Heavy ground attack aircraft
A
bomber
is a military
combat aircraft
that utilizes
air-to-ground weaponry
to drop
bombs
, launch
torpedoes
, or deploy
air-launched cruise missiles
. Bombs were first dropped from an aircraft during the
Italo-Turkish War
, with the first major deployments coming in the
First World War
and
Second World War
by all major airforces, damaging cities, towns, and rural areas. The first bomber planes in history were the
Italian
Caproni Ca 30 and
British
Bristol T.B.8
, both of 1913. Some bombers were decorated with
nose art
or
victory markings
.
There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical.
Strategic bombing
is done by
heavy bombers
primarily designed for long-range bombing missions against
strategic targets
to diminish the enemy's ability to wage war by limiting access to resources through crippling infrastructure, reducing industrial output, or inflicting massive civilian casualties to an extent deemed to force surrender. Tactical bombing is aimed at countering enemy military activity and in supporting offensive operations, and is typically assigned to smaller aircraft operating at shorter ranges, typically near the troops on the ground or against enemy shipping.
During
WWII
with engine power as a major limitation, combined with the desire for accuracy and other operational factors, bomber designs tended to be tailored to specific roles. Early in the
Cold War
however, bombers were the only means of carrying
nuclear
weapons to enemy targets, and held the role of
deterrence
. With the advent of guided air-to-air missiles, bombers needed to avoid interception. High-speed and high-altitude flying became a means of evading detection and attack. With the advent of
ICBMs
the role of the bomber was brought to a more tactical focus in close air support roles, and a focus on
stealth technology
for strategic bombers.
Classification
[
edit
]
Strategic
[
edit
]
Strategic bombing
is done by
heavy bombers
primarily designed for long-range bombing missions against
strategic targets
such as supply bases, bridges, factories, shipyards, and cities themselves, to diminish the enemy's ability to wage war by limiting access to resources through crippling infrastructure or reducing industrial output. Current examples include the strategic
nuclear-armed
bombers:
B-2 Spirit
,
B-52 Stratofortress
,
Tupolev Tu-95 'Bear'
,
Tupolev Tu-22M 'Backfire'
and
Tupolev Tu-160 "Blackjack"
; historically notable examples are the:
Gotha G.IV
,
Avro Lancaster
,
Heinkel He 111
,
Junkers Ju 88
,
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
,
Consolidated B-24 Liberator
,
Boeing B-29 Superfortress
, and
Tupolev Tu-16
'Badger'.
Tactical
[
edit
]
Tactical bombing
, aimed at countering enemy military activity and in supporting offensive operations, is typically assigned to smaller aircraft operating at shorter ranges, typically near the troops on the ground or against enemy shipping. This role is filled by tactical bomber class, which crosses and blurs with various other aircraft categories:
light bombers
,
medium bombers
,
dive bombers
,
interdictors
,
fighter-bombers
,
attack aircraft
,
multirole combat aircraft
, and others.
History
[
edit
]
The first use of an air-dropped bomb (actually four hand grenades specially manufactured by the Italian naval arsenal) was carried out by Italian Second Lieutenant
Giulio Gavotti
[1]
on 1 November 1911 during the
Italo-Turkish war in Libya
? although his plane was not designed for the task of bombing, and his improvised attacks on Ottoman positions had little impact. These
picric acid
-filled steel spheres were nicknamed "ballerinas" from the fluttering fabric ribbons attached.
[2]
Early bombers
[
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]
On 16 October 1912, Bulgarian observer
Prodan Tarakchiev
dropped two of those bombs on the
Turkish
railway station of Kara?ac (near the besieged
Edirne
) from an
Albatros
F.2 aircraft piloted by
Radul Milkov
, during the
First Balkan War
.
[3]
[4]
This is deemed to be the first use of an aircraft as a bomber.
[3]
[5]
The first heavier-than-air aircraft purposely designed for bombing were the
Italian
Caproni Ca 30
and
British
Bristol T.B.8
, both of 1913.
[6]
The Bristol T.B.8 was an early
British
single
engined
biplane
built by the
Bristol Aeroplane Company
. They were fitted with a prismatic
Bombsight
in the front
cockpit
and a cylindrical bomb carrier in the lower forward fuselage capable of carrying twelve 10 lb (4.5 kg) bombs, which could be dropped singly or as a salvo as required.
[7]
The aircraft was purchased for use both by the
Royal Naval Air Service
and the
Royal Flying Corps
(RFC), and three T.B.8s, that were being displayed in
Paris
during December 1913 fitted with bombing equipment, were sent to France following the outbreak of war. Under the command of
Charles Rumney Samson
, a bombing attack on
German
gun batteries at
Middelkerke
,
Belgium
was executed on 25 November 1914.
