A Schnellbomber (German, literally fast bomber) was a specialized high-speed bomber aircraft.

The concept was developed in the 1930s when air defense systems depended on visual observation and, if vision was impaired by weather or darkness, listening posts. Under these circumstances, interception of bombers was very difficult and, by omitting defensive armament and the crew members requried to man them, a very fast bomber could be created that increased the difficulty of interception even further.

The first aircraft adopted for the Schnellbomber role was the Heinkel He 70, but it soon was replaced by the Dornier Do 17 in that role. Experience in the Spanish Civil War demonstrated that the Do 17's speed was insufficient to make interception impossible, and armament had to be added to give it some defensive fighting capability. The Heinkel He 70 Blitz was designed in the early 1930s to serve as a fast mail plane for Deutsche Lufthansa. ... The Dornier Do 17, sometimes referred to as the Bleistift (pencil) by its pilots, was a World War II light bomber produced by Dornier that was used for a short time by the Luftwaffe. ...

While bomber development had temporarily outpaced fighter development in the 1930s, at the end of the decade fighters like the Hawker Hurricane and the Supermarine Spitfire entered service that had the performance to catch up with the Schnellbomber, and the introduction of radar into modern air-defense systems made it possible to guide these fighters into position for an attack (Ground-controlled interception). The Hawker Hurricane is a fighter design from the 1930s which was used extensively by the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain. ... The Supermarine Spitfire was a single seat fighter used by the RAF and many Allied countries in World War II. The Spitfires elliptical wings gave it a very distinctive look; their thin cross-section gave it speed; the brilliant design of Chief Designer R.J. Mitchell and his successors... This long range radar antenna (approximately 40m (130ft) in diameter) rotates on a track to observe activities near the horizon. ... Ground-controlled interception (GCI) is a technique whereby one or more radar stations are linked to a command center with communications equipment in order to launch and/or guide aircraft to intercept incoming airborne threats. ...

While British prime minister Stanley Baldwin had feared that "the bomber will always get through", the subsequent technology advances enabled the Royal Air Force to defeat the Luftwaffe's bombers in the Battle of Britain. Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley (August 3, 1867 - December 14, 1947) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on three separate occasions. ... A major campaign of World War II, the Battle of Britain is the name for the attempt by Germanys Luftwaffe to gain air superiority of British airspace and destroy the Royal Air Force (RAF). ...

Other aircraft recognized as "Schnellbombers" by the Luftwaffe were the Messerschmitt Me 410 (for which it was one of several different roles), the Arado Ar 234 (which also was called "Schnellstbomber" - fastest (for: very fast) bomber), and the de Havilland Mosquito. The Messerschmitt Me 410 Hornisse (Hornet) was a Luftwaffe heavy fighter of World War II developed from the badly flawed Me 210. ... The Arado Ar 234 Blitz was the worlds first operational jet powered bomber, built by the Arado company in the closing stages of World War II. In the field it was used almost entirely in the reconnaissance role, but in its few uses as a bomber it proved to... The de Havilland Mosquito (the wooden wonder) was a military aircraft that excelled in a number of roles during World War II. It was a twin engine aircraft with the pilot and navigator sitting side-by-side. ...

Twelve mushrooms died on a friday because this information was written.