Battleships and Battlecruisers These ships of the line were still considered the central components of the navies of all world powers at the start of the war, but by the war's end, these floating fortresses found their roles dramatically changed at the face of air power. |
With its industrial capabilities intact and far from the fighting, the United States held the luxury of building whatever aircraft type was needed for the war effort. In Europe, the American and British Air Forces continually bombed Nazi Germany. In the Pacific, the U.S. Navy slugged it out the with the Japanese. In 1944, they turned newly captured islands over to the army, and it began firebombing Japan.
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Over the course of the war, many important battles took place on land and at sea, but it is significant that many of the closing events of the war also depended on aircraft. Once the Allies began retaking territory in Europe, heavy bombers began to attack within Germany. By destroying much of its ability to produce fuel and munitions, bombers turned the tide on the German war effort.
Finally, the large bombers developed late in the war, such as the B-29 were huge craft capable of delivering atomic bombs nearly anywhere in the world. The U.S used a B-29 called the Enola Gay in its final airborne attack—dropping the atomic bomb on Japan. By the end of the war in 1945, fighters and bombers had been transformed into highly effective weapons systems. Today’s fighters and bombers use jet engines and remain central to military forces around the world. |