Scientific and Technological Advances of World War II

The necessity to achieve victory in war has been a prime driver of advancements in science and technology throughout human history. Numerous innovations have developed out of conflict; oftentimes, these innovations were among the factors that ultimately decided the outcome of the war. The scientific and technological advances of World War II (1939–1945) were no different. The technological innovations developed during the war not only led to victory for the Allied forces, but helped shape the face of the modern world. Chief among these was the creation of the atomic bomb, an invention that introduced a terrifying new weapon to warfare and dominated the world’s political landscape for decades. World War II also saw the beginning of the human quest for space, the introduction of radar technology, and new ways to cure illness. On a smaller scale, it also led to the invention of such everyday items as the microwave oven, super glue, and even duct tape.

Background

Innovation has been a part of warfare for many thousands of years. In ancient Mesopotamia—a region encompassing modern-day Iraq, Kuwait, and parts of Syria and Iran—the two-wheeled, horse-drawn chariot gave armies a tactical advantage over enemies who fought on foot. The invention of the iron sword not only gave warriors a stronger weapon, it also led to more rapid manufacturing because it could be made much quicker than the bronze sword. During the Middle Ages, the increased use of the longbow gave archers a deadlier weapon that was able to hit targets at a longer range.

In relatively modern times, the North gained a communications advantage during the Civil War (1861–1865) by using the telegraph, an invention that had been around for years. The mobile tank was invented during World War I (1914–1918) using technology based on the caterpillar track common in farm tractors. The war also led to developments in everyday items such as the zipper, wristwatches, and Kleenex tissues. Even in the late twentieth century, technology such as the internet was developed from a US Department of Defense project called ARPANET. The project was a Cold War-era attempt to link different computers together to ensure communication in case of a nuclear attack.

Overview

Although World War II is considered to have begun on September 1, 1939, with the German invasion of Poland, signs of the growing conflict had been present for much of the 1930s. Germany had begun to defy international law by building up its military and taking control of Austria and border regions in Czechoslovakia. In the Pacific, Japan had invaded China in 1931, and by 1937, the two sides were engaged in a full-blown war. Prior to 1939, Great Britain hoped that Germany would be content with reestablishing itself as a power, and had no wider aims than retaking its former territory. Still, the British began preparing for the possibility of war. The United States initially had no intention of joining another global conflict and expressed a desire to stay out of war. However, it too began to prepare for that eventuality. In 1940, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the National Defense Research Committee to explore scientific contingencies connected to warfare. The nation began to provide aid and military supplies to the Allies in September 1940 and entered the war on December 8, 1941, the day after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

Manhattan Project

Without doubt, the major scientific advancement to come out of World War II was the creation of the atomic bomb and the eventual development of even more powerful nuclear technology. Research in unlocking the power of the atom had been ongoing for more than four decades prior to the war. Famed physicist Albert Einstein had proven that matter could be converted into incredible amounts of energy, and by the 1930s, scientists were working on a way to split the nucleus of an atom to release this energy. In 1938, German scientists succeeded in splitting a uranium atom in a process they called fission. It was not enough to produce a powerful bomb, but it was the first step in that process.

Simply splitting apart an atom is not enough to create an explosion. A nuclear explosion is only possible when fission creates a chain reaction in which free neutrons released from the splitting of one atomic nucleus strike another atomic nucleus, splitting that nucleus and releasing yet more neutrons, and so on. Afraid that German scientists would find a way to achieve a nuclear chain reaction first, President Roosevelt allocated $6,000 in 1940 to study the feasibility of creating an atomic weapon. The effort was named the Manhattan Project because much of the research took place in New York City at the US Army Corps of Engineers headquarters. A month after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt gave full approval to develop an atomic bomb.

In December 1942 physicist Enrico Fermi, a refugee from Italy working on the Manhattan Project, successfully created the first sustained nuclear chain reaction, proving that a bomb was possible. President Roosevelt threw the financial might of the United States into the project, allocating $500 million to create a bomb. Hundreds of thousands of people worked on the project at more than thirty sites scattered across the United States. The main research sites were in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, where scientists were trying to enrich uranium to make it capable of creating a bomb; Hanford, Washington, where scientists were trying to do the same to the element plutonium; and the weapons research laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, where the bomb would be developed.

Under the direction of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, US scientists successfully created and tested the world’s first atomic bomb by July 1945. The total cost of the project was $2 billion, a figure that would be close to $30 billion in 2021 money. In early August, the United States dropped two bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing more than 250,000 people. The atomic bombs did end the war—Japan announced its surrender just six days after the second bomb fell—but they also highlighted the destructive power of such weapons and began a decades-long nuclear arms race that continued to affect the world well into the twenty-first century.

