The 20th annual Symposium will be held on Thursday, April 23, 2009.

Bombs Away: The Military, Political, and Social History of the Airplane and the British and American Airmen Who Fought the Strategic Bombing Campaign in the Second World War
Norris 104, 9:15 AM

Hannah  Scheiwe,   '09 61
   Major: History
   Hometown: Indianapolis, IN

Sponsor(s): Geoffrey Cocks
Support: FURSCA-Jean Bengel Laughlin, '50 and Sheldon Laughlin Endowment for Student Research, William and Gloria Sebold Gift

Abstract: 
Few inventions change as much in a lifetime as the airplane has. From 1903 to 1945, a mere forty-two years, the airplane had evolved from a wooden structure covered with fabric that could barely hold a human being to a steel frame with a 141-foot wingspan capable of carrying not only a ten-man crew, but thousands of pounds of bombs. The airplane, and consequently the bombs dropped from it, has changed the way in which wars are fought. War serves as a catalyst for change; this is illustrated by the strategic bombing campaign in the Second World War. The common societal view towards the airplane, air doctrine, actual aerial policy and tactics, technology, air personnel experiences as well as civilian experiences must all be examined in order to come to a full knowledge of how change over time affected the war and the people fighting it.

The ultimate focus of my research has been to investigate the social history and overall experience of the airmen in the B-17, B-24, and B-29 bomber airplanes that flew over Europe and the Pacific from 1939 to 1945. Veterans’ stories can teach us vital lessons—history is not just a part of the past, but rather an integral part of the present and definitely has a major role in the future.

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