Technological Change

• Allied and Axis powers had developed and improved on technologies to win the battle.

  Sea - better submarines and torpedoes were developed. Anti submarine technologies such as sonar and radar were developed, they scanned the ocean for threats. Aircraft carriers also controlled the seas, they were mobile air bases able to arm, deploy and repair aircraft.
• Land - Germany developed many Panzer tanks in defiance of the Treaty. The Allies developed dummy tanks to trick the Germans, as well as amphibious tanks that were able to cross water. Grenades, pistols, rifles and machine guns were refined. The Germans made the MG 42, a machine gun capable of firing 1200 rounds per minute.
• Air - the British Hurricane and Spitfire were powered by Rolls Royce engines. The American B-29 Superfortress was developed in 1942 as a long range bomber. Germany developed the first jet fighter, the Messerschmitt ME 262, in 1944. Germans also developed long range rockets, with the V1 capable of 400 km/h and the V2 of 5760 km/h.
• Atom bomb - as the US feared Germany would develop the atomic bomb before them, the began an intensive research program known as the Manhattan Project. They were tested in the desert of New Mexico. In 1945 the atomic bomb was used against Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing roughly 129000.
• Impact of new technologies:

  • Fighting could occur anywhere as these technologies were mobile, meaning fronts could move.
  • Population - while 7 million civilians and 10 million soldiers died in WWI, these technologies ramped up the death count of WWII, to 38-55 million civilians and 15-20 million soldiers. Many cities were destroyed, such as Coventry and Dresden.