After the mock period and and brief recovery period of catching up on homework, I have began to re-organise my efforts to complete my task. This week has been spent forming a loose plan for which to base my project around - a way in which I feel best allows me to focus on the extent that fighter aircraft have changed from their primitive use in World War 1 until their current, intrinsic use in the warfare of today. It is also notable that in each section there will be a profile on the key planes of the time period. The following is a loosely based plan on what each section of my report shall hopefully contain:
Section One : World War One - The Birth of the Fighter Aircraft.
A large section of my report shall be focused on detailing the basis on which the modern day fighter descends from. This section will be key in my conclusion where I plan to finalise my report by drawing up a conclusion to my question based on the knowledge of this section and that of my final section. Therefore, the following will be included:
- Background information on the origin of the fighter plane.
- Early problems and limitations of the fighter aircraft.
- Tactics employed by both the Allied and Axis forces.
- Examples of the training of pilots and how this can be seen in the training of today.
Section Two : World War Two - The Teenage years of Fighter Aircraft.
The section here, although the title is yet to be finalised, will provide still a very important role in helping to draw up my conclusion. It will also be useful to see what advancements in aircraft had been made in such little time - allowing us to place World War 2 on a kind of timeline of how developed Aircraft had become, ten being what we see today and 1 being the aircraft of World War 1. This timeline will allow me to track the progress of the development of aircraft through the years in my project - seeing in which era the real breakthrough to almost modern technology was made. therefore the following ideas will be included in this section:
- Remaining problems from World War 1.
- Problems that had been solved or reduced.
- Changes in how the tactics were applied by fighters.
- changes in the training of pilots.
- How the standard of aircraft changed within the War (Emergence of early jets).
- Link back to the question of 'To what extent has the role of aircraft developed?' in this scenario.
Section Three : Korean War (1950-1953) and the Vietnam War (1955-1975) - The Birth of Jet Aircraft/ The Birth of the Modern Fighter.
These two wars of useful in showing the next step on the rail road of evolution in terms of the development of fighter aircraft. In each war, both sides tested out the new 'Jet' aircraft and encountered problems with each as well as severe bonuses. The possibility remains of separating the two wars into separate sections depending on if further research reveals the there are severe differences in terms of tactics and aircraft between the two conflicts. This section will be including the total evolution of air combat from propeller driven planes into jet engined fighters, a real and distinct move to the types of aircraft seen today. Therefore the following section will include:
- Existing problems of aircraft.
- New Problems created by the rapid advancement in technology.
- The new stresses on the pilot (more G-Force) and how technology has helped to deal with it.
- How tactics changed to accommodate for such a drastic change in aircraft.
- How the pilots were trained in comparison to before.
- Again link back to the question, detailing on 'To what extent'.
Section Four : Recent and current disputes - The Aircraft of the Modern World.
For the moment this is to be my last section in my research part of the project. It will focus on recent and current disputes for example the use of aircraft in the Middle-Eastern conflicts and even more pressing matters - the role of aircraft in the wars of today, namely that against organisations such as ISIS. This will be an interesting chance to link in how the political use of Aircraft has developed since its first use in World War 1. Also it culminated the journey from the aircraft of World War 1 to the standard of fighter Aircraft that are flown today, therefore summing up the question of 'To what extent have fighter aircraft changed?'. Therefore, this final, concluding section shall include the following:
- Any remaining problems of aircraft today.
- Newly created problems for the pilots of the aircraft.
- How training accommodates for the new strains upon the pilot (including the more filtered number of people able to become pilots in comparison to before)
- How the tactics employed differ and if the role has changed.
- Save linking back to the question for my conclusion.
Conclusion - Then and Now.
This will be the final part overall of the whole project, being a summary and explanation/analysis of how aircraft differ from World War 1 and their use today in terms of technology, training and use in the battlefield. Here a clear summary of 'To what Extent have aircraft developed' should be witnessed and an answer reached.
Next Steps:
- From here it is all about having enough research done for each time period. My notes on World War 1 are almost complete as I took time over the Christmas holidays to compile a massive source of notes and information, therefore the next step is to finish my research on World War 2 Aircraft and start to look at the final two sections.
- In addition to this, myself and my Dad are planning on visiting local air museums, namely Duxford, in the coming weeks, most probably being during a free day of half term. This will allow me to talk to specialist in the history of Aviation and ask any pressing questions I may have.
- Begin to draft the first two sections of my project over half term, possibly starting the next two if I have enough time to source research and begin writing up - this being dependent on the amount of half-term homework I am set. This will reduce the burden of needing to write up my project at a more stressful time just before exams, thus ensuring I am able to meet the project deadline date.
Now Some Pictures:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/9922061650978807/
Taken from: Devian Art
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPR6kuoXFX3g8F_wr_lvMLXA0dc-a7xSGEdvJ-RylbW4VtmOG6rG6BYQjdKQ2cg5jgpFq8X760PUFVL9zhd_tTklR_8CFVc9J22LF_8ArKNllz6M5MN5_7mk4ILuLUi1gHCG_pITNtgrMc/s1600/work.6298984.1.flat%252C550x550%252C075%252Cf.ww2-p51-mustang-fighter-plane.jpg
http://pesawatn73.blogspot.co.uk/2011_10_01_archive.html
