Tactical bombing uses aircraft to attack troops and military equipment in the battle zone. This is in contrast to strategic bombing, which attacks an enemy's cities and factories to debilitate the enemy's capacity to wage war. Airbus A380 An aircraft is any machine capable of atmospheric flight. ... Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war style campaign that attempts to destroy the economic ability of a nation-state to wage war. ...

Tactical bombing began in World War I when pilots dropped small bombs over the side of their open cockpits onto enemy troops below. By WWII, a number of specialized aircraft were developed to fulfilll the role, but often strike fighters and fighter-bombers were used e.g. in the Korean War, tactical missions were carried out by WWII-era fighters such as the F4U Corsair. In Vietnam, tactical missions were often directed by forward air controllers (FACs) flying small propeller planes. The FAC would mark targets with smoke, often in coordination with infantry on the ground. The bombers orbiting overhead would then roll in to hit the target. Combatants Allies: Serbia, Russia, France, Romania, Belgium, British Empire, United States, Italy, and others Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire Casualties Military dead: 5 million Civilian deaths: 3 million Total of dead: 8 million Military dead: 4 million Civilian deaths: 3 million Total dead: 7 million Spanish Flu... The Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb, produced in the United States. ... German soldiers at the Battle of Stalingrad World War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the worlds nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. ... A strike fighter is a fighter aircraft used to attack surface targets of high value, including ships. ... A ground attack aircraft is an aircraft that is designed to operate very close to the ground, supporting infantry and tanks directly in battle. ... Combatants Western Allied/UN combatants: South Korea, United States Communist combatants: North Korea, Peoples Republic of China Strength Note: All figures may vary according to source. ... Chance Vought F4U Corsair. ... Forward air control duties include, but are not limited to, artillery spotting and coordination of close air support missions. ...

In the modern era, precision-guided munitions or "smart bombs" can be directed with extreme accuracy. BOLT-117 laser guided bomb Precision-guided munitions (smart munitions or smart bombs) are self-guiding weapons intended to maximize damage to the target while minimizing collateral damage. Because the damage effects of an explosive weapon scale as a power law with distance, quite modest improvements in accuracy (and hence...

There are two basic roles for tactical bombing. Aircraft providing close air support attack targets in close proximity to friendly ground forces, acting in direct support of the ground operations. Air interdiction attacks, by contrast, attack tactical targets that are not in contact with friendly units. Close air support (often abbreviated CAS) is the use of military aircraft in a ground attack role against targets in close proximity to friendly troops, in support of ground combat operations. ... Air interdiction is the use of aircraft to attack tactical ground targets that are not in close proximity to friendly ground forces. ...

Tactical bombers of note include:

 World War II: 

• B-26 Marauder
• B-25 Mitchell

• DeHavilland Mosquito
• Hawker Typhoon

• Dornier Do 17
• Heinkel He 111
• Henschel Hs 129
• Junkers Ju 87, the Stuka
• Junkers Ju 88

• Ilyushin_Il-2 Sturmovik
• Tupolev Tu-2

Korea Martin B-26 Marauder See A-26 Invader for the plane known as the B-26 from 1948 to 1962. ... A B-25 Mitchell in flight during World War II From the Maxwell Air Force Base website (original image). ... 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. ... The Typhoon was a British single-seat fighter aircraft, produced by Hawker Aviation starting in 1941. ... The Dornier Do 17, sometimes referred to as the Bleistift (pencil), was a World War II light bomber produced by Dornier that was used at the beginning of the war by the Luftwaffe. ... He 111K The Heinkel He 111 was the primary Luftwaffe medium bomber during the early stages of World War II, and is perhaps the most famous symbol of the German side of the Battle of Britain. ... The Henschel Hs 129, often referred to by its nickname, the Panzerknacker, (tank cracker), was a World War II ground attack aircraft fielded by the Luftwaffe. ... Junkers Ju 87 Dive-Bombers The Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka was the best known Sturzkampfflugzeug (German dive bomber) in World War II, instantly recognisable by its inverted gull wings, fixed undercarriage and siren. ... The Junkers Ju 88 was a WW2 Luftwaffe twin-engine multi-role aircraft. ... An Ilyushin Il-2 The Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik (Russian: ) was a ground attack aircraft of World War II, and was produced by the Soviet Union in huge numbers; in combination with its successor, the Il-10, a total of 36,163 were built. ... Tupolev Tu-2 The Tupolev Tu-2 (Development names ANT-58 and 103, NATO reporting name Bat) was a twin-engine Soviet light bomber aircraft of World War II vintage. ...

