Billy Bishop was awardedthe Victoria Cross by Britainand the highest honours ofFrance. He went on to becomeDirector of Recruiting for theRoyal Canadian Air Force dur-ing World War II in 1940.

1. What qualities do you thinkan air ace like Billy Bishopneeded to have?

2. Find out more aboutanother accomplishedCanadian flyer in the warsuch as Billy Barker,Raymond Collishaw, RoyBrown,A.A. McLeod, orDonald McLaren.Wherewere they from, what role did they play in the war, and what were theiraccomplishments?

3. Why do you think it isimportant that we rememberpeople like Billy Bishop? Howcan we remember all theothers who fought but arenot as well known?

ProfileBilly Bishop: Canadian War Ace

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The War at SeaIn early May 1915, the British passenger linerLusitania was crossing the Atlantic Ocean.Suddenly, a torpedo streaked through thewaves toward the ship. Moments later therewas an explosion, panic, chaos, anddeath. The Lusitania was destroyedand 1098 people drowned. At sea,there was a new terror—that torpedohad been fired from a submarine!

The submarine or U-boat(Unterseeboot) was Germany’s mostdeadly weapon. German submarineshad been prowling the seas since thebeginning of the war. By late 1916,German submarines were sinking anaverage of 160 ships per month.Germany was predicting an earlydefeat for Britain.

But the sinking of the Lusitaniawas a turning point. Many of the pas-sengers on the Lusitania wereAmericans including many women andchildren. Up to that point, the UnitedStates had stayed out of this European

war. But the attack on American citizensshocked the American people. It turned publicopinion in the United States against Germany.Eventually, the United States entered the waron the side of the Allies.

Billy Bishop Goes to War is one of the most successful Canadian plays ever written. It cele-

brates the life and accomplishments of Bishop andis dedicated to all who fought in World War I.

You can still see the play performed across thecountry. It was inspired by a book called

Winged Warfare, an autobiography of Billy Bishopincluding accounts of his famous flights.

In 1981, the play won the Governor-General’saward for drama. It has been seen by over 350 000 people and has aired on television.

“Billy Bishop Goes to War is dedicated to all those who didn’t come back from the war, and to all those who did and wondered why.” — writer, John Gray

Fast Forward

Billy Bishop Goes to War

A German submarine sinks an American ship.Theearly submarines could stay under the surface fortwo and a half hours. Each carried 12 torpedoesthat could be fired underwater at a moving target.German U-boats were the gravest threat the Alliesfaced. U-boats downed 5408 Allied ships during thewar. Germany lost only 178 submarines.

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The U-boat MenaceBy 1917, the war on the Western Front still had not been won. Germany decided that more drastic action was needed to defeat theAllies. The German navy introduced a policy of “unrestricted submarine warfare.” This meantthat German U-boats would sink any Allied or neutral ships approaching Britain, not just warships. They wanted to cut off all supplies of food and weapons from getting through toBritain. The results of this policy were almostdisastrous for Britain. In the first four months,Germany sank over 1000 Allied ships. Britainhad to find a way to deal with the U-boatthreat.

One answer was the convoy system.Supply ships used to sail alone from Canadaand the United States to Britain. Now theybegan to sail in fleets. The ships were escortedby armed destroyers. The destroyers kept con-

stant watch like sheepdogs guarding a flock ofsheep. The convoy system helped get necessarysupplies through to Britain again.

Another key turning point came in 1917when the United States entered the war.German U-boats had continued to sinkAmerican ships and the United States had hadenough. American soldiers and vast new sup-plies of equipment got ready to go to Europe.This move helped to turn the tide in favour ofthe Allies.

Canada’s main contribution to the war atsea was providing sailors and ships for theRoyal Navy. Canadian shipyards built morethan 60 anti-submarine ships and more than 500smaller anti-submarine motor launches.Thousands of Canadians served in the BritishRoyal Navy, in the Royal Naval CanadianVolunteer Reserve, and in the Royal Naval AirService.

Canada’s navy was formed in 1910, but at the beginning of the war in 1914, it had only twowarships.Yachts and other vessels were bought, refitted, and armed for combat.These shipshad little to defend them against German U-boats, but many took part in convoys protectingvital supply ships on their way to Britain.This painting by N.Wilkinson shows the transportof Canadian troops. By the end of the war, Canada’s navy had 112 vessels and 5500 members.

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The Last Hundred DaysBy the spring of 1918, Germany faced a crisis.German submarine attacks on supply ships hadfailed to force Britain to surrender. Now theUnited States had entered the war. Austria-Hungary and Turkey, Germany’s allies, were onthe point of collapse. The only hope forGermany was to launch a mighty offensive onthe Western Front before the full United Statesarmy could arrive in Europe.

