Old Contemptibles | 13 Feb 2018 2:29 p.m. PST |
The B-24 looks like a refrigerator with wings. But it was the highest production US bomber in WWII. It did its job. |
Old Contemptibles | 13 Feb 2018 2:41 p.m. PST |
The B-47 Stratojet is a gorgeous aircraft. A design icon, which paved the way to the 707 and many others. |
Ghecko | 13 Feb 2018 3:27 p.m. PST |
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CorroPredo | 13 Feb 2018 3:53 p.m. PST |
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wrgmr1 | 13 Feb 2018 5:24 p.m. PST |
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daler240D | 13 Feb 2018 7:16 p.m. PST |
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Lion in the Stars | 14 Feb 2018 12:44 a.m. PST |
V-bombers. Then the B-1 (Tu160 isn't as sculpted as the Bone). |
daler240D | 14 Feb 2018 9:19 a.m. PST |
holy cow. someone changed my mind on the interwebs. I'll swap out my B-58 for the B-47. Second place going to the Gotha IV. |
brass1 | 14 Feb 2018 9:59 a.m. PST |
B-36 It flies right through "hideous" and out the far side. Re: F-111, I have never seen the Switchblade Edsel defined as a dedicated bomber. What have I missed? LT |
Max Schnell | 14 Feb 2018 12:40 p.m. PST |
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BW1959 | 15 Feb 2018 6:05 p.m. PST |
Another vote for the B-2
The Martin MB-2
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Lion in the Stars | 15 Feb 2018 10:13 p.m. PST |
Re: F-111, I have never seen the Switchblade Edsel defined as a dedicated bomber. What have I missed? The fact that it was called a Fighter to get it through Congress? (Well, OK, the USN's F111B version would have been a fighter, but that was mounting AIM54s and the AWG9 radar on the airframe designed for the USAF's deep penetration bomber) Thing doesn't have an air-to-air capable radar, carries no gun, rarely carries even short-range AAMs, cannot carry medium-range AAMs at all, and has a total of 1 air-to-air kill (attributed to suckering an Iraqi plane to fly into the rocks!) But I believe that the original poster mentioned the FB111, which was a dedicated nuclear bomber. |
Old Contemptibles | 18 Feb 2018 4:54 p.m. PST |
Except for the electronic warfare variants, the F-111 has always been a dedicated bomber. So has the F-105 among others. Don't let the "F" fool you. |
Old Contemptibles | 18 Feb 2018 4:56 p.m. PST |
Holy Cow! I change someone's mind on the internet. +1 daler240D |
Mick the Metalsmith | 18 Feb 2018 5:16 p.m. PST |
Kinda like the Dauntless SBD. F105s took out a few migs in Vietnam, iirc. Dauntlesses without bombs were fairly decent in a dog fight against the Japanese and sometimes flew CAP. Prettiest bomber for me: the A26. Does that count? I also love the sheer ugliness of the Helldiver, and the Stuka. |
Old Contemptibles | 19 Feb 2018 9:03 a.m. PST |
A Medal of Honor went to a F-105 pilot who shot down some Migs protecting a downed pilot. But that was really rare. The F-105 could not turn well. The few dogfights the Thud won was due to superior airmanship. There is a reason the guy earned a Medal of Honor, besides his bravery in the face of the enemy, he did it in an aircraft that was not designed to dogfight. If he was flying a Phantom, maybe a DFC. The F-105 was never intended to dogfight. It was design to deliver a nuke on target in WWIII and get back to base alive (if there still was a base). Straight line flying. In Vietnam the Thud needed escorts. Just to add to the not letting the "F" fool you list, is the F-117. It was a pure bomber it didn't have any defensive weapons. It had stealth. By the way two Navy Skyradiers off the Midway took out a Mig-17. That was do to poor tactics by the Mig Pilot and expert flying by the two Sandy pilots (Naval Aviators). skyraider.org |
Gennorm | 23 Feb 2018 11:47 a.m. PST |
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Windward | 28 Feb 2018 9:50 a.m. PST |
XB-70 Valkyrie, hands down, the essence of 60s cool with a really cool name.
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Windward | 28 Feb 2018 2:26 p.m. PST |
The F-105 interestingly was the best gunfighter over Vietnam, when it came out fight it's gun was deadly with the highest gun kill ratio, even over the F-8. But with only one sidewinder and difficulty convert its gun sight from air to ground to air to air in flight. Apparently it required switching 5 hard to access switches to convert. So I think all the Iron Butterfly gun kills came when they went up as fighters. They may have sneeked in a missile kill or two in bomber mode. |
Old Contemptibles | 28 Feb 2018 4:47 p.m. PST |
They never went up as fighters. They were designed as a nuclear strike bomber and was converted to a conventional bomber for Vietnam. It was a terrible dogfighter and could not turn with any Mig. They required fighter escorts because they were too vulnerable to fighters. |
alan L | 01 Mar 2018 9:29 a.m. PST |
Another vote for the Vulcan. |
Lion in the Stars | 12 Mar 2018 11:25 a.m. PST |
I can't believe I forgot the Blackburn Buccaneer! Most beautiful small bomber, IMO.
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Old Contemptibles | 13 Mar 2018 12:13 p.m. PST |
North American A-5 Vigilante |
Field Marshal | 21 Mar 2018 3:52 p.m. PST |
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deephorse | 22 Mar 2018 4:05 p.m. PST |
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Ferozopore | 31 Mar 2018 9:24 a.m. PST |
World War 1, Caproli C3 (I'm prejudiced because my grandfather flew C3's out of Foggia in 1918. World War 2, Il-2. She foreshadowed the A-10. Cold War. 2 suggestions. Tu-95… An all turboprop aircraft in the jet age-gotta love it. And the A4 Skyhawk, the Tinker Toy bomber. John McCain's aircraft FWIW |