Wednesday, July 13, 2011

A Short History of Bombers-- Part 1

From the June 16th Chicago Tribune "A bomber-bidding dogfight?" by W.J. Hennigan.

Boeing Company has a new fighter-size Phantom Ray drone that is currently undergoing test flights at Edwards Air Force Base in California and will compete for an estimated $55 billion contract from the government for a new fleet of radar-evading bombers.

This fleet will consist of 80-100 nuclear bomb capable bombers that can operate with or without a pilot.

These new bombers will be the first since the last of 21 bat-winged B-2s was built ten years ago.


BIGGER, FASTER, STRONGER: 92 YEARS OF THE BOMBER

The Tribune had an excellent graphic on the history of American bombers. Since I have gotten into World War II in this blog, I am going to write about it.


EARLY YEARS OF AMERICAN BOMBERS

WORLD WAR I: The US Army relies on English and Italian bomber designs. Planes are primarily built of wood and fabric with metal tubular frames. The Martin GMB (MB-1) is the first design type. Primary use for reconnaissance, with bombing secondary.

More Bombing to Come. --DaCoot

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