Vision of Science & War in 1930's

A thing which plays crucial role in determining the outcome of World War II is "Technology". Much of it was developed during the interwar years of the 1920s and 1930s, some was developed in response to lessons learned during the war, and some was beginning to be developed as the war ended.The massive research and development demands of the war had a great impact on the scientific community. A vast array of technology was employed, as different nations and different units found themselves equipped with different levels of technology. Military technology developments spanned across all areas of industry.

It was during this world war that the scientist worked in the field of surveillance, remote sensing and radar engineering. By constructing complex pieces of electronic equipment that had to be small, rugged, and reliable, radar engineering also set the foundations for modern electronics, especially television. Radar signals could also be used for navigation, as a ship or airplane could measure its distance from several radar bacons to “triangulate” its position. A system for radar navigation, called LORAN (long-range navigation) was the precursor to today’s satellite-based GPS technology. Meteorologists are also using these advancements to predict the weather around the globe.

Yet the most profound impacts of science and mathematics on warfare may not have been any particular invention as much as ways of thinking, ways of being in the world. For centuries, warfare had been its own specialized skill, carried out by professional officers – men of training, discipline, and high prestige in most societies (as they still are today). By contrast, scientists were often seen as madmen, or at best isolated dabblers (think of the “mad scientist” figure that appears in so many old movies). However , today countries are working towards automating warfare. Wars would be fought by robots and machines , so that there no lives lost. And scientists are given the highest amount of respect in any R&D department and are no longer considered ‘ freaks’.

The French Army suffered from serious technical deficiencies with its tanks. In 1918, the Renault FT-17 tanks of France had been the most advanced in the world, although small, capable of far outperforming their slow and clumsy British, German, or American counterparts. However, this superiority resulted in tank development stagnating after World War I. By 1939, French tanks were virtually unchanged from 1918. French and British Generals believed that a future war with Germany would be fought under very similar conditions as those of 1914–1918. Both invested in thickly-armoured, heavily-armed vehicles designed to cross shell damaged ground and trenches under fire. At the same time the British also developed faster but lightly armoured Cruiser tanks to range behind the enemy lines.

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