Airplanes

During the First World War, new fields appeared in the war machine. They were war gases, automatic weapons, tanks, but above all aircraft. Pre-war experimental machines, flying mostly just a few meters above the ground at near-fall speeds, became dangerous and efficient machines during the four years of the war, flying twice as fast as their predecessors.

Flying has always been a man's dream. It's hard to worry today, when this dream first appeared. Already in an ancient legend, it is told about Icarus and his father, who escaped from captivity with the help of wings from bird feathers glued together with wax. Leonardo da Vinci, a Renaissance artist, inventor and omniscient, also dealt with flying. Of course, birds and their years became the inspiration for people. The first enthusiasts therefore made bird-like wings and fastened them on their hands. They then jumped from taller buildings, flapping their wings, trying to make a flight. However, they only achieved a fall, which usually ended in tragedy.

In general, tethered balloons were best suited for military purposes. It was a balloon attached to a rope to a winch placed on the ground, and thus remained at a certain height above the ground in one place. They were used exclusively for reconnaissance tasks, or. to control artillery fire. The problem with all tethered balloons was the weather conditions, as their use was limited to no wind or wind with a maximum speed of 7 m / s. As the wind speed rose above this limit, staying in the balloon basket became impossible for constant fluctuations, and the crew rose more often from the bottom of the basket than observed the enemy and his movement.

Balloons were not only used in the form of military equipment, but were also widely used in civilian life.

First steps

Transport airships before World War I.

Airships in the First World War (technical development)

Zeppelins

Schütte-Lanz

Parseval and Gross-Basenach

Airships in the First World War (technical development)

Airships in the First World War (technical development)

Airships in the First World War (technical development)

Airships in the First World War (technical development)

Airships in the First World War (technical development)

Airships in the First World War (technical development)

Airships 1918-1945

Airships 1918-1945

Airships 1918-1945

Airships 1918-1945

Airships 1918-1945

Conclusion

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Flying has always been a man's dream. It's hard to worry today, when this dream first appeared. Already in an ancient legend, it is told about Icarus and his father, who escaped from captivity with the help of wings from bird feathers glued together with wax. Leonardo da Vinci, a Renaissance artist, inventor and omniscient, also dealt with flying. Of course, birds and their years became the inspiration for people. The first enthusiasts therefore made bird-like wings and fastened them on their hands. They then jumped from taller buildings, flapping their wings, trying to make a flight. However, they only achieved a fall, which usually ended in tragedy.

Immediately after the Nazi attack, the Western Allies offered material assistance to the Soviet Union. The shortest route that could take the material to the Russian front led by sea from the British Isles around German-occupied Norway to the only non-freezing Soviet port of Murmansk in the Gulf of Kola. The convoys that sailed on it were code-named PQ.

The one you don't see will take you down. Fighter alphabet. This is true even today in the age of the latest technologies. Perhaps even more than at a time when pilots had to rely only on their eyes. The growing emphasis on stealth technology only confirms this.

Numbers of victories of the most successful fighters

Some decorations mentioned in the text

Some fighters do not only bear the type designation, but have their own names. And what name represents speed and power, ie the characteristics that a fighter should have, above all, better than lightning? Probably none. The series of following articles describes the planes that deserved the name lightning - more or less.

There were many articles about aircraft P-38 Lightning. Some reviews weren't too flattering. Unfortunately, some of these allegations survive to this day.