Presentation Abstracts
World War One Historical Association and League of WWI Aviation Historians
2015 Collaboration Symposium
Jack Tunstall – Eastern Front 1915 (With an Eye on Aerial Ops)
Kelley Szany – In the Shadow of War: Armenian Genocide 1915-1918
The genocide of the Armenians by the Turkish government during World War I represented one of the first genocides of the 20th century; almost an entire nation was destroyed. The Armenian people were effectively eliminated from the homeland they had occupied for nearly 3000 years. This annihilation was premeditated and planned and to be carried out under the cover of war. Over one million Armenians died (estimated at 1.5 million) and their traditional homeland was depopulated. A homogenous Turkish state- one people, one language, one religion, was created by the extermination of the original Armenian inhabitants.
Jon Guttman – Through, Above, and Around: Arming the First Allied Fighters in 1915
Before the end of 1914, all combatants in World War I were taking the airplane seriously enough to seek control of the sky. After numerous encounters and experiments, 1915 saw the establishment of what became the definitive formula for an aerial weapon: a single-seater with a machine gun that could be aimed wherever the pilot pointed his plane. The problem of the year was how to do that without shooting off propeller off, which the Germans ultimately solved with mechanical interrupter gear and the Allies by several additional means, from wedge-shaped deflectors, raised gun mountings and repositioning the propeller behind the pilot.
Dick Church – The Kaiser’s U-Boats: Unrestricted Submarine Warfare, the Lusitania, and Will They Bring America into the War?
This presentation will cover U-Boat types and their missions in the War. The topics will include: the major attacks by U-boats; the Lusitania sinking and ramifications in 1915; prominent commanders of the Great War; anti-submarine efforts by the Allies; unrestricted submarine warfare; and the final defeat of the U-boats and their return in WWII.
Steve Suddaby – Aerial Bombing 1914-1915: Crossing the Rubicon with Baby Steps
Pre-WWI attitudes against the bombing of civilians had been completely discarded by the time of WW2, which featured the near-eradication of enemies’ cities from the air. This presentation shows, through the events of 1914-1915, how the European powers “crossed the Rubicon” from one set of attitudes to the other. Other themes that will be explored include:
- Immaturity of aviation technology;
- Experimental nature of bombing aviation in WWI;
- Evolution of air forces from general purpose to specialized units;
- Role of naval aviation in advancing aerial bombing.
John Mosier – Western Front 1915
Lance Bronnenkant – Early German Aces & the Interrupter Mechanism
“Early German Aces and the Interruptor Mechanism” presents the story of how the development of a practical method of allowing machine-gun bullets to be fired through the arc of a spinning propeller changed the face of aerial warfare forever. A certain group of German airmen helped this nascent technology evolve into such a lethal and effective weapon that the period that followed its debut became known as ‘The Fokker Scourge,’ which in turn caused a chain reaction that led to the birth of fighter aviation as we know it today. The stories of those pioneer aviators, supplemented by numerous period photographs, are told as well.
Paul Grasmehr – The Naval and Aviation Aspects of the Gallipoli Campaign: Expeditionary Warfare in a Time of Emerging Doctrine
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