What You Need to Know: During World War II, five bombers stood out for their strategic impact: the American B-29 Superfortress, famous for incendiary bombing Tokyo and dropping the atomic bomb that ended the war; British Avro Lancaster, known for its heavy payload and effectiveness in destroying Nazi Germany’s infrastructure; Japan’s Mitsubishi G4M “Betty”, a versatile medium and torpedo bomber that carried out significant attacks against the British Navy; Nazi Germany’s productive Junkers Ju 88, which saw heavy fighting in the Battle of Britain; and Italy’s Savoia-Marchetti SM.79, an effective Mediterranean torpedo bomber that proved formidable against Allied shipping. Each left an indelible mark on the air battles of World War II.

The Five Best Bombers of World War II

Admittedly highly subjective, these five Best Lists are almost guaranteed to generate controversy; No matter how much you justify your views with concrete objective facts, some military history buffs will find their favorite fighter plane/warship/firearm/tank/helicopter/whatever was removed from the list.

“Once more into the breach, dear comrades,” was this saying, while giving my opinion on the World’s Five Best Bombers. World War II. To be more specific and help narrow things down further, I’ll focus specifically on multi-engine bombers, such as single-engine bombers. dive bombers In short, they deserve their own separate, independent article.

United States: Boeing B-29 Superfortress

We’d better start from the end, with the bomber that ended World War II! The B-29 did this, of course, through the “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” atomic bombs dropped by B-29s on Hiroshima and Nagasaki”Enola Gay” And “bockscar“on August 6 and August 9, 1945, respectively, thus prompting Imperial Japan to surrender and finally ending World War II.

But even before the atomic bombs, the “Super Fortress” was making history by inflicting massive destruction on the heart of industrial Japan with more conventional bombing raids (led by the major US Air Force (USAF) and US Army Air Forces (USAAF) in the past). ) Gen. Curtis E. LeMay). For example, during Operation Meeting House From 9 March 1945 to 10 March 1945, 324 B-29s incendiary bombed Tokyo; This incident would become the most devastating air raid in history, yes, that’s right, with a death toll higher than both atomic bomb raids.

It ended with at least 90,000 deaths, one million left homeless, and 267,171 buildings destroyed.

United Kingdom: Avro Lancaster

Arguably the most revered bomber in the prestigious history of Great Britain Royal Air Force (RAF)The BAE Systems fact sheet goes so far as to call out the warbird:most iconic Heavy bomber of World War II.” It made its first flight on 9 January 1941 and was officially introduced into operational service in the RAF in February 1942.

The Lancaster carried out the lion’s share of the British portion of the Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO), which resulted in the destruction of the cities of Nazi Germany. It was carrying a much heavier bomb load than it actually was. B-17 Flying Fortress or the B-24 Liberator when operating at similar speeds and slightly longer range.

Empire of Japan: Mitsubishi G4M (Allied codename “Betty”)

Keeping in mind the former US Secretary of Defense and former US Marine Corps Commandant, Jim Mattis A sobering reminder: “The enemy gets votesIt should not be forgotten that Axis eventually lost World War IIthey were still producing their share of world-class bombers.

Accordingly, it can be reasonably argued that the twin-engine “Betty” is Japan’s best. It is used as both a high-altitude medium bomber and a torpedo bomber. was in the second role supposedly Hamaki was the best performer and hurt their pride British Royal Navy, well HMS battleship Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser HMS Repulse, which each scored four torpedo hits for the loss of only two Hamakis and one Mitsubishi G3M Type 96.

Sir Winston Churchill he said of this incident: “I have never received a more direct shock in the whole war.”

Nazi Germany: Junkers Ju 88

Tough choice between Ju 88 and Ju 88 Heinkel He 111 about which one of the Third Reichbest bomber; but I continue by saying: “Quantity has a quality of its own “The nod would have to go to the Junkers warbird.

twin-engine Ju 88With 15,183 airframes, it became the second most produced bomber of all time; These figures are exceeded only by America. Consolidated B-24 LiberatorFour-engine heavy bomber, 18,482 built.

This Luftwaffe bomber made its first flight on 21 December 1936 and was officially entered into operational service at Vaterland in 1939. Start of World War II . The Ju 88 did indeed manage to participate in the first official combat of the Second World War, the blitzkrieg in September 1939. invasion of Poland but they had a negligible impact on the task in question.

The 88s made a much greater contribution during this period. Battle of France (May-June 1940).

Of course it was at that time Battle of Britain The Ju 88 has earned its biggest claim to fame. But this fame came at a heavy price: between July and October 1940, 303 of the 88s burst into flames, accounting for 15.3 percent of the total 1,977 Luftwaffe aircraft losses in the ill-fated campaign.

Fascist Italy: Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 Sparviero

The quality of Italian war machines is often overlooked. Benito Mussolini’s Fascist ItalyIt became the first Axis power to surrender, leading to a widespread misconception that Italian troops were cowards.

So it’s no surprise that the three-engine Sparviero, while arguably the most famous Italian aircraft of the Second World War, is comparatively speaking the least well-known warbird on this list, which is a shame, because it was a Wonderful medium bomber and torpedo bomber. The aircraft, which made its first flight on 28 September 1934, was a hit with the crew, who named it il gobbo maledetto because of the distinctive dorsal “hump” of the fuselage.

As stated by Aaron Spray Simple Flight“Commando SuperiorityIt is considered one of the deadliest Italian aircraft of the war, successfully damaging and sinking dozens of Allied ships in the Mediterranean, and claims to be one of the best land-based torpedo bombers of the war… While U-boats caused greater damage, according to the Royal Navy, the SM.79 ‘s are credited with sinking the destroyers HMS Fearless, HMS Bedouin and the Australian destroyer HMAS Nestor. They also damaged Royal Navy cruisers and the aircraft carrier HMS Indomitable in July 1943, just before Italy’s exit from the war.

About the Author

Christian D. OrrHe is Senior Defense EditorNational Security Magazine(NSJ). He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (he served in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and a master’s degree in Intelligence Studies (terrorism Studies concentration) from American Military University (AMU). It was also publishedDaily Torch,Intelligence and Cyber ​​Security MagazineAndSimple Flight. Last but not least he is a Companion of the Order.Order of the Navy of the United States (NOUS).

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