Thousands of German soldiers poured intoFrance. But on 8 August 1918, Canadian andAllied troops launched a counterattack. FreshAmerican troops with tanks had arrived andwere a great encouragement for the Allies. Sup-ported by 500 tanks, the Allies swept north andeast toward Germany. The Germans fought hard,but they fell back steadily. Eventually, the Alliesre-captured all of France and then Belgium.

By November, the Allies had reached theborders of Germany. On 11 November 1918,at a predawn ceremony, Germany formally sur-rendered. Fighting ended at 11:00 a.m. on thatmorning. Five minutes before 11:00 a snipershot George Price. Price was the last Canadianto die in World War I.

Today, Canada’s navy, army, and airforce areunited into the Canadian Armed Forces(CAF). While the role of the ArmedForces is still to protect Canada

against any military threat, it is alsoinvolved in many other importantactivities at home and around theworld. At home, the Armed Forces

help during times of emergencysuch as environmental disasters

(floods, avalanches, forest fires, etc.),in search-and-rescue missions, in

stopping shipments of illegal drugs, in pro-tecting Canada’s fisheries, and in responding to

any terrorist activities or civil unrest (violentprotests, etc.). Around the world, the

Canadian Forces take part in peace-keeping missions and humanitarian

efforts such as delivering food,building roads, bridges, and

schools, and caring for the sickand wounded. In the 1990s,

Canadian peacekeepers served insuch areas as Haiti, Somalia,

Rwanda, and Bosnia.

Find out more about Canada’s ArmedForces today by visiting their web site at

www.dnd.ca.

Fast Forward

Canada’s Armed Forces

For some Canadian troops, the war ended onthe streets of the Belgian town of Mons.Theyfreed the town from German control. Belgiansproudly flew their country’s flags and gratefulBelgians shouted their thanks,“Vive les bravesCanadiens!” The war was finally over.

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You have researched information for yourreport.What’s next? You need to organize yourinformation and choose an exciting way to pre-sent your report.There are many different waysof communicating your information.Take a lookat the chart of possibilities below.You canchoose one or a combination of these.Which-ever method you choose, your report will be mosteffective if you go through the following steps.

Step 1 Prepare an Outline1. Develop an outline for your report.Your outline is a way to organize the information youhave researched. It gives you a framework foryour report.

For example, in your research you decidedto investigate three types of planes. Enter thesesub-topics on an outline organizer like the exampleon the next page.Your subpoints would includethe three main aspects of your topic that youfocused on: technical descriptions of the planes,how they were used, and how effective they were.

Plan where you would include photos, dia-grams, charts, or any other features of your presentation. If you will be presenting your reportas a museum exhibit or scrapbook, for example,outline what you will show at each station of theexhibit or on each page of the scrapbook.

As a conclusion, you could present your ideason how effective the planes were.You could also tell how technology can be used for both

positive and negative purposes.

Step 2 Draft Your Report2. Prepare a draft copy of yourreport.Your report will have threemain parts, no matter what form ofpresentation it takes.

A) IntroductionDecide on an introduction that willgrab the reader’s, listener’s, or viewer’sattention. It should give a clear andconcise statement of the focus topic.

B) Body In the body of your report, developeach of your main ideas or sub-topics.Be sure the main idea is clearlyexpressed in a topic sentence or head-ing.The subpoints should refer to anddevelop the main idea. Put the mainideas in the most effective order, leav-ing the best idea to the last.

Skill Building: A Research Report—Part 2

Oral/Audio

skitrole play

panel discussionradio broadcast

interviewtalk with visualsdemonstrationnews broadcastpuppet show

simulation gamemusic and recordings

Visual

slide show overheads

collection of artifactsscrapbook

modelsdiagrams

charts and graphsmaps

film or videobulletin board display

photo collectioncartoon or comic

striptimeline mural

posterbrochure/pamphlet

costumestime capsule

learning centrevertical file

Written

reportbooklet

newspaper letter or diary

poemplay

memoir

Ways of Presenting a Report

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C) ConclusionInclude a conclusion that:• summarizes your main points • supports what you have said • leaves your audience with something

interesting to think about.

Step 3 Edit and Revise3. Edit your draft. Be sure that:• you have done what the assignment asked• the report is organized and makes sense to

the reader/listener/viewer• the sentences vary in length and structure

and the spelling, grammar, capitalization, andpunctuation are correct

• any diagrams, pictures, charts, graphs, models,audio clips etc. are clear, well presented orexplained, and clearly support the ideas youwant to get across

4. Have a partner review your report and givesuggestions for improvements. Something may

not be clear, or there may be too much or toolittle information in some areas. Make changesand polish your report.

Step 4 Present Your Report5. Set up your presentation at a station in yourclassroom. Other students can tour the roomand visit the various presentations.

6. Develop ten questions about your topic.Yourclassmates can answer the questions when theyvisit your display. Encourage them to ask ques-tions as well.

