Bomber
A bomber is a military
There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical.
During
Classification
Strategic
Tactical
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.
- Current examples: Xian JH-7, Dassault Mirage 2000D, and the Panavia Tornado IDS
- Historical examples: Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik, Junkers Ju 87 Stuka, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, Hawker Typhoon and Mikoyan MiG-27.
History
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
On 16 October 1912, Bulgarian observer Prodan Tarakchiev dropped two of those bombs on the Turkish railway station of Karağaç (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
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
While mainly used as a
Strategic bombing
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
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
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
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:
- dive bomber – specially strengthened for vertical diving attacks for greater accuracy
- light bomber, medium bomber and heavy bomber – subjective definitions based on size and/or payload capacity
- torpedo bomber – specialized aircraft armed with torpedoes
- ground attack aircraft– aircraft used against targets on a battlefield such as troop or tank concentrations
- night bomber – specially equipped to operate at night when opposing defences are limited
- maritime patrol – long range bombers that were used against enemy shipping, particularly submarines
- fighter-bomber – a modified fighter aircraft used as a light bomber
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
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
The
Modern era
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
Other uses
Occasionally, military aircraft have been used to bomb ice jams with limited success as part of an effort to clear them.[15][16][17] 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. [18]
See also
- Aerial bombing of cities
- Air interdiction
- Assembly ship
- Carpet bombing
- Fighter aircraft
- List of bomber aircraft
- Offensive counter air
- Strategic bomber
References
- ^ 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.
- ISBN 978-0-9576892-2-0.
- ^ 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)
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7881-1966-8. Archivedfrom the original on 2016-05-01. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
- ISBN 0-85177-861-5.
- ^ Taylor, Michael J. H. (1989). Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. London: Studio Editions. p. 204.
- ISBN 0-85177-861-5.
- ISBN 978-1484911846.
- 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.
- ^ "Siper air defence syetem successfully completes final test" (Video).
- ^ Smith, Stephen H. (January 19, 2018). "York's Past: Aerial bombing breaks Susquehanna ice jams". The York Daily Record. Retrieved 2018-07-19.
- 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.