What Weapons Shaped World War II

    The Treaty of Versailles, Aggression of Japan, Policy of Appeasement, and the Failure of the League of Nations are just some of the events that caused World War II. Known as one of the bloodiest and biggest wars in history, World War II consumed the lives of over 70,000,000 people across the world. From September 1st 1939 to September 2nd 1945, the war consumed continents and bodies of water, making nowhere a safe place. The war involved many countries that split into two groups called the Allies and the Axis. Britain, France, Russia, China, and the United States controlled the Allies while the Axis was controlled by Germany, Italy, and Japan. A chain reaction occurred when Hitler suddenly invaded Poland from the west in 1939. This Britain and France who had “vowed war if Poland was attacked by Germany,” (Ivy Kenneth Blecher, Causes of World War II) declare war on Germany no more than two days after the invasion. World War II was the deadliest military conflict in history. An estimated total 70-85 million people perished, which was about 3% of the 1940 world population. (Wikipedia, World War II Casualties) Twenty-one million of those casualties were suffered by Russia. The war caused many losses, but it also helped lead to wider acceptance of racial and gender equality. This war helped different minorities gain respect. As a result of this war the world gained the end of the German Third Reich, the United States and Russia became global superpowers, and the United Nations was founded.

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World War II would not have resulted in a positive outcome if it was not for the advancements in weaponry that we still use today. The Allied Powers won due to the advanced machinery and the courage and sense of purpose of th. The outcome of World War II was positively affected by new advancements in weapons, the expansion of the navy, and the invention of fighter planes.

   A way that the Allied Powers won World War II was from the advancement of new weapons. From machine guns to tanks to the atomic bomb, these weapons caused World War II to be one of the most technologically advanced wars in history. The atomic bomb was the most advanced weapon in World War II and was named “The Manhattan Project.” This bomb was created by the Manhattan Engineer District that was formed by the OSRD (Research and Development) in 1942. This district was led by the U.S. Army Colonel Leslie R. Groves. Facilities were set up around the world to work on this atomic bomb like in New Mexico, Tennessee, Washington, and Canada. There were many advancements in tanks and mobilized vehicles that helped the Allied Powers win the war. The tank, for instance, was invented in 1915 and was used in World War I, nicknamed “ Little Willie. ” Since Little Willie was slow and overheated quickly the armies decided to create faster and better quality tanks for wars to come. Catching the eye of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Billy Mitchell, considered the “Father of the United States Air Force”, helped the Allies learn the values of aircraft carriers. This helped the Allies win the war and so did the advancement of submarines. Since World War I people wanted to exceed the size of submarines for bigger and more destructive capabilities. In World War II that is exactly what they did. The ranges increased from 1,500 miles to 8,500 miles. Not to mention the depth changed from 100 feet to 700 feet. Submarines helped the war but also help the Navy advance in the years to come.

   The expansion of the navy is a major factor that helped the Allied Powers win World War II. Though the war was on many different continents it was also on many different bodies of water and some very important wars took place in bodies of water during World War II like the Battle of the Coral Sea. This battle occurred from May 4th to May 8th 1942 and was between the Imperial Japanese and the naval forces of the United States and Australia. That is just one of the many battles that took place in a body of water. Battle of the Philippines Sea, Battle off Samar, Battle of Cape Matapan, and Battle of Taranto are just some of the many battles that happened during World War II. 408 surface combats and 203 submarines with 3,261,723 navy officers and 481,311 marines helped protect the waters of the North and the Mediterranean Sea. The HMS Dreadnought was a battleship invented by the British Royal Navy which was created from the pressure of Admiral Sir John Fisher. After that creation over 20 more battleships were made and used in World War II. Each battle ship made was better than the last and kept exceeding the expectations of the opposing forces. World War I used many aircrafts but it was not until World War II that aircrafts became a very important role in a war. Fighter planes were used to claim superiority over a battlefield. Their job was to protect their side while trying to shoot down the opposer’s side. During World War II alone the United States manufactured over 276,000 aircrafts. Airplanes definitely helped progress World War II into an advanced technology war.

     The invention of airplanes helped the Allies win World War II and helped many wars that came to follow. In World War II an airplane called the “ Flying Fortress “ was one of the most deadliest planes in that war. This plane was made in the late 1930s and helped win World War II. Airplanes in World War II helped more than just the war. Before World War II there was the Great Depression that left people jobless and poor with no homes and no food to feed their families. Due to the building of airplanes, many people were hired to work on planes and help repair broken ones. Jobs for women even started to appear like the United States Marine Corps Women’s Reserve which was a marine branch for women that was created in 1942. This helped the economy rise by the work that was being given to people who were jobless and homeless. To create more jobs and to earn more money most companies changed from consumer goods to war materials. Workers were working on all kinds of machines from airplanes to submarines to even jets. The Me 262 was the Allies’ fastest jet in World War II. It was created in 1944 and designed to do light bombing, reconnaissance, and night fighting. Another fighting style used in World War II were done by planes and called “ Dogfights. “ Dogfights were a type of aerial combat between aircrafts in a short range of each other. The type of planes used had two seats in it with one in front to control the flying gears and one in the rear that controlled the machine guns to shoot at the opposing forces. Dogfighters were around in World War I but did not become popular until the Battle of Britain in World War II. Dogfights were used for a very long time, it was not until 1999 that the last Dogfighter was used in the Balkans conflict also known as the Kosovo War.

     From September 1st 1939 to September 2nd 1945 World War II consumed many lives of soldiers and citizens. The war involved many countries that split into two groups called the Allies and the Axis. Britain, France, Russia, China, and the United States controlled the Allies while the Axis was controlled by Germany, Italy, and Japan. The war would not have been a positive outcome if it was not for the advancements in weaponry that we still use today. The Allied Powers won due to the advanced machinery and courage the soldiers had. The outcome of World War II was positively affected by new advancements in weapons, the expansion of the navy, and the invention of fighter planes. From machine guns to tanks to the atomic bomb, these weapons caused World War II to be one of the most technologically advanced wars in history. World War II was known for having so many advanced weaponry being invented or being advanced to be used in later years. Another way the advancement of weaponry helped World War II was in the navy. The expansion of the navy is a major factor that helped the Allied Powers win World War II. Though the war was on many different continents it was also on many different bodies of water. The last way the advancement of weaponry helped World War II was with the invention of airplanes helped the Allies win World War II and helped many wars that came to follow. Through the destructiveness and losses in this war that caused suffrage and heartbreak, lots of good thing came out of the war as well. Women were able to work, the Great Depression was no longer an issue, and countries came together to fight for what was right. Without the advancement of weaponry in World War II none of this would have been able to happen.

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