Step 5 Evaluate7. Have others evaluate how useful your pre-sentation was in helping them learn about yourtopic.What could you do differently next time toimprove your work?

Names in group: ____________________ Teacher’s Name: _____________________

__________________________________ Class: ______________________________

__________________________________ Due Date: __________________________

Topic/Question: Types of airplanes used in World War I

Main Idea/Sub-Topic: Main Idea/Sub-Topic: Main Idea/Sub-Topic:

Fokker Sopwith Camel Airships

Subpoints: Subpoints: Subpoints:

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

Conclusion:

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

Sample Outline Organizer

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John McCrae was a Canadiandoctor from Guelph, Ontario,serving in France. On 3 May1915, he was sitting on the step

of an ambulance.The Battle ofYpres was in itsninth day. Theprevious nightMcCrae hadburied his bestfriend who hadbeen blown tobits by anartillery shell.

Looking overthe desolatescene of thecrosses in thefields, he wrotethe lines of apoem thatstarted, “InFlanders Fieldsthe poppiesblow...” Thepoem was com-pleted in about

20 minutes. McCrae madecopies of the poem and gavethem to all his friends. Thepoem was published in 1915,and is one of the most memo-rable war poems ever written.

“In Flanders Fields” wasread at the first observance of Armistice Day in 1918 when the war finally ended.

This poem and the poppiesdescribed in it have been partof the 11 November Remem-brance Day ceremonies eversince. A soldier who was theresaid, “It seemed to me that thispoem was an exact descriptionof the scene.”

1. What images does thispoem create? Describe thescene in your own words orcreate a sketch.

2. Who is speaking in thepoem? Why do you think thepoem is written from thispoint of view?

3. What makes this poem memorable?

4. John McCrae wrote thepoem while battles were stillraging in World War I. Henever witnessed the peace.In 1918, he was killed whileon active service in France.Write a one stanza responseto John McCrae’s poem,telling of the peace.

CultureLink War Poetry

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blowBetween the crosses, row on row,That mark our place; and in the skyThe larks, still bravely singing, flyScarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days agoWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,Loved and were loved, and now we lieIn Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe;To you, from failing hands we throwThe torch; be yours to hold it high.If ye break faith with us who dieWe shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.

—Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

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oNetsurferNetsurferFind out about someWorld War I poets

and their poetry byvisiting this

web sitewww.emory.edu/

English/LostPoets

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ActivitiesUnderstanding Concepts

1. Add these new terms to your Factfile.

airships dogfight convoy system Black Flight Lusitania 11 November 1918 ace U-boat

2. a) Describe the various roles played by the air force in World War I.b) What were the dangers of being a pilot in World War I?c) In spite of the dangers, why do you think men signed up for the airforce?

3. In what ways did the purpose and design of airplanes change as the war wenton? Why was Fokker’s invention so important?

4. a) Why was the submarine a revolutionary new weapon? b) How did the Allies try to defend themselves against the threat of submarines?c) Which method of defence do you think was the most effective? Why?

Digging Deeper

5. a) THINK Explain why Germany sank the Lusitania.b) DISCUSS Was the sinking of a civilian passenger ship a justifiable act in a

time of war? Explain your answer.

6. CREATE Create a political cartoon that makes a statement about the sinking of the Lusitania. Imagine the cartoon will appear in an American or Canadian newspaper.

7. WRITE Why did Germany start a policy of “unrestricted submarine warfare?”How effective was it? Write a news bulletin announcing the policy and theexpected effects.Write it either from the German or Canadian point of view.

8. DIAGRAM Create a web diagram to illustrate how Canadians helped to winthe war in the air and at sea.

Making New Connections

9. DEBATE Debate the pros and cons of hitting civilian targets (e.g., sinking passenger ships, bombing cities) as a strategy of war.

10. THINK/COMPARE Brainstorm some differences between modern wars andWorld War I. Consider the types of weapons used, how they are used, the

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number of countries involved, the number of soldiers involved, and the numberof casualties. Use a comparison organizer in your answer.Write some conclu-sions about the major differences between modern warfare and warfare inWorld War I. [HINT:You may want to use the Gulf War in your comparison.It was one of the most recent wars in modern history.]

11. INVESTIGATE The Snowbirds are the most famous modern Canadian flyers.Find out what qualifications someone needs to become a Snowbird flyer. Howare these flyers trained? What is their major role today? How does it comparewith the role of flyers during World War I?

12. CURRENT EVENTS In groups, go through the international news sections inrecent national newspapers or magazines such as The Globe and Mail, TheNational Post, or Maclean’s. Find reports on the actions of Canadian peace-keepers in various parts of the world. Create a bulletin board display with articles and pictures.

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Documents

20 War in the Air and at Sea - Greater Essex County District ......Manfred von Richthofen,Germany’s Red Baron. Canadian pilot Roy Brown.He once said,“I love flying,not killing.”