4 Military Hardware: Jet Engines and Radar
William Young
4.1 Introduction
Keywords
- Radar – a system for detecting the presence, direction, distance, and speed of aircraft, ships, and other objects, by sending out pulses of high-frequency electromagnetic waves that are reflected off the object back to the source.
- Jet Engine- an engine using jet propulsion for forward thrust, mainly used for aircraft.
- Silent Generation- the generation of people born before that of the baby boomers (roughly from the mid 1920s to the mid 1940s), perceived to tend towards conformism or restraint in their outlook and behavior.
Learning Objectives
- Reader should be able to understand more about the technologies used in the military during the Silent Generation
- Will be able to understand the creation of military technology during this time period and what the use of these technologies were
- The affects that the technologies had on the people during this time period
The time of the Silent Generation ranged from 1928-1945 and has had a big impact on today’s society. During the Silent Generation there were many different advancements in the technology used throughout the generation. During this time there were many advancements with technology involving military equipment. The time of the silent generation was during some of the most difficult times for people including the Great Depression and World War II. Growing up and living through these times would be very tough and people knew there needed to be advancements to eventually get out of these times alive. All the technology played a big role in getting through these times and with the military being very involved, the technology they used was very important.
Some of the technologies that were included in the military were things like radar, jet powered engines, and rifles. The technologies during this time don’t just narrow down to those three but those are some of the biggest of the silent generation. For years prior there was a lot of research and funding put into these technologies, but they did not become popular until the Silent Generation.
4.2 Specific Technology Used
Key Takeaway(s)
In this section we are going to go more in depth on what specific military hardware there was during the Silent Generation.
4.2.1 Specific military hardware during the silent generation
During the Silent Generation there was specific hardware that the military used that had never been seen or used before. Radar was one of the most famous military devices that became popular during the Silent Generation, the radar helped them track people and things like they had never been able to before. The idea behind is to be able to track or detect anybody that would be around them and be prepared for what they were going to face. The use of this radar in planes and in other situations made it very easy to find the enemy and protect themselves. As of now, there has been much improvement in radar devices and all the things that they can do with it, but, during this time, it was a very big step in the right direction for technology used by the military.
Radar was not the only highly used technology during the Silent Generation, but it was also known as the “Jet Age” for the invention of the jet engine. Everyone at the time had heard of the Wright brothers, who wanted to be able to travel places by air. Years before the Silent Generation, everyone was trying to make history and fly as far as possible around the world. They originally would use one engine and then it increased to two and as time went on the idea of the jet engine continued to improve. With all the improvements of the jet engine, during the time frame of the Silent Generation, the U.S. military began to take advantage of this technology and began to travel by air rather than just land or water. The idea of technology like this was brought about way before the time of the Silent Generation, but during this period they used this technology in many ways to benefit a large amount of people.
“French Factories Make British Jet Engines” by The U.S. National Archives is in the Public Domain
4.3 History of the Technologies
Key Takeaways
Technologies like the ones that were used by the military during the Silent Generation weren’t just made overnight but had to be fine-tuned for many years before they were able to be utilized. The technologies, like radar and jet engines, had been around for years but during the Silent Generation people began using them in ways which nobody had thought of before.
4.3.1 The History of the Radar and Jet Engines
The idea of having something that could track anybody that would try to attack your military was something many didn’t think about during this generation. But, in 1935, the first radar system was produced by Sir Robert Watson-Watt and this device took off after it was created. The first radar device was used on the coast and the main reason for it being there was to track people moving toward them, by air or sea. Not only did this make it way easier for the military to be aware of where the enemy was and how far away they were, but it also helped people feel safer because of this knowledge. Originally the idea of a radar seemed to be ridiculous and something that would waste money, but, as time went on, the technology behind it advanced and the radar became more popular. In today’s time we see things involving radar technologies everyday, like weather, but when it first came out it was used only by the military for its benefits in that area.
“US Radar Navy Equipment” by National Museum of the U.S. Navy is in the Public Domain
The creation of the jet engine was in the making for many years, starting with the Wright brothers, trying to make a device so they could fly. Once they found out the right technology and mechanisms needed to fly in the air, the idea of travel by air became more popular. The first ever jet engine was created years after the Wright brothers had the technology of being able to fly. In 1941, the first ever jet engine was designed and was performed in a flight test. After many years of creating this technology, it was finally used by the military during the Silent Generation. The idea behind being able to travel in the air rather than on the ground was incredible and a lot of people were on board with how much it could help people everywhere. At first the jet engine was not too great and had many flaws, but, after the first ever jet engine, people started to discover more and more technology to improve it and how to use it to help the military.
4.4 The Impact of These Technologies on the Social Generation
Key Takeaways
4.4.1 Intended Consequences
During this generation, people went through bad times, including the Great Depression and wars. The people of this generation were known as the Silent Generation, because they kept their heads down and worked hard without boasting about their accomplishments. All the technology throughout this time with the military were strictly meant to help everyone and they seemed to do so. The things that came about because of the jet engine and the radar helped out not only the military but the community in general. These inventions were created to make everyday life easier for everyone that used these them and helped develop a purpose for the generation. Of course, the creation of these things was not initially perfect, but having this technology helped a lot of people within the military. The technologies created during this time seemed to outweigh all the bad during this time period.
