Bomber class made for attacking ground targets with small bomb loads over short distances
A
light bomber
is a relatively small and fast type of
military
bomber
aircraft
that was primarily employed before the 1950s. Such
aircraft
would typically not carry more than one
ton
of
ordnance
.
The earliest light bombers were intended to drop their
bombs
in
level flight
over a target. During
World War I
some
air forces
began to distinguish
[
citation needed
]
between light bombers and the earliest purpose-built
attack aircraft
which carried out ground attack,
close air support
,
anti-shipping
and similar missions. After World War I, attack aircraft were typically identifiable by their ability to carry multiple fixed
machine guns
,
automatic cannons
and
rockets
in addition to
bombs
. Light bombers have often served as attack aircraft and vice versa.
Purpose-built light bombers disappeared from military aviation by the end of World War II, as advancements in
propulsion
and
aeronautical design
enabled newer attack/strike aircraft,
fighter-bombers
, and
multirole aircraft
types to deliver equal or greater
bomb
loads while also having superior performance,
range
and defensive capabilities. Modern aircraft carrying out similar missions include light
attack aircraft
,
strike fighters
, and
counter-insurgency aircraft
.
History
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]
Before 1914
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]
The first aircraft purposely designed for bombing missions were the
Italian
Caproni Ca 30
and
British
Bristol T.B.8
, both built in 1913.
[1]
The T.B.8 was a single
engine
biplane
built by the
Bristol Aeroplane Company
. It was fitted with a prismatic
bombsight
in the front
cockpit
and a cylindrical bomb carrier in the lower forward fuselage capable of carrying 12 x 10 lb (12 x 4.5 kg) bombs, which could be dropped individually or all together.
[2]
The T.B.8 was purchased for use both by the
Royal Naval Air Service
(RNAS) and the
Royal Flying Corps
(RFC).
World War I
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The
Eastbourne RNAS Squadron
, operating the T.B.3, carried out the first bombing attack of World War I: on 25 November 1914, under the command of
Charles Rumney Samson
, the squadron attacked coastal gun batteries operated by
German Empire
forces, at
Middelkerke
,
Belgium
.
[3]
[4]
Most bombers used on
World War I
battlefields were in fact light bombers: typically single-
engine
biplanes
with a bomb load of 50?400 kg. Two of the most famous were the
Airco DH.4
designed by
Geoffrey de Havilland
, and the
Breguet 14
designed by
Louis Breguet
. The same type often also served as
reconnaissance
aircraft; examples include the
Albatros C.III
,
Avro 504
,
DFW C.V
,
LVG C.II
,
Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8
,
Rumpler C.I
and
Voisin III
. The
Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2
was even modified as a pioneering
night fighter
in attempts to shoot down
German
Zeppelins
.
1918?1939
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]
By the early 1930s many
air forces
were seeking to replace their older
biplane
aircraft (for example, the
RAF
's
Hawker Hart
and
VVS
's
Polikarpov R-5
) with more modern and higher performance
monoplane
designs. Specialised light bomber designs were single-engine or twin-engine aircraft with a bomb load of about 500?1,000 kg. Typical single-engine light bombers of this era included the
Fairey Battle
,
Kawasaki Ki-32
(later known by the
Allied reporting name
"Mary"),
Mitsubishi Ki-30
("Ann"),
Mitsubishi Ki-51
("Sonia"),
PZL.23
Kara?
, and
Sukhoi Su-2
. Contemporaneous twin-engine light bombers included the
Bristol Blenheim
,
Douglas B-23 Dragon
,
Kawasaki Ki-48
("Lily"),
Martin Maryland
(also known as the A-22),
Lockheed Hudson
,
Tupolev SB
, and
Mitsubishi G3M
("Nell"). While the Mitsubishi G3M was classified by the Imperial Japanese Navy as a
medium bomber
, it was a land-based day bomber with bomb loads as small as 800 kg (1,800 lb) and had a secondary role as a
torpedo bomber
. Many of these aircraft were also used in other non-offensive roles, such as
reconnaissance
and
maritime patrol
.