[8]
[9]
The dirigible, or airship, was developed in the early 20th century. Early airships were prone to disaster, but slowly the airship became more dependable, with a more rigid structure and stronger skin. Prior to the outbreak of war,
Zeppelins
, a larger and more streamlined form of
airship
designed by German Count
Ferdinand von Zeppelin
, were outfitted to carry bombs to attack targets at long range. These were the first long range, strategic bombers. Although the German air arm was strong, with a total of 123 airships by the end of the war, they were vulnerable to attack and engine failure, as well as navigational issues. German airships inflicted little damage on all 51 raids, with 557 Britons killed and 1,358 injured. The German Navy lost 53 of its 73 airships, and the German Army lost 26 of its 50 ships.
[10]
The
Caproni Ca 30
was built by
Gianni Caproni
in
Italy
. It was a twin-boom
biplane
with three 67 kW (80 hp)
Gnome rotary engines
and first flew in October
1914
. Test flights revealed power to be insufficient and the engine layout unworkable, and Caproni soon adopted a more conventional approach installing three 81 kW (110 hp)
Fiat A.10s
. The improved design was bought by the
Italian Army
and it was delivered in quantity from August
1915
.
While mainly used as a
trainer
, Avro 504s were also briefly used as bombers at the start of the
First World War
by the
Royal Naval Air Service
(RNAS) when they were used for raids on the German airship sheds.
[11]
Strategic bombing
[
edit
]
Bombing raids and interdiction operations were mainly carried out by French and British forces during the War as the
German air arm
was forced to concentrate its resources on a defensive strategy. Notably, bombing campaigns formed a part of the British offensive at the
Battle of Neuve Chapelle
in 1915, with
Royal Flying Corps
squadrons attacking German railway
stations in an attempt to hinder the logistical supply of the
German army
. The early, improvised attempts at bombing that characterized the early part of the war slowly gave way to a more organized and systematic approach to strategic and tactical bombing, pioneered by various air power strategists of the
Entente
, especially Major
Hugh Trenchard
; he was the first to advocate that there should be "... sustained [strategic bombing] attacks with a view to interrupting the enemy's railway communications ... in conjunction with the main operations of the Allied Armies."
[6]
When the war started, bombing was very crude (hand-held bombs were thrown over the side) yet by the end of the war long-range bombers equipped with complex mechanical bombing computers were being built,
designed to carry large loads to destroy enemy industrial targets. The most important bombers used in World War I were the French
Breguet 14
, British
de Havilland DH-4
, German
Albatros C.III
and Russian
Sikorsky Ilya Muromets
. The
Russian
Sikorsky Ilya Muromets
, was the first four-engine bomber to equip a dedicated strategic bombing unit during
World War I
. This heavy bomber was unrivaled in the early stages of the war, as the Central Powers had no comparable aircraft until much later.
Long range bombing raids were carried out at night by multi-engine
biplanes
such as the
Gotha G.IV
(whose name was synonymous with all multi-engine German bombers) and later the
Handley Page Type O
; the majority of bombing was done by single-engined biplanes with one or two crew members flying short distances to attack enemy lines and immediate hinterland. As the effectiveness of a bomber was dependent on the weight and accuracy of its bomb load, ever larger bombers were developed starting in World War I, while considerable money was spent developing suitable bombsights.
World War II
[
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]
With engine power as a major limitation, combined with the desire for accuracy and other operational factors, bomber designs tended to be tailored to specific roles. By the start of the war this included:
Bombers of this era were not intended to attack other aircraft although most were fitted with defensive weapons. World War II saw the beginning of the widespread use of high speed bombers which began to minimize defensive weaponry in order to attain higher speed. Some smaller designs were used as the basis for
night fighters
. A number of fighters, such as the
Hawker Hurricane
were used as ground attack aircraft, replacing earlier conventional light bombers that proved unable to defend themselves while carrying a useful bomb load.
Cold War
[
edit
]
At the start of the Cold War, bombers were the only means of carrying
nuclear
weapons to enemy targets, and had the role of
deterrence
. With the advent of guided air-to-air missiles, bombers needed to avoid interception. High-speed and high-altitude flying became a means of evading detection and attack. Designs such as the
English Electric Canberra
could fly faster or higher than contemporary fighters. When surface-to-air missiles became capable of hitting high-flying bombers, bombers were flown at low altitudes to evade radar detection and interception.
Once "stand off" nuclear weapon designs were developed, bombers did not need to pass over the target to make an attack; they could fire and turn away to escape the blast. Nuclear strike aircraft were generally finished in bare metal or
anti-flash white
to minimize absorption of
thermal radiation
from the
flash
of a
nuclear explosion
. The need to drop conventional bombs remained in conflicts with non-nuclear powers, 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 development of the
Intercontinental ballistic missile
(ICBM) ? which was felt to have similar deterrent value while being impossible to intercept. Because of this, the United States Air Force
XB-70 Valkyrie
program was cancelled in the early 1960s; the later
B-1B 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 are projected to remain in use until the 2040s. Similarly, the Soviet Union used the intermediate-range
Tu-22M
'Backfire' in the 1970s, but their
Mach 3
bomber project stalled. The Mach 2
Tu-160 'Blackjack'
was built only in tiny numbers, leaving the 1950s Tupolev Tu-16 and
Tu-95
'Bear' heavy bombers to continue being used into the 21st century.
