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Missing in MiG Alley

Classroom Activity

Learning Objective | Materials | Background | Procedure | Activity Answer | Links & Books | Standards  Print this Teacher's Guide (PDF, 9 pages)

Activity Summary
Students research technological advances, tactical strategies, and roles aircraft have played in the United States' five major international conflicts of the 20^th century.

Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:

• search for and locate information related to wars of the 20^th century.

• report on technological advances and tactical strategies used in wars of the 20^th century.

• copy of the "Historian Fact Sheet" student handout
  (PDF or HTML)

Part I

• copy of the "The Changing Face of War" student handout
  (PDF or HTML)
• sheets of white drawing paper
• white poster paper
• assorted colored pencils, pens, and markers
• glue sticks or tape
• access to print and Internet resources

Background
During the 20^th century, the United States was involved in five major international conflicts (not including the Cold War): World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam Conflict, and the Persian Gulf War. The outcome of each one of those wars depended on a number of factors, including the combatants involved, the number of armed forces engaged, the technologies employed, the campaign strategies applied, and the politics and policies of the time.

In this activity, students explore the details of each war and consider how changing technology has impacted how wars have been fought over time.

1. Organize students into five teams, one for each of the wars listed below:

   • World War I
   • World War II
   • Korean War
   • Vietnam Conflict
   • Persian Gulf War

2. Distribute the student handout and other materials (cut up the teacher handout that lists the statistics for each war and provide each group with the statistics for its war). Review the student handout with the class and explain the roles for the completion of the classroom project. Assign or have team members choose roles.

3. Have students conduct research in each of their assigned roles: historian, technologist, airplane specialist, and operational methods specialist. Each team member should create a poster containing research learned about his or her role for the war he or she has been assigned.

4. Have each team member present a poster about his or her role, either presenting by role across the five wars or having each role presented for one war before moving onto the next war.

5. After all teams have presented, have a class discussion to compare and contrast technologies across all of the wars and to consider the impact technology has had on how wars are fought. What were the most striking technological developments? How did these changes affect tactical strategies? What technologies helped cut down on human casualties? How has the role of aircraft changed over the course of the five wars?

6. As an extension, have students research and create posters on everyday technologies that resulted from technological innovations that occurred during wartime.

Historians
Students will create bar charts using supplied statistics, and provide basic facts about each war.

Technologists
The following is a partial list of major technologies introduced or refined by each war:

• World War I: aircraft (used mainly for reconnaissance and to adjust artillery fire), heavy artillery, poison gas (i.e., phosgene and mustard), submarine warfare, battlefield tanks, field telephone and radio

• World War II: combat aircraft (used in strategic bombing of targets), transport aircraft, airborne warfare (paratroopers, gliders, and aircraft carriers), mechanized warfare (armored and mechanized divisions on suitable terrain), nuclear weapons, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles (V-1 and V-2), radar, sonar, electronic computers (most importantly for code breaking), antibiotics, napalm, radios and movies (for public information and propaganda)

• Korean War: helicopters (for casualty evacuation and combat rescue), jet aircraft

• Vietnam Conflict: helicopters, guided missiles, bio-chemical warfare (Agent Orange), television (for public information and propaganda)

• Persian Gulf War: smart bombs, global positioning system, stealth aircraft, satellite communications

Airplane Specialists
Soon after the beginning of the 20^th century, many nations used aircraft for reconnaissance. The technical advancement generated by World War I led to the development of specialized reconnaissance aircraft, and later fighters and bombers. World War II witnessed the development of strategic bombing and of the earliest jet fighters. The Korean War pitted American and Soviet pilots in history's first jet-vs.-jet war, while helicopters were deployed to evacuate the wounded and rescue downed pilots. During the Vietnam Conflict, aerial bombing was used to put diplomatic pressure on the enemy, to interdict the flow of supplies, and to provide close support to ground troops. In the first Persian Gulf War, fighters (especially the stealth fighter) were used as first-strike weapons before ground troops entered the combat zone. This strategy sought to break Iraqi resistance before infantry invaded.

Over time, as aircraft attained higher speeds and armament proved more powerful, aerial engagements rapidly changed from close-in dogfights to long-range missile duels. The advent of computer-guided missiles in the 1950s allowed pilots to be more selective in their targets. Modern laser-guided bombs use the accuracy of the global positioning system to guide weapons to within a few feet of their targets.

The introduction of radar bombing systems during World War II made night bombing more accurate, and steady improvements in the 1950s and 1960s permitted precision radar bombing. The introduction of radar and infrared guided air-to-air missiles in the 1960s allowed for long-range missile engagements. At the same time, the adoption of laser- and television-guided bombs permitted unprecedented bombing accuracy. With the advent of guidance systems using remote inputs from global positioning system satellites in the 1990s, this accuracy could be achieved without visual contact with the target. The following table lists some of the airplanes used in each war.

* Dates indicate initial year of service for aircraft.

Operational Methods

Web Sites

NOVA—Missing in MiG Alley
www.pbs.org/nova/warplanes
Learn about G forces, find out how the United States looks for missing war personnel, compare the MiG and Sabre, and outfit a fighter pilot in this companion Web site.

American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics
www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32492.pdf
Presents a comprehensive list of military personnel serving in, and casualties reported for, major wars and selected military operations waged by the United States.

History of Warplanes
Techcenter.Davidson.kiz.nc.us/fall03/1stgroup/index.htm
Outlines the planes used in major conflicts, with photos, statistics, and time lines.

Statistical Summary: America's Major Wars
www.cwc.lsu.edu/cwc/other/stats/warcost.htm
Compares the vital statistics of all major American conflicts, including number of troops, casualties, and financial costs.

Wars & World History-Homework Center-Multnomah County Library
www.multcolib.org/homework/warwldhc.html
Offers a search portal on wars and world history, with information on technology, statistics, and time lines.

Books

Air Power in the Age of Total War
by John Buckley. Indiana University Press, 1999.
Analyzes the changing military role of air power in the 20th century and examines the impact of World War I, the theories and planning in the interwar period, the air arms race, World War II in Europe and the Far East, and the post-war period.

MiG Alley: Sabres vs. MiGs over Korea
by Warren E. Thompson and David R. McLaren. Speciality Press, 2002.
Includes several in-depth interviews with F-86 pilots, who explain their tactics and the details of air combat against MiG pilots.

Sabres over MiG Alley
by Kenneth P. Werrell. Naval Institute Press, 2005.
Provides a comprehensive analysis of the F-86 and how UN pilots, initially outnumbered, redefined aerial strategies and won a decisive victory.

The "The Changing Face of War" activity aligns with the following National Science Education Standards (see books.nap.edu/html/nses).

Grades 5-8
Science and Technology
• Abilities of technological design

Grades 9-12
Science and Technology
• Abilities of technological design

Classroom Activity Author

Steven Branting has served as a consultant for gifted and innovative programs in Lewiston, Idaho, public schools for more than 30 years. Branting and his students have won international awards for their work in physics, engineering, geographic information systems, and historical preservation.