10 Air Attacks That Shook the World
History
Tue
10 Air Attacks that Shook the World
147Comments
Share
August 16, 2011
by Subhayan Mukerjee
Maintaining air superiority has been one of the cornerstones of every major war that has waged ever since the invention of the airplane; be it the classic World War I dog fights or the atomic bombings in 1945 to the more recent usage of droids in America’s war on terror. However if it is organized missions and calculated air strikes that we’re talking about, then it mostly begins post World War I. This list picks up ten such military aircraft missions that were instrumental in shaping world history, and politics. “Air power may end war, or end civilization” – Winston Churchill, 1933
10
The Bombing of Guernica
Aircraft of note: Heinkel He-111 The only major conflict during the otherwise uneasy lull in Europe between the two World Wars was the Spanish Civil War. Of course, relentless wars (or rather, bickerings) for Independence had been raging (in several Asian countries) for decades, none had escalated to the status of a full blown war, save for this. This was a typical Civil war: One faction of the population (the Nationalists, led by General Francisco Franco) fighting another (the Republicans who were protecting the left wing government). And as with most civil wars, the neighboring countries saw in this, an opportunity to intervene, and rally their own forces. As a result the Soviet Union sprung to the aid of the Republicans providing them with Polikarpov fighters and the Tupolev SB-2 bomber. Italy, under Mussolini, supported Franco. The Nationalists, however had asked for help from a far more formidable ally, in the form of Germany. Germany, who were looking for an excuse to divert international attention away from its own military
rearmament jumped to their aid. It sent in nearly 19000 odd volunteers into Spain, mostly from its Luftwaffe, and they formed what was known as the Condor Legion. Despite their seemingly amateurish roots,
Tue
10 Air Attacks that Shook the World
147Comments
Share
August 16, 2011
by Subhayan Mukerjee
Maintaining air superiority has been one of the cornerstones of every major war that has waged ever since the invention of the airplane; be it the classic World War I dog fights or the atomic bombings in 1945 to the more recent usage of droids in America’s war on terror. However if it is organized missions and calculated air strikes that we’re talking about, then it mostly begins post World War I. This list picks up ten such military aircraft missions that were instrumental in shaping world history, and politics. “Air power may end war, or end civilization” – Winston Churchill, 1933
10
The Bombing of Guernica
Aircraft of note: Heinkel He-111 The only major conflict during the otherwise uneasy lull in Europe between the two World Wars was the Spanish Civil War. Of course, relentless wars (or rather, bickerings) for Independence had been raging (in several Asian countries) for decades, none had escalated to the status of a full blown war, save for this. This was a typical Civil war: One faction of the population (the Nationalists, led by General Francisco Franco) fighting another (the Republicans who were protecting the left wing government). And as with most civil wars, the neighboring countries saw in this, an opportunity to intervene, and rally their own forces. As a result the Soviet Union sprung to the aid of the Republicans providing them with Polikarpov fighters and the Tupolev SB-2 bomber. Italy, under Mussolini, supported Franco. The Nationalists, however had asked for help from a far more formidable ally, in the form of Germany. Germany, who were looking for an excuse to divert international attention away from its own military
rearmament jumped to their aid. It sent in nearly 19000 odd volunteers into Spain, mostly from its Luftwaffe, and they formed what was known as the Condor Legion. Despite their seemingly amateurish roots,