What came next was, of course, a global conflict, one in which modern mechanized technology played a larger role—the crossbow notwithstanding—than in any previous war in determining not only who won or lost but also how many causalities were inflicted. Despite all the energy that both sides put into their development, aircraft wound up being an almost negligible factor in the outcome of the First World War, dwarfed in importance by advances in firearms, artillery and chemical weapons.
But what the great aerial experiment did was drive a refinement of aircraft that might have taken decades without the pressure bearing down on developers. Over the course of several years, planes went from gracile, awkward and slow to much faster, stronger, well-armed and highly maneuverable. The war also allowed nations to understand better how aircraft needed to continue to advance if these new instruments of war were to become major factors in large-scale conflicts. For better or for worse, within 20 years, they had gotten it right, and aircraft would become not only a factor but a deciding factor in who won the next war.
Developed at the tail end of World War II, the Boeing B-29 combined pressurization, ultra-long-range design and great payload-carrying ability to change the tide of the war in the Pacific.