The
British
strategic bombing force largely came to an end when the
V bomber
force was phased out; the last of which left service in 1983. The French
Mirage IV
bomber version was retired in 1996, although the Mirage 2000N and the Rafale have taken on this role. The only other nation that fields strategic bombing forces is
China
, which has a number of
Xian H-6s
.
Modern era
[
edit
]
Currently, only the
United States Air Force
, the
Russian Aerospace Forces
'
Long-Range Aviation
command, and China's
People's Liberation Army Air Force
operate strategic heavy bombers. Other air forces have transitioned away from dedicated bombers in favor of
multirole combat aircraft
.
At present, these air forces are each developing stealth replacements for their legacy bomber fleets, the USAF with the
Northrop Grumman B-21
, the Russian Aerospace Forces with the
PAK DA
, and the PLAAF with the
Xian H-20
. As of 2021
[update]
, the B-21 is expected to enter service by 2026?2027.
[12]
The B-21 would be capable of loitering near target areas for extended periods of time.
[13]
Other uses
[
edit
]
Occasionally, military aircraft have been used to bomb
ice jams
with limited success as part of an effort to clear them.
[14]
[15]
[16]
In 2018, the
Swedish Air Force
dropped bombs on a forest fire, snuffing out flames with the aid of the blast waves. The fires had been raging in an area contaminated with
unexploded ordnance
, rendering them difficult to extinguish for firefighters.
[17]
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Johnston, Alan (10 May 2011).
"Libya 1911: How an Italian pilot began the air war era"
.
BBC News
.
Archived
from the original on 13 May 2011
. Retrieved
23 May
2011
.
- ^
Stephenson, Charles (19 December 2014).
A Box of Sand. The Italo-Ottoman War 1911?12
. p. 107.
ISBN
978-0-9576892-2-0
.
- ^
a
b
Capt Arthur H. Wagner Uscg (Ret), Arthur H. Wagner, Leon E. Braxton, Ltcol Leon E. (Bill) (2012).
Birth of a Legend
. Trafford Publishing. p. 27.
ISBN
978-1466906020
.
Archived
from the original on 2016-04-26
. Retrieved
2015-07-28
.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
)
[
self-published source
]
- ^
"The Balkan Wars: Scenes from the Front Lines"
.
TIME
. 8 October 2012.
Archived
from the original on 27 March 2016
. Retrieved
28 July
2015
.
- ^
I.Borislavov, R.Kirilov:
The Bulgarian Aircraft, Vol. I: From Bleriot to Messerschmitt
. Litera Prima, Sofia, 1996 (in Bulgarian)
- ^
a
b
Mark (July 1995).
Aerial Interdiction: Air Power and the Land Battle in Three American Wars
. pp. 9?10.
ISBN
978-0-7881-1966-8
.
Archived
from the original on 2016-05-01
. Retrieved
2015-10-29
.
- ^
Mason, Francis K (1994).
The British Bomber since 1914
. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books.
ISBN
0-85177-861-5
.
- ^
Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989).
Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation
. London: Studio Editions. p. 204.
- ^
Thetford, Owen (1994).
British Naval Aircraft since 1912
(Fourth ed.). London: Putnam.
ISBN
0-85177-861-5
.
- ^
Roadman, LTC Julian A. (2013).
A Combat Nightmare in WWII
. Triumph Press. pp. 11?12.
ISBN
978-1484911846
.
- ^
Mason, Francis K.
The British Bomber since 1914
. London: Putnam Aeronautical Books, 1994.
ISBN
0-85177-861-5
. p. 21
- ^
D'Urso, Stefano (January 17, 2021).
"Second B-21 Raider Under Construction as the First One Approaches Roll-Out in Early 2022"
. The Aviationist
. Retrieved
Feb 5,
2021
.
- ^
"Persistence in 2018 bomber"
.
Archived
from the original on 2008-09-05
. Retrieved
2009-06-04
.
- ^
Smith, Stephen H. (January 19, 2018).
"York's Past: Aerial bombing breaks Susquehanna ice jams"
.
The York Daily Record
. Retrieved
2018-07-19
.
- ^
Daniszewski, John (2001-05-18).
"Russian Planes Bomb Ice Jam"
.
Los Angeles Times
.
ISSN
0458-3035
.
Archived
from the original on 2015-12-04
. Retrieved
2018-07-19
.
- ^
Sridharan, Vasudevan (2016-04-19).
"Russian fighter jets bomb 40km ice-jam to prevent flooding in Vologda"
.
International Business Times UK
.
Archived
from the original on 2018-07-19
. Retrieved
2018-07-19
.
- ^
Mizokami, Kyle (July 25, 2018).
"Sweden Dropped a Laser-Guided Bomb on a Forest Fire"
.
Popular Mechanics
. Retrieved
2021-03-30
.
External links
[
edit
]
Look up
bomber
in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.