Bomber

A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs.
*Strategic bombers are primarily designed for long-range strike missions against strategic targets such as supply bases, bridges, factories, and shipyards in order to damage an enemy's war effort. Examples: Avro Lancaster, B-17 Flying Fortress, B-52 Stratofortress, Tupolev Tu-16, Tupolev Tu-160, Gotha G.
*Tactical bombers are smaller aircraft that operate at shorter range, typically along with troops on the ground. This role is filled by many designs, including those listed below. In modern terms, any combat aircraft that is not a purpose-designed strategic bomber falls into this category.
*Ground attack aircraft (or "close air support" aircraft) are designed to loiter over a battlefield and attack tactical targets, such as tanks, troop concentrations, etc. Examples: Stuka, Il-2 Shturmovik, A-10 Warthog, Sukhoi Su-25.
*Fighter-bombers (also called tactical fighters, strike fighters, and attack fighters) are multi-role combat aircraft which can (at least theoretically) be equipped for either air-to-air combat or air-to-ground combat. Many fighter bombers were also designed to engage in aerial combat immediately after attacking ground targets. Modern multi-role combat aircraft are designed to fulfull multiple roles due to budget restrictions as often as they are for versatility. Examples: Chengdu J-10, Hawker Typhoon, Sukhoi Su-7, Republic F-105 Thunderchief, F/A-18 Hornet, and the Panavia Tornado.

A Tupolev Tu-160 bomber in flight

History

First and Second World Wars

Bombers evolved at the same time as the fighter aircraft at the start of the World War I. The first were just examples of fliers dropping simple bombs from their aircraft.

The Germans used Zeppelins as bombers since they had the range and capacity to carry a useful bomb load from Germany to England. With the advance in aircraft design and equipment, they were joined by larger multi-engined biplane aircraft on both sides for long range (strategic bombing) especially by night. The majority of bombing was still done by one-engined biplanes with one or two crew-members flying short distances to attack the enemy lines and immediate hinterland.

In the past, bombers were a separate type of aircraft, and often looked dramatically different from other aircraft as well. This was due largely to the lack of power in aircraft engines, meaning that to carry any reasonable warload, the aircraft had to have multiple engines. The result was a much larger aircraft, one with a reasonable useful load fraction for the role.

With engine power as a major limitation combined with the desire for accuracy and other operational factors, bomber designs tended to be tailored to one particular role. By the start of World War II this included
*dive bomber
*light bomber, medium bomber and heavy bomber
*torpedo bomber
*specialized ground attack designs

Bombers have carried armament for defence against enemy aircraft only. They are not intended nor designed to actively engage in combat with other aircraft. The majority have been relatively large and unmaneuverable - although some smaller designs have been used as the basis for specialist fighters such as the night-fighter. Attack aircraft are smaller, faster, and more agile, but when armed for a ground attack mission, less so than a fighter. Attack aircraft may carry air-to-air armament, but typically only for self-defense.

Cold War

At the start of the Cold War, bombers were the only means to take the nuclear weapons to the enemy and had the role of deterrence. With the advent of the guided missile, bombers had to turn to different ways to avoid interception. High speed and high altitude flying became a means of evading detection and attack. Some designs such as the English Electric Canberra could fly faster or higher than contemporary fighters. Surface to air missiles threatened high flying aircraft, and bombers moved to high speed low flying to get under air defences. Since the bombs were now "stand off" designs (effectively large guided missiles themselves) they did not have to climb over the targets to drop them but would have fired and turned away to escape the blast. Nuclear strike aircraft were generally finished in bare metal or "anti-flash" white to avoid any residual effects.

At the same time the need to drop conventional bombs remained in conflicts with a non-nuclear power such as the Vietnam war or Malayan Emergency.

The development of large strategic bombers stagnated in the later part of the Cold War because of spiraling costs and the advent of the intercontinental ballistic missile, which was felt to have equal deterrent value while being much more difficult to intercept. The United States Air Force XB-70 Valkyrie program was cancelled for that reason in the early 1960s, and the later B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit aircraft entered service only after protracted political and development problems. Their high cost meant that few were built and the 1950s-designed B-52s continued in use into the 21st century. Similarly, the Soviet Union used the intermediate-range Tupolev Tu-22M in the 1970s, but their Mach 3 bomber project came to naught. The Mach 2 Tupolev Tu-160 was built only in tiny numbers, leaving the earlier Tupolev Tu-16 and Tupolev Tu-95 heavy bombers of 1950s vintage to continue being used into the 21st century. Meanwhile, the British strategic bombing force largely came to an end with the phase-out of the V Bomber force (the last of which left service in 1983. The only other nation that fields a strategic bombing force at present is the People's Republic of China, which has a number of Chinese-built Tupolev Tu-16s.

Modern era

In modern air forces, the distinction between bombers, fighter-bombers, and attack aircraft has become blurred. Many attack aircraft, even ones that look like fighters, are optimized to drop bombs, with very little ability to engage in aerial combat. Indeed, the design qualities that make an effective low-level attack aircraft make for a distinctly inferior air superiority fighter, and vice versa. Conversely, many fighter aircraft, such as the F-16, are often used as 'bomb trucks,' despite being designed for aerial combat. Perhaps the one meaningful distinction at present is the question of range: a bomber is generally a long-range aircraft capable of striking targets deep within enemy territory, whereas fighter bombers and attack aircraft are limited to 'theater' missions in and around the immediate area of battlefield combat. Even that distinction is muddied by the availability of aerial refueling, which greatly increases the potential radius of combat operations.

Plans in the U.S. and Russia for successors to the current strategic bomber force remain only paper projects, and political and funding pressures suggest that they are likely to for the foreseeable future. In the U.S., current plans call for the existing USAF bomber fleet to remain in service until the mid-to-late 2020s, with no replacement in sight.

Bomber: Encyclopedia BETA

Contents

Bomber

History

First and Second World Wars

Cold War

Modern era

See also