Nam Trinh
Prof. Richard Kern
HIST 1302
TECHNOLOGY AND WORLD WAR II
World War II could be considered as the biggest armed race ever in the human history. The belligerents mobilized a huge amount of resources such as finance and labor to research new advanced weapons with more anti-personnel effect, and to increase productive output. New technology appeared for the first time, such as radar and atomic bomb, combined with significant innovations in aircraft industry were necessary to maintain the competitive strength over the enemies and played an important role to the complexion of the war.
First, military radar was used frequently in World War II. It was classified into detection and fire control types. Detection radar was used to warn of the enemies’ ships and aircrafts approaching. Fire Control radar, on the other hand, was used to locate the position of the target. In the Battle of Britain in August 1940, a radar system, known as the British Chain Home, helped Britain defense against German air attacks by detecting the approach of German air force from far away. Moreover, high accuracy was one of radar's strength. The target was located and attacked more precisely. It made British strike much more efficient as well as minimize the wrong attack on the civil areas. Therefore, with the advance in radar technology, British and the Allies could obviously gain the upper hand on the battle field.
Second, if the aircrafts had been used with limitation in World War I, they became the primary weapon used in World War II. In the early of the war, German air force Luftwaffe sent Focke Wulf 190, BF- 109 and the Messerschmitt to attack Denmark and Holland as a bridge to defeat France. They then used these fighters to bomb in Britain in order to push this enemy out of the war. In response, British used radar fighters Spitfire with higher advanced technology to fight back. In addition, on December 7, 1941, the surprising attack of Japanese air force on the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor defeated most of the fleet only in few hours and caused terrible damage of human life and property. American then developed a new generation of aircraft that could bomb from a much higher altitude and more precisely, such as P-51 Mustang, B-17 “Flying Fortress” and huge craft B-29 which carried a mission to deliver atomic bomb to Japan or even anywhere else in the world.
Finally, atomic bombs, the top powerful and