“Government Press Office” by Government Press Office is licensed CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
4.4.2 Unintended Consequences
The Silent Generation was negatively affected in some ways by the technologies that came about during this time. The people of did not know what the impact of the radar and jet engine were going to have whenever they first started using the technology and it shows. When technologies like these started to come out, they were not convinced of their effectiveness or advantages. Many feared others being able to use it against them, because of the power of these technologies, and were not sure if the technology would really help everyone in the long run; many were skeptical and wanted to change the technology back to what they knew and already liked.. There were many times that, when using this technology, it was not successful and got people hurt or even killed. This idea of people being able to see others from miles away from radar and people being able to fly across the world in a short period of time for them was very overwhelming.
4.5 How Technology Evolved and How it is Still Useful Today
4.5.1 Improvement of Military Technology Since the Silent Generation.
The technology that was created during the Silent Generation and was used in the military has been improved multiple times throughout history. The two main technologies that were used during this time were radar and the jet engine. When the technology first came about the radar was useful but not anywhere close to what it is today. Throughout history radar kept improving and now people use radar for a lot more than they think. It was originally created for the military so that they can find enemies and improve their ways of fighting in war but that is not all its used for today. There have been great improvements for our military and many different types of it for different situations. In today’s generation we use this technology to find out what the weather is, and law enforcement also uses it to track how fast someone is going while driving. It is incredible how much technology can change over time and the uses that can come about from it.
When it comes to the other technology that was very big during this time, like the jet engine, we can see so much improvement throughout the years. When jet engines were first becoming popular during the Silent Generation, people were surprised to see that they could fly even halfway across the world without it failing on them. Over the years more people would try to fly further and see just how far they could get before something went wrong. Nowadays, people don’t really think about these things, like if their plane can make it all the way to their destination, when they board. To go from only having a couple of planes during the Silent Generation to having millions of planes fly everyday across the world today just shows how much technology has improved over time and the advancements that have been made. Being able to hop on a plane and fly wherever you want whenever you want was something people never would have dreamed of when they were first developing and using the plane. The use of this technology today would have never been come about if it wasn’t for the hard work put in by people of the Silent Generation.
Technology’s effect on life or death
The effects of the technology during the Silent Generation was seen by many people and some believed it kept them alive. The idea of having radar to see when enemies were coming in the air or by land was something that kept many people alive during this time. Around the time of 1935-1940 many people believed that they needed to have radar signals to see when planes were coming so that they could be prepared for the enemy and survive through what was coming their way. The advancement during this time was also something that affected all the people within these communities by allowing them more time to be prepared and knowing which direction to expect people from. The thought of not knowing when a plane was coming was terrifying, so they also used it in their favor when fighting other people. They were also able to fly and sneak up on others that did not have advanced radar systems, which made it easier for them to attack somebody.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter, we talked a lot about how military technologies affected the people during the Silent Generation and how they how they were advanced and still used around the world today. The idea of having to create a technology from scratch is something that is hard to comprehend and, during this time, they did it with a lot less resources than people have today. The ultimate impact of technology like the Jet Engine and RJet engineadar normalized for use in today’s world but hard to come by during the Silent Generation. Not only are people affected in many ways by these technologies, but many would claim they would not be alive if it wasn’t for some of the development of these technologies. This chapter should make you think of the development of technology that we now use in our daily lives daily and how it has advanced to make our lives easier.
Review Questions
1. When was the Silent Generation?
-
- 1946-1964
- 1928-1945
- 1965-1980
- 1900-1927
2. What were the two main technologies that were big during this time with the military?
-
- Cell phones and the internet
- The microscope
- Jet engine and radar
- The radio
3. When was the first jet engine tested out?
-
- 1938
- 1945
- 1940
- 1941
Answers:
-
- 1928-1945
- Jet engines and radar
- 1941
Food For Thought
- Have you ever thought about how technology has affected you in your lifetime? If so, how do you think it would be different without the technology you have?
- Do you think the people during the Silent Generation reacted the same way that we react to hearing about new developments of technology? Why?
References
History of Radar, https://training.weather.gov/nwstc/NEXRAD/RADAR/Section1-1.html.
Marshall, Michael. “Timeline: Weapons Technology.” New Scientist, New Scientist, 12 Mar. 2019, https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17423-timeline-weapons-technology/.
Intriago, Joy. “The Silent Generation – They Kept Heads down, Transformed the World.” Seasons, 31 Mar. 2022, https://www.seasons.com/silent-generation-kept-heads-transformed-world/2492134/.
“The Jet Age.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/technology/history-of-flight/The-jet-age.
Kagan, Julia. “The Greatest Generation: Definition and Characteristics.” Investopedia, Investopedia, 3 Nov. 2022, https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/the_greatest_generation.asp.
Silent Generation / Traditionalists (Born before 1946). https://extension.missouri.edu/extcouncil/documents/ecyl/meet-the-generations.pdf.
“The Development of Jet Engines .” Science and Its Times: Understanding the Social Significance of Scientific Discovery. . Encyclopedia.com. 16 Nov. 2022 <https://www.encyclopedia.com>.
Williams, Yolanda. “The Silent Generation: Definition, Characteristics, and Facts.” Study.com | Take Online Courses. Earn College Credit. Research Schools, Degrees & Careers, https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-silent-generation-definition-characteristics-facts.html.
a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet that generates thrust by jet propulsion.
