air forces: During World War II

During the 1930s, Germany devoted great efforts to air armament and the early days of World War II seemed to uphold Hitler's boasts of the effectiveness of the Luftwaffe (air force) under Hermann Goering. This was especially true of tactical air support for the ground troops, which was a crucial part of Germany's successful form of mechanized warfare, the blitzkrieg. The first great air battle in history was the Battle of Britain, in which the British Royal Air Force defeated the German Luftwaffe (1940) over Britain. In the Pacific, Japan entered the war with a stunning air attack launched from aircraft carriers on Pearl Harbor.

The subsequent development of airpower greatly altered the nature of warfare, and the use of aircraft over both land and sea played a major role in nearly all of the important engagements of World War II. Airplanes were used for strategic and tactical bombing, attacking of naval and merchant ships, transportation of personnel and cargo, mining of harbors and shipping lanes, antisubmarine patrols, photographic reconnaissance, and support of ground, naval, and amphibious operations. Throughout the war, the British and U.S. air forces conducted massive strategic bombing of Germany, but postwar bombing surveys showed it was not decisive in the Allied victory. In the Pacific, U.S. carrier-based aircraft by the end of 1944 had destroyed the Japanese fleet and air force. In the last months of the war, Japan itself was subjected to intense strategic bombardment, ending with the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Other major developments of World War II included improved techniques of flying and aircraft design and an accumulation of geographical and technological knowledge essential to modern aviation. By the end of the war, the importance of airpower was accepted by all.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Postwar Use of Airpower
• During World War II
• Evolution of the Modern Air Force
• Early Military Use of Aircraft
• Bibliography

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Military Affairs (nonnaval)