WAR at SEA & in the AIR
People tend to think of the
WWI just taking place in
Europe on land, however
much was happening at
sea and in the air
WAR AT SEA
• At the beginning of WWI, Canada had 2
midsized warships
1) the Niobe
2) the Rainbow
HMCS NIOBE
• Armed with guns to fight other ships and covering the small
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boats alongside the HMCS Niobe was part of Canada's
response to Britain's request for naval support.
Niobe transfer from Britain as a training ship for Canada's new
navy
Sir Wilfrid Laurier's had plans for a fleet of locally-built cruisers
and destroyers under Canadian control.
The Liberals (Laurier) in 1910 established a distinct Naval
Service of Canada (Naval service bill)
The Conservatives (Robert Borden) preferred direct financial
support to Britain.
HMCS Rainbow
•When war was declared on 4 August, 1914, HMCS
Rainbow was already on its way to Mexico with orders to
seek and destroy a pair of armed and aggressive German
cruisers.
•Despite her lack of guns and armour, Rainbow was
expected to outface the heavier ships and big guns of the
enemy and escort the vulnerable British vessels safe back
to their base.
Canada’s Role
• By the end of the war, Canada had 112
warships (in many cases they refitted
yachts and other vessels)
• Canada’s main role –shipping troops and
supplies to Europe
– Merchant Marine carried weapons,
munitions, food, troops
Clarification on Mustard vs Chlorine
• Chlorine and Mustard gas are gaseous chemical
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compounds that are highly toxic to humans.
They were both used as weapons during the First World
War.
Chlorine gas was the first chemical weapon used in the
war at the Battle of Ypres. It was released from large
tanks and allowed to drift towards Allied positions.
Chlorine is heavier than air and thus stays close to ground
level, making it very effective in trench warfare.
Mustard gas was not commonly used in such a massive
release and was most often deployed via artillery
bombardment. Mustard gas blisters the lungs and other
exposed areas and is generally more lethal than chlorine.
Britain vs. Germany
• Main naval rivalry was between Germany
and Britain
• Germans used submarines (U-Boats) to
attack any ships heading to Britain
• Britain developed Q-ships to find and
destroy U-Boats (Unterseeboot) ~undersea
• Blockade of Germany meant Germans
were starving by 1915
Q ship- British
U boat- German
Germany’s retaliation
• Germany introduced “unrestricted
submarine warfare” which meant they
attacked ANY ship heading for Britain
– German U-Boat sank a passenger ship called
the Lusitania , a British luxury liner killing over
1000 people
• Ships started to travel in groups called
convoys to protect themselves
Convoys
• Sailing in
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fleets/convoys
meant that:
Supply ships
sailed with
escorts of
armed
Destroyers that
kept constant
watch.
Discussion Questions
• Was it fair that the German’s torpedoed
the Lusitania?
WAR in the AIR
• Fokker plane
• Designed by a Dutch
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airplane builder
Anthony Herman
Gerard Fokker
Used by the Germans
in WWI
• An air ace, a flying ace or fighter ace is a
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military aviator/pilot credited with shooting
down several enemy aircraft during aerial
combat.
The actual number of air victories required to
officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is
usually considered to be five or more
Canada had a group of Canadian flyers/fighter
pilots called the Black Flight
Average life expectancy of an air fighter was 11
days.
Battles between air fighters were called
dogfights.
Canada’s Air Aces
Billy Bishop
Above a picture of the Triplane that Collishaw
would have used – painted jet black. The
members of the Naval Squadron 10 also
named their planes, Black Maria, Black Roger,
Black Death, Black sheep and Black Prince.
Ray Collishaw
BILLY BISHOP
• Left Royal Military College in Kingston, ON when the war
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broke out in 1914 and joined Mississauga Horse Calvary
Unit, and the Mounted Infantry Unit in London, ON.
He showed natural ability with a gun and excelled on the
firing range. Some said he had “super-human” eyesight
– able to hit targets so far away that others only saw a
dot.
Bishop quickly became frustrated with the mud of the
trenches and the lack of action.
In July 1915, after watching an Royal Flying Corps (RFC)
aircraft return from a mission, Bishop said, "...it's clean
up there! I'll bet you don't get any mud or horsesh*t on
you up there. If you die, at least it would be a clean
death."
Billy Bishop
• Shot down 5 enemies in a month from March 17–
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April 8,1917.
Painted the nose of his aircraft blue (the mark of an
ace) to celebrate
Became known to the Germans as “Hell’s
Handmaiden”
Bounty was placed on his head
Won a Military Cross for claiming 12 enemies in the
month of April alone
Mechanic counted 210 bullet holes in his plane after
one of his patrols
Won a Distinguished Service Order for shooting down
two enemy aircraft while being attacked by four
others
Also won a Victory Cross for his attack on the
German aerodrome in June 1917
Germany’s Red Baron
•He was a German fighter pilot with the
Imperial German Army Air Service during
WWI.
•considered the ace-of-aces of that war
as he was officially credited with 80 air
combat victories victories, more than any
other pilot.
Manfred von Richthofen •There
are many stories and theories
about the red baron’s death, but
Canadian novice pilot Wilfrid “Wop” May
and Roy Brown essentially took him
down together.