WW1 WEAPONS

Daniel southern and Pau Asensio

 Machine guns
How many rounds (bullets) could the early
machine gun fire per minute? How did this change
by the end of the war?

• At the start from 450-600

rounds

• Later from 500-1000 rounds

 Machine guns
A single machine gun was worth
how many rifles? Why?

• It can be worth from 60-100

rifles and this is because they
are more accurate, fire faster,
carry more rounds…
 Machine guns
How effective was the machine
gun as a defensive weapon?

• The machine gun was a

fearsome defensive weapon,
especially if placed correctly
to cover potential enemy
attacks
 Machine guns
What about as an offensive
weapon?

• The machine gun was very

useful to support attacks with
its rapid fire (250mph) and
high number rounds.
 Machine guns
What new machines were armed
with the machine gun?

• Grenades and lots of war artillery,

also essentially new weapons like
submarines, poison gas,
warplanes, tanks…
 The airplane
How long had planes been invented
before they were used in war?

• The first plane was invented in

1903 by the Wright siblings, it
was later first used in war in 1911
in the Italo-Turkish war.
 The airplane
What were airplanes first used
for? How about later on?

D u r i n g t h e F i r s t Wo r l d Wa r
aeroplanes were developed to carry
out specific functions like patrolling
the skies, later on they were used
to drop large bombs and carry out
bigger missions.
 The airplane
What were dogfights?

A dogfight is an aerial fight between

aircrafts. They first appeared in
World War 1. It is called a dogfight
due to it’s fast nature between the
two planes.
 The airplane
Who was the leading “ace” of the war?
How many “victories” did he have?

The leading ace was called Manfred

Von Richthofen also knows as “The
Red Baron”. He scored a whooping 80
“victories”.
Poison gas
What is poison gas and what were
its effects if used as a weapon?

It was called mustard gas, it

was introduced in 1917 and
i t ’s e ff e c t s w e re t h a t i s
polluted large areas and also
trenches.
 Poison gas
Who is commonly thought to be the
first to use gas? Who actually did?

It’s commonly thought to be

Fritz Haber in 1917 however it
turns out it was Frederick
Guthrie in 1860
Poison gas
What was the purpose of using
poison gas?

It reduced the enemy’s ability

to respond and saved lots of
lives offensively. Later on it’s
purpose was purely just killing
and choking.
Poison gas
Describe what mustard gas does
to the human body.

It causes the skin to burn and

blister everywhere. It irritates
the lungs causing coughing
and shortness of breath.
Poison gas
What methods could you use to
protect yourself?

Although gas masks protected

them their eyes and nose from
chemical gases, once in
contact with it, they treated it
with bleaching powder.
 Poison gas
Do you think poison gas an effective
weapon? Do you think is wrong to use
it? Why or why not?

It was definitely offensive in

offensive and defensive positions
to clear enemies. I think from my
point of view it’s wrong as many
people lost their lives however, if I
was in the war in their shoes I’d
just think whichever way to kill
opponents is useful.
Tank
Describe how and from what the
tank developed.

It developed in the marriage of

tractors and caterpillar tracks.
It developed in the interest of
many military officers.
Tank
What happened when the tanks were
first used in battle? How did people
feel about them?

Actually, the first time tanks

were ever used in battle they
failed. The managed to get 1
mile inside enemy territory,
however the could keep position
for long and ended up failing.
However, despite the failure,
general Douglas Haig saw a
potential and beloved in the
invention of the tank.
Tank
How did the tank finally have success
and what benefits did it provide?

The first advantage was that it

was new, so it was man vs
machine. Also, it was great for
attacking in a safe way, as it
was very powerful in attacking,
but also very resistent as you
were inside and were
protected.
Tank
Where did the name tank
come from?

The British tried to keep the

new weapon as a secret, so
they decided to call it tank.
They used it to make people
think in the water tank, when
they really speaking about an
actual tank.
Tank
Where did the name tank
come from?

The British tried to keep the

new weapon as a secret, so
they decided to call it tank.
They used it to make people
think in the water tank, when
they really speaking about an
actual tank.
Tank
How did the feelings about the tank
and its production numbers differ
from country to country?

A lot. The difference was

pretty noticeable between
countries. As obvious, richer
countries has way more tanks
than the one with less
resources.
The U-Boat
What is a U-boat? Describe
what it does...

The U-Boat was a submarine

operated by Germany. The U
stands for Unterseeboot which
means under the sea boat.
The U-Boat
What were the two primary
uses of the U-Boat in WWI?

Firstly, to block countries

economy and supplies. It’s
main weapon was the
dangerous torpedo. Secondly,
to starve Britain before the
British blockade defeated
Germany.
The U-Boat
How many U-boats did Germany
have at the beginning of WWI?

By 1914, they just had 20 U-

boats. By 1917 they had up to
140 U-boats
The U-Boat
How many U-boats did Germany
have at the beginning of WWI?

By 1914, they just had 20 U-

boats. By 1917 they had up to
140 U-boats
The U-Boat
How many tons of ships did the U-
boats sink between October 1916 and
January 1917?

They sunk up to 1.4 million

tons of ship and at one point
has sunken 40% of all ships
worldwide.
The U-Boat
What is unrestricted
submarine warfare?

It is a type of naval warfare

where submarines sink
m e rc h a n t s h i p s s u c h a s
freighters and tankers without
warning, as opposed to
attacks per prize rules.
Weird Weapons of WWI
Trench Club

This was just a wooden club with

metal nail in the tip. It was used in
the hand to hand combats. It was
a “renovated version” of the mace.

I find it interesting because having

in mind they were trying to
innovate in big scale with tanks
and firearms, they still decided to
make a “new “mace.
Weird Weapons of WWI
The bayonet

The bayonet was once again one of

those simple but very effective
weapons. It si ply consisted of a
knife/sword placed at the tip os rifles.
This made the rifle also effective in
short distance, as you could strap
people about 7/8 ft from you.

Same reason as before, I think it’s

very curious how such a simple
change can make the same weapon
much more powerful and effective.
Weird Weapons of WWI
Poison gas

This consisted of toxic poison gas

which was put into bottles. The way
people used it was by throwing it into
enemy troops. That way, enemies
could do anything, as they were
forced to breathe it.

I find very curious how they managed

to make weapons out of nowhere
with no technology.