Warbird Gallery - Bombers

Bombers are military Warbirds designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, firing torpedoes. Strategic bombers are heavy bombers primarily designed for long-range bombing missions against strategic targets such as supply bases, bridges, factories, shipyards, and cities themselves, in order to diminish an enemy’s ability to wage war by limiting access to resources through crippling infrastructure or reducing industrial output. Historically notable examples of Warbirds are the: Gotha G.IV, Avro Lancaster, Heinkel He-111, Junkers Ju 88, Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, Consolidated B-24 Liberator andBoeing B-29 Superfortress.

Bombers are 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 dispensed with defensive weapons to be able to attain higher speed, such as the de Havilland Mosquito. Some cross over occurs whereby a Fighter can carry ordanance and thus bomb targets and then continue as a fighter. This category of fighter is classed as a “Fighter Bomber” and again the de Havilland Mosquito was such an aircraft.