science and technology

The number of cars in Canada's road increased greatly during the 1920's. in 1920, only 407 064 vehicles were enlisted in Canada. By 1930, this number had more than tripled, to 1 239 889.

Passenger air travel became more common in the 1930's. In 1937, the federal government created Trans-Canada Airlines - now Air Canada- provide national passenger service.

Machine guns: At first, the machine guns used in the war were so heavy that they could not move easily. But advances in machine gun technology produced weapons that were lighter and more portable.

Chemical weapons: Many poison gases were used for the first time in world war 1. Chlorine gas was one of the most deadly. It burned eyes and lungs, causing victims to choke, gag, and suffocate to death. Though the Germans were the first to use chlorine gas, both side launched attacks during war. As a result, both sides equipped their troops with gas masks.

Tanks: Tanks developed form the same technology as bulldozers and tractors. Tanks were designed to cross trenches and plow through barbed wire and other obstacles. Their metal armor protected them from machine-guns fire and shrapnel, the pieces of metal that spray in all directions when artillery shells explode.

Airplanes: At first, airplanes were used only for reconnaissance: to gather information about what the enemy was doing. Pilots might, for example, fly over enemy trenches to take pictures. These early planes carried no weapons - no guns or bombs. By the end of the war, airplane technology had improved tremendously. Special fighter aircraft, such as the British Sopwith and the German Fokker, had been designed to shoot down enemy planes. Other planes were developed specially to carry bombs.

Submarines: The allies used the convoys system to try to protect their ship from U-boats. But they also created a new kind of ship, an anti-submarine destroyer. Destroyers were speedy ships that carried special equipment that could find submarines underwater. Once a submarine was found, a destroyer would drop a depth charge - a bomb that exploded underwater- on it.

Telephones: Telephones played a major role in military communications. Suddenly, commanders could pick up a field telephone, talk directly to officers on the battle lines, and give oral orders immediately.

Radios: During the war, radio communication became important, especially on ships. Transmitting and receiving stations were set up at strategic points on land so the messages could pass from station to station along a network.

Uranium is an essential part of atom bombs - and the only reliable source of uranium was at Port Radium, on Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories. Uranium mined there was transported to a refinery in Port Hope, Ontario. As a result, Canadian scientists were part of the secret development of the atom bomb. A research laboratory was set up near Chalk River, Ontario.

In 1939, British scientists created a radar system that was small, powerful, and portable. This advance enabled Allies to build bigger and better land-based radar stations and to equip ships, planes, and trucks with radar.