Wings #4 - Carissa Wolfe

Wings #4

Carissa Wolfe

1. It is clear to see how experiences with aviation could have created this “dangerous world” outlook in many prominent minds of the Interwar and World War II era. However, the theologians and world leaders that the author chose to pinpoint were ironically, not even alive to witness the invention of the plane. I believe the reason for their irrational fear of flight was quite simply, the unknown. Exploring history will reveal countless fears of concepts and inventions that are quite tame. We also know that power-hungry religious and political leaders misused and misquoted scripture, withholding access from the less privileged, in order to form a hierarchy. When in fact, many of the things they claimed to be evil or able to disprove the Bible were not, and did not. In the same way, people like Saint John Chrysosotom and Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz distorted the concept of flight by saying it would bring “divine judgment” or by saying that God was against it (respectively).

On the other hand, the insight of other historic figures into the problems flight would cause is commendable. Certainly the fear that you could be bombed at any moment is legitimate. As is the reality that the destruction wrought by aerial bombers is more violent and widespread than that of any weapon before it. I think these people were able to see into the hearts of man and discover our wickedness. They recognized that no power on earth could contain it, so that once the technology was available, we would destroy ourselves (356-357).

5. Prior to World War I planes had never been used in war.  In World War I aircraft were used primarily for surveillance and carrying supplies, although aerial combat did exist, it played less of a role than the ground forces. World War II however, brought aerial warfare to the forefront of both offensive and defensive tactics, beginning with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. With so many countries involved in the war, the field of aviation was pushed to its limits. Intercontinental flights became commonplace and the design of planes evolved to support these long flights. The fact that this kind of travel was possible opened the doorway to “total war”. Civil war and wars between two countries became a thing of the past, and people could sense these changes occurring. It could be predicted that if one country had a problem, other countries would get involved. The allegiances that were formed across the globe required the transport of people and materials both during and after the war.  Countries needed supplies that could no longer be purchased from the opposition. The military began making these intercontinental flights on a regular schedule, and thus, the transition into international air commerce was made (400-401).

8. Between 1938 and 1944 the United States increased the number of military aircraft produced per year from 1.8 thousand to 96.3 thousand. It is no coincidence that these years bridge the span of WWII. Increases in the production of military aircraft can be seen in the other major war powers, but none as drastic at what occurred in America. America had always been known to produce the best planes, but did not produce many. Despite the isolationist position that the U.S. government took during the early war years, it is evident that they continued to prepare a very good defense. However, the future of aviation depended on the income from military planes, which sold for twice as much as civil aircraft. Other countries already involved in WWII were spending money on their own ventures rather than purchasing from the U.S. In 1938, just after the Munich conference, President Roosevelt established a preparedness program that included a strong air force. Roosevelt clearly sought to maintain a good relationship with France and Britain by allowing them to insect and fly American aircraft. This special treatment resulted in both countries purchasing aircraft for enormous sums. The wages from their expenditures thrust the United States’ aviation industry into an economic boom. This provided jobs and allowed women to enter the workforce in large number, in order to meet demand. These factories required space that only support from the federal government could obtain. Two of these programs were the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and the Defense Plant Corporation. The facilities and reputation that came about as a result of WWII paved the way for the future of aerospace and defense in America (429-433).