I do believe that the outcome of World War II and the role of the United States would have been different. If aviation was not part of the war we would have been looking at another Great War just like World War I. The role of the United States would have been drastically different, we may not have even entered the war or we would have entered much later. The United States entered the war based off the actions of the Japanese that used planes. Germany would not have been able to obtain as much ground as quickly as they did with out planes. They would not have been able to reach Great Britain and bomb them as much. These are just some of the things that aviation impacted World War II
December 7th, 1941 the day that will live in infamy a day that hundreds of Japanese aircraft attacked Peal Harbor, Hawaii. The attack killed 2,400 Americans and wounded 1,000. Those were not just military members that includes civilians as well. December 8th, 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. Thus, bringing the United States into World War II and setting the course of history as we know it. Let’s imagine if this never happened. Japan wanted to destroy our Pacific Fleet so that they could conquer the Pacific. If they had no planes they would have had to send a massive fleet of ships to try to surprise us at Peal Harbor. I am not sure if you have ever been to Pearl Harbor, but it is a narrow entrance into the harbor. Also, I believe we would have spotted them before they got with in range to fire from the battle ships. Their shots would not have been as accurate allowing our fleet to intercept them. I do not believe the Japanese would have attempted this and we would not have been attacked.
The Luftwaffe or the German Air Force was a major advantage to the Germans during World War II. They played a principle role in the “Blitzkrieg” of almost all Western Europe, there was a perception that they were unstoppable. The Germans were making extraordinary advance in aircraft and weaponry. They were bombing as far as Great Britain putting a strain on them on their own land, causing tension between Great Britain and the United States. Great Britain wanted the United States to enter the war to assist. France and Poland had fallen, and Britain was next. They needed help and if the Japanese didn’t attack, how much longer was it going to be before we entered the war? After we the United States entered the war we used Great Britain as Air Force staging ground for a strategic bombing campaign. If this was not available for the United States to use, we would have had to send more troops by boat on D-Day. We used aircraft from Great Britain to soften the targets and provide air support for the troops on the ground. The amount of lives lost on Normandy would have increased sustainably in my opinion. The use of paratroopers was crucial in the early parts of the war to cut off supply lines and surround the German troops.
Without aviation I believe that the war would have taken a lot longer to resolve. It would have taken the United States weeks to transport all the troops over to Great Britain, that’s not including all the ammo, tanks and such. The Pacific campaign would have taken even longer, look how long it took for us to capture some of the island with air support. Aviation was crucial in World War II to me it made the war end quicker because of the versatility it allowed and being able to soften a target ahead of ground troops. The war would have been bloodier that World War I, the advances in technology would have continued and it would have been bloody. Imagine were we would be without the advances in aviation from World War II. If you think about it when you hear about World War II aviation you don’t hear about many of the countries air forces, you hear about United States, Germany and Japan. Those were the countries that made a difference in the air during the war. Without planes none of the countries could have done what they did easily.