A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, primarily by dropping bombs on them.

Classifications of bombers

Strategic bombers are primarily designed for long-range strike missions with bombs against strategic targets such as supply bases, bridges, factories, shipyards, and cities themselves, in order to damage an enemy's war effort. Examples include the: Avro Lancaster, Heinkel He-111, Junkers Ju 88, B-17 Flying Fortress, B-24 Liberator, B-29 Superfortress, B-36, B-47, B-52 Stratofortress, General Dynamics F-111, Tupolev Tu-16 'Badger', Tupolev Tu-160 'Blackjack', Tupolev Tu-95 'Bear', and Gotha G.

Tactical bombers are smaller aircraft that operate at shorter range, typically along with troops on the ground. This role is filled by many designs, including those listed below. In modern terms, any combat aircraft that is not a purpose-designed strategic bomber falls into this category.

Ground attack aircraft or "close air support" aircraft are designed to loiter over a battlefield and attack tactical targets, such as tanks, troop concentrations, etc. Examples: Junkers Ju 87 Stuka, Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik, A-10 Thunderbolt II, and Sukhoi Su-25 'Frogfoot'.

Fighter-bombers (also called tactical fighters, strike fighters, and attack fighters) are multi-role combat aircraft which can (at least theoretically) be equipped for either air-to-air combat or air-to-ground combat. Many fighter bombers were also designed to engage in aerial combat immediately after attacking ground targets. Modern multi-role combat aircraft are designed to fulfill multiple roles due to budget restrictions as often as they are for versatility. Examples: Chengdu J-10, Xian JH-7, F-4 Phantom II, F-15E "Strike Eagle", F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, Sukhoi Su-34 'Fullback', Dassault-Breguet Mirage 2000, and the Panavia Tornado.

History

Bombers evolved at the same time as the fighter aircraft at the start of World War I. The first use of an air-dropped bomb however, was carried out by the Italians in their 1911 war for Libya. In 1912 Bulgarian Air Force pilot Christo Toprakchiev suggested the use of airplanes to drop "bombs" (as grenades were called in the Bulgarian army at this time) on Turkish positions. Captain Simeon Petrov developed the idea and created several prototypes by adapting different types of grenades and increasing their payload. On October 16, 1912, observer Prodan Tarakchiev dropped two of those bombs on the Turkish railway station of Karaagac (near the besieged Edirne) from an Albatros F.II airplane piloted by Radul Milkov.

After a number of tests Petrov created the final design, with improved aerodynamics, an X-shaped tail and impact detonator. This version was widely used by the Bulgarian Air Force during the siege of Eirine. Later a copy of the plans was sold to Germany and the bomb, codenamed "Chathaldza" ("Чаталджа", after the strategic Turkish town of Çatalca) remained in mass production until the end of World War I.