Avaition's Heavy Hitters
One of the most important jobs in any Air Force is delivering the ordnance, whatever
that may be. These are the great planes that did, and still do, the job. From nuclear
capable to simply dropping iron bombs, they have evolved much since the first bomb was
tossed from a plane. The tactics have also changed from the first bomber, who must have
been virtually unopposed to the bomber formations of WW II to the precision bombing of the
Gulf War.
In the post war era, during the cold war the tendency was for the desired bomber to be
very fast capable delivering the ordnance or of evading the enemy by use of speed and
perhaps altitude. Modern bombers such as the Spirit, Stealth, and even the Lancer revert
to the go low, slow, and enter undetected philosophy.
So close to invisibility are today's stealth aircraft, that even a bird dropping on the
fuselage will notably increase the aircraft's radar signature.
[ B-1B Lancer ] [ B-52G BUFF ] [ Vulcan ] [ Nimrod ] [ F-111 ] [ Mosquito ] [ Lancaster ] [ Liberator ] [ B-25 Mitchell ] [ Boeing B-47 ] [ Boeing B-17 ]
