Technological Advancements During World War II

Fighter Planes

World War I plane max speed: 175 mph; small caliber machine gun (later in the war)

WWII: U.S. P-51 Mustang max speed 440 mph; 50 caliber machine gun

WWII German Messerschmitt max speed 350 mph

Japanese “Zero” max speed 390 mph armed with a 20mm cannon

Aircraft Carriers

The U.S. built a total of over 30 aircraft or fleet carriers during World War II.

The carriers were built to allow short range fighter planes to assist in amphibious invasions.

Aircraft carriers played a significant role in the Pacific Theater of the war, allowing for defense and attacks far away from controlled landing bases.

Bombers

World War II B-29 Flying Fortress; range of over 3,200 miles; could carry over 5,000 lbs of bombs and could cruise at 350 mph

World War II B-24 Liberator; over 5,000 lbs bomb load and a range of over 1,900 miles and could cruise at 215 mph

Tanks

World War I French “Comet” tank; max speed 8 mph; 6 lb artillery round

World War II Panzer “Tiger”; max speed 32 mph; 23 lb artillery round

Flame throwing tank used in WWII. This tank, used during the Battle of Iwo Jima used a newly developed chemical called napalm.

Submarines

German U-boat (submarine) during World War I. U-boats could not sustain long periods of time underwater.

World War II German submarine. WWII subs could stay underwater for more than 2 days at a time.

Semi-automatic Assault RiflesM1 Garand

First reliable semi-automatic (fires round each time you pull the trigger rather than reloading each time) U.S. infantry assault rifle.

Higgins Boats

Mainly used as a troop transport for amphibious invasions.

Was also used to transport vehicles (Jeeps, etc.) and armored vehicles (tanks) onto beaches.

Sonar and Radar

Radar: Greatly helped with the early warning evacuations and responses to invasion forces.

Sonar: Reduced the impact of submarines.

V-1 and V-2 Ballistic MissilesV1: Carried 1 ton (2,000 lbs) of explosives; traveled at a maximum speed of 400 mph

V2: Carried 1 ton of explosives, however, it traveled at a maximum speed of over 2,000 mph (this was the first rocket propelled weapon).

All together, these missiles are estimated to have killed over 10,000 people in southern Britain.

Atomic WeaponsCompletely altered the way nations interacted with one another and therefore changed the face of war.

Could completely destroy entire cities, killing hundreds of thousands of people instantly.

Replicas of “Fat Man” and “Little Boy”