A sub-type of light bomber also emerged in the 1930s, the
fast bomber
(German
Schnellbomber
), which prioritised speed as a self-defense measure; even the bomb load was minimised towards this design goal. Early examples were the
Bristol Blenheim
and
Dornier Do 17
(both introduced in 1937). A weakness of the fast bomber design concept was that improvements in the speed of bombers were, in most cases, quickly matched in subsequent fighter designs (which would additionally eclipse the
load
-carrying ability of light bomber aircraft within a few years).
World War II
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]
During the early stages of
World War II
, the above-mentioned designs of the late 1930s often saw considerable action. In some cases, they became the basis of newer, faster light bombers, such as the
Martin Baltimore
(
U.S.
designation A-23/A-30 developed from the Maryland), as well as medium bombers with more powerful engines and heavier
payloads
.
Twin-engine light bombers were successful when converted into
airborne radar
-equipped
night fighters
during World War II; examples include the
Bristol Blenheim
,
Douglas A-20 Havoc
(as the P-70), and
Dornier Do 17
. Light bombers were selected as a basis for night fighters during this time because early airborne radar systems, used to find and track targets in the dark, were bulky and often required a dedicated operator in the
crew
; most smaller day fighters of that era were unsuited to such extra weight and personnel. Conversely, the
Petlyakov Pe-3
, which had been designed as a night fighter, was often used a light bomber.
Many other aircraft which originally had been designed as fighters or other mission-specific bombers but fit the size, performance and
payload
requirements for the light bomber role would also be adapted to perform such missions during World War II. Most
dive bombers
, such as the
Junkers Ju 87
Stuka
and
Vultee Vengeance
were light bombers by definition, as these aircraft typically carried bomb loads of one ton or less. Likewise, many
torpedo bombers
were light bombers according to their size and warload and it was common for these aircraft to also be used for level bombing missions. The
Bristol Beaufort
,
Nakajima B5N
and
Grumman TBF Avenger
, while designed as torpedo bombers, saw some action purely in the light bomber role. Types designed before the war as
heavy fighters
were also frequently adapted as light bombers, including the
Messerschmitt Bf 110
,
Potez 633
,
Fokker G.I
,
Kawasaki Ki-45
,
Bristol Beaufighter
, and
Lockheed P-38 Lightning
.
Light attack aircraft such as the
Breda Ba.65
,
Ilyushin Il-2
?turmovik
,
Northrop A-17
, and
Vultee V-11
initially differed little in armament and operational role from light bombers. As World War II progressed, specialised attack designs became increasingly focused on low altitude
strafing
of surface targets, armed with
automatic cannons
, heavy machine guns and newly-developed
rockets
; the
A-20
and
B-25 Mitchell
(type-classed as a
medium bomber
) each had variants with 8 or more forward-firing
machine guns
for ground strafing missions. Later variants of the Ju 87
Stuka
dive bomber were adapted to the role of ground attack
against tanks
armed with
37 mm cannon
, and the
Curtiss SB2C Helldiver
(a
U.S. Navy
dive bomber adopted later in World War II when that design role was beginning to disappear) also was assigned to ground attack
sorties
using its
cannon
, bombs and
rockets
.
The light bomber, as a discrete aircraft type, began to be superseded as World War II opened. The growth of
engine power
from the 1,000 hp to the 2,000 hp class during the war produced single-engine fighters with greater performance, offensive and defensive capabilities than the light bombers of only a few years earlier. This gave rise to the
fighter-bomber
type, notably the
Fw 190
F and G models,
Hawker Typhoon
and
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
. Multirole twin-engine designs capable of hauling bomb loads greater than 2,000 lbs such as the
Lockheed P-38 Lightning
,
Junkers Ju 88
and
de Havilland Mosquito
also supplanted earlier 1930s-era light bomber designs during the war.
One of the last light bombers to be introduced in World War II, the
U.S.
Douglas A-26 Invader
, replaced the earlier
A-20 Havoc
type and also was designated by the
USAAF
as a replacement for its
Martin B-26 Marauder
(which had the same engines and a similar bomb load as the Invader) medium bomber.
Post-World War II
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The substantial increases in performance,
load
-carrying ability, and multirole versatility of new combat aircraft designs (including the advent of
jet aircraft
) by the end of World War II signaled the end of the dedicated light bomber type.
Attack aircraft
,
strike fighters
,
counter-insurgency aircraft
and combat
UAVs
are types which today carry out technologically enhanced equivalents of the former light bomber role.
See also
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]
References
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