Flying bomb
A
flying bomb is a small aircraft carrying a large explosive
warhead. In contrast to a
bomber aircraft, which is intended to release
bombs and then return to its base for re-use, a flying bomb crashes into its target and is therefore itself destroyed in its attack. The most famous example of a flying bomb is the
German V-1, many of which targeted
London in
1944.
Flying bombs may be powered or unpowered, piloted or unpiloted, although unpowered flying bombs such as the
German Hagelkorn ("Hailstone") and
Fritz X designed during
World War II are usually referred to as
glide bombs. Flying bombs differ from
missiles in that a flying bomb is equipped with
wings to provide
lift over a long distance, where missiles are launched on
ballistic trajectories and do not rely on lift to reach their targets.
The term flying bomb is most frequently associated with two specific
Second World War weapons, the German
V-1 and the
Japanese
Ohka. The former was unpiloted, the latter carried a pilot on a
kamikaze mission.
Perhaps because of these
Axis connotations, the term
cruise missile is more commonly used in English for modern munitions that might otherwise fit the definition of a flying bomb.
Civilian
airliners commandeered as
terrorist weapons intended to crash into targets, as in the
September 11 terrorist attacks, are frequently referred to as "flying bombs" in the media.
