Aviation & Aeronautics, Thursday October 2, Period 2

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Murdock had yet another dog with him in class today, deciding that making two trips this morning would be a bit more than his twisted knee was up for. Houston lay on the floor next to the desk, tail thumping and watching the students with interest as the class filed in.

"Don't mind him," Murdock smirked. "He's just a guest for the day. Houston's friendly though, if any of y'all want to meet him. Ain't ya boy?" Houston just wagged his tail further.

He got up and limped toward the chalkboard. "So let's get started. There's quite a bit of notes, since we'll be covering World War I."

(ocd up shortly)

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Ze Lecture, part 1.

[crazypilotman.livejournal.com]

"Between 1914 and 1918, war's furious pace forced aviation through a period of change never again to be matched. During the era, virtually all the possibilities for the development and deployment of air power were explored. Strategic bombing, guided missiles, reconnaissance and surveillance, and even jet propulsion. This last glimpse of the future was made possibly by Henri Coanda (http://www.allstar.fiu.edu/AERO/coanda.htm)'s ducted-fan development of 1910. The three types of military aircraft emerged; fighters, observation, and bombers. Such facts as these, tempt some military analysts to conclude, the First World War was simply a training ground for the Second." Murdock turned and glanced at the class. "Because one war apparently wasn't enough," he remarked dryly.

He went back to sketching more notes on the chalkboard. "When war began in August 1914, neither side really understood the implications of an air war. As the first months of the war sped by, deficiencies of tremendous size and importance were apparent in every aspect of aviation for every country involved. The aviation mobilization, was done very loosely, as no one had drawn the correct inferences from the very limited warfare that aircraft had engaged in. No one had the slightest idea of the enormous baggage train of equipment, men and supplies necessary to sustain a single aviation unit in operations. And no nation had any idea of the wastage involved in aircraft operations, and none had created the industrial base to sustain active combat operations."

"When war broke out, two dozen or more aircraft, a mixed bag of English Bleriots (http://www.bleriot.org/), Henri-Farmans (http://www.adenairways.com/First_Flights.htm), Avros (http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Images/Current/Transports/HS748/H1033.jpg.html) and B.E.2s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Aircraft_Factory_B.E.2) and B.E.8s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Aircraft_Factory_B.E.8) landed in France. Operating from outside of Amiens, the tiny force covered the retreat imposed on the 100,000 man British Expeditionary Force by the huge armies of German invaders. The British began the long retreat from Mons, which was all based on the report of aviators. Later, French flyers observed the shift in thrust of von Kluck's armies, and the resulting change in British and French dispositions brought about the Allied victory at the Battle of the Marne (http://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/marne1.htm) that saved Paris."

"Like many other discoveries during World War I, the perception of the value of aircraft developed as a result of miscalculation. The one situation that no nation wanted developed, a static war. Trench warfare with its massed machine guns spelled the end of cavalry scouts and aircraft replaced horses for reconnaissance. The Germans relied on heavy artillery for defense, and aircraft were used to register the cannon fire. The evolution of trench warfare dictated the initial task for aircraft, in turn, their success made trench warfare more permanent. Kind of the downside there, ain't it," he stated, glancing back toward the students. "The principal work of aircraft was reconnaissance and artillery spotting, and equally important was the prevention of the other side from doing so. Prevention required 'scout' aircraft, as pursuits were first known. We now call them fighters," he added. "Ideally, the scout attacks would be foiled by other scouts, and a new scenario was established. Inevitably, the war started with unarmed aircraft, most often observation two-seaters, and it ended with a predominance of single-seat fighters intent on first eliminating each other and then eliminating the two-seaters." He stopped writing and fully turned to face the class. "Dog fighting. The first real emergence of air combat. Of course then, it gets more deadly."