Rocket Technology

The modern science of rocketry can be traced back to the first decade of the twentieth century when scientists began to investigate the use of liquid propellants to send rockets into the atmosphere. By 1937, German scientists were looking to use rocket technology to make a weapon that could carry explosives over long distances. The project was overseen by engineer Wernher von Braun from a facility in Peenemunde on the German Baltic Sea. By 1944, their work had created the V-2 rocket, a designation taken from the German word for “vengeance weapon.” The V-2 used liquid oxygen propulsion to give it a maximum range of 220 miles (354 kilometers) and a vertical range of 50 to 60 miles (80 to 97 kilometers)—the lowest fringe of outer space. The Germans launched more than 2,600 V-2 rockets in bombing campaigns against Great Britain, France, and Belgium in 1944 and 1945. Thousands of people were killed in V-2 attacks, including more than 2,700 in Great Britain alone.

After Germany lost the war, the nation’s rocket scientists were highly coveted by the approaching Allied armies. Von Braun and many of his colleagues were eventually captured by the Americans and taken to the United States. Through their collaboration with American scientists, the V-2 technology was adapted into US rocket designs leading to the creation of long-range ballistic missiles that could deliver a nuclear payload thousands of miles away. During the late 1950s and 1960s, von Braun’s work was instrumental in developing the Saturn V rocket that would eventually take American astronauts to the moon.

Antibiotics

In 1928, Scottish microbiologist Alexander Fleming discovered that a petri dish he accidentally left out over the weekend had mold growing on it. He was surprised to see that the Staphylococcus bacteria near the mold seemed to have stopped growing. From this simple accident he discovered penicillin, taken from the name of the mold culture, Penicillium notatum. Penicillin was the world’s first antibiotic and would go on to revolutionize medicine, but the discovery took a while to reach that potential.

At the onset of World War II, British military officials realized the potential of penicillin to treat battlefield infection, but they did not have the resources to create enough to be effective. In 1941, the British sought the help of US pharmaceutical companies to find a better way to mass produce the drug for use during war. Researchers discovered a method of deep-tank fermentation that could increase the amount of penicillin produced. They also found a more effective strain of penicillin by using mold found on an old cantaloupe. By 1942, the first US soldier’s life had been saved as a result of penicillin. By 1944, US drug companies were producing millions of doses of the drug for use on the frontlines and at home.

Radar and Microwave Ovens

During the 1920s, British scientist Robert Watson-Watt developed a system that used radio waves to track lightning discharges in thunderstorms. In the 1930s, as Germany began to gear up for war, Great Britain realized his system had enormous potential to detect incoming aircraft at a distance. The system, later dubbed radar—short for Radio Detection And Ranging—sent out short pulses of radio waves that reflected off of distant objects and back to the source. By 1940, Great Britain had built a number of radar stations on its Channel coast. These proved invaluable in warning the nation of incoming German planes during the Battle of Britain.

Looking to improve on the radar design, British scientists used an innovative device called a cavity magnetron that used microwaves instead of radio waves. The device passed electrons through a magnetic field that amplified the electromagnetic energy. Radio waves and microwaves are both forms of electromagnetic energy, but microwaves have a higher frequency and shorter wavelengths. This allowed for the creation of smaller and more powerful radar systems that could also be installed on aircraft. British pilots were able to use this more efficient radar to carry out night raids on German targets.

In 1946, American engineer Percy Spencer was conducting experiments on a cavity magnetron device when he noticed that a candy bar he had in his pocket had melted. He realized the microwaves emitted from the device had heated up the molecules in the candy bar. From this discovery, Spencer and his colleagues invented the first microwave oven, then called a radar range. The first radar ranges were large and very expensive. It would take almost two decades for engineers to create the smaller models that would grow to become household staples.

Other Innovations

Innovations during World War II were responsible for several world-changing discoveries, but they also created the inspiration for some smaller-scale technologies that continue to impact people’s lives in modern times. For example, in 1942, American chemist Harry Coover was working with chemicals known as cyanoacrylates in an attempt to make a clear plastic to improve the sights on soldiers’ weapons. However, the substance easily bonded with moisture and proved too sticky for its intended use. In 1951, Coover remembered his experiments with cyanoacrylates and developed a new use for the substance—super glue.

In 1943, Vesta Stoudt was doing her part for the war effort by working at an Illinois ammunition plant. Stoudt had two sons serving in the US Navy. As she was packing boxes with ammunition, she noticed that the boxes were sealed with paper tape and dipped in wax to make them waterproof. This could cause the paper tabs meant to open the boxes to tear off, which could leave soldiers under fire struggling to access the ammunition. Stoudt suggested creating a waterproof cloth tape that was both strong and easy to tear off. The plant supervisors rejected her idea, but she sent a letter to President Roosevelt outlining her invention and its potential uses. Impressed, Roosevelt sent her idea to the Department of War, which contracted with a private company to create the tape. Duct tape as it came to be called, soon became an indispensable, all-purpose tool for US soldiers, who used it to bind holes in their boots, repair vehicles, and even as a temporary bandage for wounds. It continues to be used in many ways in modern times.

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