Ch+28+-+World+War+II+Science+and+Technology

=Chapter 28 - World War II Science and Technology=

World War II was a turning point for [|scientific and technological innovation]. The government spent over 100 million dollars throughout the war on research and development. The government also created the National Defense Research Committee which was headed by the MIT scientist Vannevar Bush. Bush helped in the development of the computer.

German and Japanese Advantages[[image:1.jpg width="203" height="142" align="right"]]
In the first few years of the war, the Germans and the Japanese had technological advantages. The Germans had advances in tanks and submarine technology. The [|German U-boats] were very successful in disrupting the Allied shipping. Japan had advantages in the naval-air technology. They had complex fighter planes that were successful in the attack on Pearl Harbor.

American and British Advantages[[image:2.jpg width="197" height="127" align="right"]]
The Allied Powers also had advantages. The Americans specialized in military production because of the techniques of mass production. The Americans produced more airplanes, ships, tanks, and other war supplies than anybody else. The Allied scientists and engineers were quick to improve the aviation and naval technology, to have more advanced weaponry than the enemy.

Radar and Sonar[[image:3.jpg width="160" height="162" align="right"]]
American and British scientists helped improve [|radar] and sonar technology, which helped the Allied Powers detect the advanced German U-boats. The new radar was minimized to be effective on airplanes and on submarines. The innovations in radar and sonar put the Allied Powers well ahead of the German and Japanese in radar technology.

Aviation
There were also major advances in [|airplane bombers]. The British and the Americans produced new

[[image:4.jpg width="220" height="131" align="right"]]
airplanes that were able to carry more weight, fly higher, and fly for a longer distance. This allowed the airplane bombers to conduct bombing missions over Germany and Japan. The Gee navigation system helped the airplane bombers. It used electronic pulses to help pilots plot their exact location of the target. The Oboe system also he led in the airplane bombing attacks. It was a radio device that sent a message to airplanes to tell them when they were within 20 yards of the their target.

Intelligence
World War II also showed advances in the techniques of gathering intelligence. The Germans used coded communication during the war, and it took several days to break the messages. Then the Polish intelligence developed an electro-mechanical computer it called the “Bombe.” “Bombe” was still slow at breaking the messages, so after the fall of Poland, the British took “Bombe” and improved it. The improved version broke German codes in a few hours. Near the end of the war, British scientists working for intelligence services were able to build the first real programmable, digital computer, [|Colossus II]. Colossus II was able to decipher many German messages instantly.

The United States also had important intelligence advances during the war. The American Magic operation was able to break Japanese coding system. The Americans had access to the intercepted information. If they read it properly, they massages would have alerted them to be ready for the Pearl Harbor attack.


 * Sources:**
 * [|American History: A Survey 12th Edition]
 * [|United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination]
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