THE NEW WEAPONS OF WORLD WAR I ON LAND

Transcription

1 THE NEW WEAPONS OF WORLD WAR I ON LAND The Great War saw the use of many new weapons. Some were available at the beginning of the war while others were invented during the war. The Great War was unlike anything seen before. 1. MACHINE GUNS: Machine guns were big, heavy, and needed a large crew to carry both the weapon and ammunition. German Maxim Machine Gun: Weight: 33 lbs. Rate of fire: 600 rounds per minute 2. LIGHT MACHINE GUNS: Regular machine guns were too heavy to keep up with the troops during an attack. The Infantry needed a lighter automatic weapon that could be carried by one man. American troops were issued the French made Chauchat light machine gun until the Browning Automatic Rifle was developed to meet this need. Left: US soldier carrying a Chauchat Right: US soldiers learning how to fire the Chauchat. The Chauchat was a piece of junk. It s parts were not interchangeable. The halfmoon magazine jammed constantly. U.S. BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) M1918a2 Weight: 19.5 lbs Rate of Fire: 500 rounds per minute 10

2 3. SUBMACHINE GUNS: Soldiers soon realized that bolt action rifles were inadequate for the realities of trench warfare. Germany developed the submachine gun to meet the demanded for an individual weapon with greater firepower. German MP AUTOMATIC PISTOLS: Automatic Pistols like the U.S. 45 Caliber and German Luger gave officers, and some soldiers, a pistol with greater firepower than the older revolver. U.S. M Cal. German 9mm Luger 5. HAND GRENADES: Abandoned during the 18 th Century as impractical, grenades returned to the battlefield during WWI. A German stick grenade, more commonly called a potato masher. 6. RIFLE GRENADES: A small grenade launcher was attached to the end of the rifle. It was fired like a mortar. 11

3 7. FLAME THROWERS: Developed by the Germans for assaulting trenches, they were used by the stosstruppen (storm troops). 8. GAS MASKS: Gauze masks, sometimes soaked in urine, were the earliest form of protection from gas. Permanent protective mask were developed as gas weapons became more lethal. 9. FIELD TELEPHONES: More reliable then the telegraph, field phones improved communications, as long as the wire connection remained intact. By the end of the war the armies were experimenting with radios. 10. HELMETS: In 1914 soldiers marched off to war wearing soft caps or the useless German spiked helmet, picklehaub. With the advent of trench warfare the number of head wounds increased at an alarming rate. In response, the helmet returned to the battlefield. Since helmets had not been used for hundreds of years, where did they get the designs? They modified helmets used by medieval men at arms during the Middle Ages. U.S. & British helmet German helmet German Pickelhaulb 12

4 11. HEAVY ARTILLERY: Massive guns, 155mm +, designed to destroy the strongest fortifications. Germany s famous Paris Gun Length: 112 feet Weight: 138 tons Range: 75 miles The French Schneider railway gun was the biggest gun of World War I. Caliber: 520 mm Howitzer Range: 10 miles Shell weight: 3,100 lbs 12. RAPID FIRING ARTILLERY: Smaller cannon, 75mm to 150mm, which accompanied every division. They could fire tremendous amounts of shells in a short period. U.S. troops firing a French 75mm. The gun tube by the Baker Library is from a French 75mm 13

5 13. GAS: Both sides developed numerous types of gas weapons. Check "Trenches on the Web" for a complete list of gas types and their effects. Chlorine and mustard gas were the most common. The German army was the first to use chlorine gas. French soldiers had not come across this before and assumed that it was a smoke screen. It has a distinctive smell a mixture of pepper and pineapple and they only realized they were being gassed when they started to have chest pains and a burning sensation in their throats! Death is painful you suffocate! Mustard gas was the most deadly biological weapon that was used in the trenches. It was odorless and took 12 hours to take effect! It was also very powerful, only small amounts needed to be added to shells to be effective and it remained active for several weeks when it landed in the soil! The nastiest thing about mustard gas is that it made the skin blister, the eyes sore, and the victim would start to vomit. It would cause internal and external bleeding, and would target the lungs. It could take up to 5 weeks to die! 14. TANKS: The Allies solution to trench warfare. German A7V tank: Crew 18 British Mark IV tank French made Renault tank in U.S. service Crew: 2 14

6 15. TRENCHES Cross section of a trench 15

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8 THE NEW WEAPONS OF WORLD WAR I IN THE AIR 16. AIRPLANES: FIGHTERS German Fokker Dr I The most famous plane of WWI. Baron Manfred von Richthofen flew a Dr I painted red, hence his nick name "The Red Baron.. German Fokker D VII Arguably the best plane of WWI. British - SE 5: Most numerous British plane. It carried one machine gun on top of the upper wing. 17

9 British Sopwith Camel Excellent British plane but very unforgiving to inexperienced pilots. It suffered from severe engine torque, which pulled it to the left. Also famous as Snoopy's aircraft from the Peanuts comic strip by Charles Schultz. French Nieuport 27 A good aircraft but it could easily become a death trap. The upper wing had a tendency to rip off if the plane built up too much speed. Also used by the Americans. French/American Spad VII The best French plane. Very fast and dove like a rock. Rittmeister Manfred von Richthofen Richthofen was the greatest ace of World War I. He is credited with shooting down 80 aircraft. To show off his prowess he painted his aircraft red. The British called him the Red Baron, the French the Red Devil. He became squadron commander of Jasta 1, which consisted of some of Germany s greatest aces (Herman Goring). The squadron was nicknamed the Flying Circus. 18

10 17. AIRPLANES: LONG RANGE BOMBERS GERMAN GOTHA G IV One of the largest bombers of the Great War. 18. ZEPPLINS German Zepplin on trials over the North Sea. German Zepplins on the way to bomb London. 19

11 THE NEW WEAPONS OF WORLD WAR I AT SEA 19 DREADNOUGHTS: The dreadnought was the forerunner of the modern Battleship 20. SUBMARINES: Germany practiced unrestricted submarine warfare with its U-Boats The majority of photographs came from: Trenches on the Web: The World War I Document Archive: World War Naval Combat: The Aerodrome: 20