• F4U Corsair

Vietnam Chance Vought F4U Corsair. ...

• AD-1 Skyraider
• F-105 Thunderchief
• F-4 Phantom
• A-6 Intruder

Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan The Douglas AD-1 (later A-1) Skyraider was a US single-seat attack bomber of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s, a propeller-driven anachronism in the Jet Age with a remarkably long and successful career. ... The Republic F-105 Thunderchief, commonly known as the Thud by its crews, was a single-seat supersonic fighter-bomber used by the United States Air Force. ... The F-4 Phantom II (simply F-4 Phantom after 1990) is a two-place (tandem), supersonic, long-range, all-weather fighter-bomber built by McDonnell Douglas Corporation. ... The Grumman A-6 Intruder is a twin-engine, mid-wing attack aircraft manufactured by Northrop Grumman Aerospace Corporation. ...

• Su-17
• MiG-23
• MiG-27

Iraq/Afghanistan: Two aircraft share the designation Su-17. ... Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (Flogger). ... The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-27 (NATO reporting name Flogger) is a ground attack aircraft, originally built by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union and later licence-produced in India by Hindustan Aeronautics as the Bahadur (Valiant). It is based on the MiG-23 fighter aircraft, but optimized...

• A-10
• F-16
• Panavia Tornado
• F-117

Chechenya: The A-10/OA-10 Thunderbolt II, often known as the Warthog, is the first US Air Force aircraft specifically designed for close air support of ground forces. ... The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a modern multi-role jet fighter aircraft built in the United States and used by dozens of countries all over the world. ... RAF Panavia Tornado GR4 Panavia Aircraft is a multinational company established by the three partner nations of the Tornado Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) project, Germany, Italy and the UK. The company is based and registered in Germany. ... ADV: RAF Tornado F3 RAF Tornado ZA463 Luftwaffe Tornados at CFB Goose Bay, Labrador The Panavia Tornado designates a family of twin-engine fighters jointly developed as the Multi-role combat aircraft or MRCA for United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. ... The United States Air Forces F-117A Nighthawk is the worlds first operational aircraft designed to exploit low-observable stealth technology. ...

• Su-24 Fencer
• Su-25 Frogfoot
• MiG-29

Su-24 Fencer of the Russian Air Force Sukhoi Su-24 (NATO reporting name Fencer) was the Soviet Unions most advanced all-weather interdiction and attack aircraft in the 1970s and 1980s. ... Su-25 of the Russian Air Force The Su-25 (NATO reporting name Frogfoot) is a battlefield attack, close air support, and anti-tank aircraft designed by the Soviet Union. ... The Mikoyan MiG-29 (NATO reporting name Fulcrum) is a Russian fighter aircraft used in the air superiority role. ...

See also

• Strategic bombing
• Carpet bombing
• Close air support
• Forward air control
• Wild Weasel
• Gunship
• Air interdiction

Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in a total war style campaign that attempts to destroy the economic ability of a nation-state to wage war. ... The phrases area bombing and carpet bombing refer to the use of very large numbers of unguided gravity bombs, often with high proportion of incendiary bombs, to attempt the complete destruction of a target region, either to destroy personnel and materiel, or as a means to demoralize the enemy (see... Close air support (often abbreviated CAS) is the use of military aircraft in a ground attack role against targets in close proximity to friendly troops, in support of ground combat operations. ... Forward air control duties include, but are not limited to, artillery spotting and coordination of close air support missions. ... Wild Weasel is a semi-official nickname for aircraft of the United States Air Force tasked with the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (or SEAD) mission. ... The term gunship is used in several contexts, all sharing the general idea of a light vessel armed with heavy guns. ... Air interdiction is the use of aircraft to attack tactical ground targets that are not in close proximity to friendly ground forces. ...

References