How did airplanes make World War 1 different than the other wars?

Answer 1

The airplane came into use in the early 1900's. The early airplanes were very fraile and were limited in their speed, range and maneuverability. So, there is no history of aircraft used in war prior to WW1. By the time WW2 arrived, the airplanes had advanced by leaps and bounds from 1918 to 1938. The airplanes of WW1 were generally bi-planes(2 wings) that were made of wood trusses with fabric laid over this and glued in postion. By the time of WW2, there were very few bi-planes and most were made of all aluminum with aluminum skin. If there were any fabric covered parts, it would be the flying controls surfaces. The aircraft of WW1 were powered by engines that had very poor thrust capacity and the ratio of thrust to its weight was about 1.0. Most propellers were made of laminated wood. The limited thrust meant that the aircraft was not capable of performing some of the simplest of aerodynamic maneuvers. It was not uncommon for a plane to stall and spin out of control and not recover. By the time of WW2, the engines were more powerful and much more reliable. As WW2 progressed, the propellers were made of all metal and the pilot could vary the pitch of the blade to obtain the most efficient thrust. These advances allowed the aircraft to climb rapidly and sometimes almost vertically and have sufficient power required to perform loops and rolls needed in combat. The armament in WW1 was limited to 1 or 2 machine guns that fired at 150 to 250 rounds per minute. During the peak of WW2, the figthers were armed with 6 to 8 machine guns that were larger caliber and fired much faster. Some had additional armaments of cannon---even though some WW1 aircraft used cannon, too.