It was developed by Boeing for the US Army Air Forces during the 1930s when a need for modern bombers was felt by the leadership. The B-17 was arguable the most successful bomber during WWII. B-17 Flying Fortress (US) Boeing B-17ĭuring the first half of the 20th Century, the US didn’t have a dedicated Airforce arm, instead the air force was part of the US Army Air Forces. So which bombers really stood out and made a name for themselves? Thus, the arms race began and by 1940, both the Allies and the Central Powers, especially Germany had developed outstanding bombers, with many designs in production that would later be used by the winning side. In fact, bombing was one of the main reasons as to why the Germans were beaten during WWI.ĭuring the time between World War 1 and World War 2, it became imperative to the major powers to develop strong bomber fleets to counter each other’s influence in future conflicts. The Allies however were on the more successful side of the spectrum with their “strategic bombing” raids, which were carried out to hit German targets at a very accuracy. Colorized photo of Giulio Gavotti in front of a Taube (Dove) monoplane in Italo-Turkish War 1911 Bombing raids became a norm during World War I and ever since then, each leading power tried to evolve its airforce in the best possible manner. Within a few years, World War I kicked off and with haste, the competing countries put their air forces into action. The world saw the first bomber in action during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911 when Turkish bombers were put in action. With the invention of the airplane, many powerful armies around the world started adding airplanes to their arsenal which later split into several types including fighters, interceptors, bombers and so on.

Its in man’s blood to fight and the only way to win a fight is by outsmarting the enemy at every turn. However, the technology of the time didn’t support his ideas so it wasn’t until half a century later that airplanes came into existence.

The idea of having a maneuverable, flying body had been around for centuries, that was put into a well-versed design during the Renaissance by Leo da Vinci.

Wwii tank buster aircraft