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Escort fighter

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219: 532: 293:. The defending Hurricanes and Spitfires were able to pick their targets with complete impunity, eventually destroying eight He 111s and seven Bf 110s without loss. The raid was such a disaster than the Luftwaffe abandoned attacks from Norway and directed the remaining aircraft to France. From that point onwards, the Bf 110 was mostly withdrawn from the escort role, in part because so many had been lost that sufficient numbers could no longer be fielded in the short term; when it did return, it was largely used as a 434: 375: 310: 353:, in which a force of 22 Wellingtons lost 12 aircraft to German fighters as they attacked warships in harbour. For the rest of the war, the RAF was convinced night bombing was the only survivable strategy and this opinion was not seriously reconsidered. Both Fighter and Bomber command evolved doctrinal arguments against escorts, even after photoreconnaissance versions of the Spitfire were flying deep into Germany at ranges that would allow them to escort daytime bombing. 415: 111:, and its importance in the ability of an air force to carry out effective operations. Air superiority is defined as a situation in which an air force dominates an airspace to such a degree as to be able to carry out any operations with no interference from enemy air combatants. Fighting an opponent with air superiority in a given battlespace is much harder, as any offensive or defensive tactics are likely to be overwhelmed. 22: 143:. These fighters benefitted substantially from an inherent asymmetry; the attacking aircraft had to fly long distances to reach its target and thus had to be large enough to carry the required fuel load, while the defending fighters were flying only a short distance and therefore were able to be much lighter and have higher performance. 278:. In those few situations where the German bombers were escorted only by Bf 110s, the RAF fighters could simply ignore them and attack the bombers almost unhindered. In engagements where the fighters opted to engage the BF 110s instead, a relatively high loss rate for the Bf 110s was typically incurred as a result. 449:
to come to the conclusion that their B-17 bombers needed to do something to reduce losses, and that escorts had an appreciable benefit in reducing the rate of losses, particularly as the intensity of German interception efforts had grown substantially, to the point where unescorted bombing missions
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where many new fuel tanks were added without major effects on performance. Their now excellent range was demonstrated by flying them back across the Atlantic to England. In spite of this demonstration, Fighter Command was slow to consider such adaptations and was not until well after Pointblank was
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The successes of the P-47N and P-51 gave the impression that the escort fighter was a concept worth continuing after the end of the war. The high fuel use of early jet engines made such aircraft difficult to design, and a number of experimental designs were tried that used mixed power, typically a
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At the same time, the newly formed Bomber Command developed their plans with the assumption that there would be no escorts. This was due to a combination of factors. One was the belief that improved navigational technique would allow the night bomber force to attack point targets. Another was that
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emerged in the mid-1930s and once again a single-engine fighter could catch a twin-engine bomber. The other idea was the escort fighter that would attempt to break up attacks by the defense before they could reach the bombers. To have the desired range, the aircraft had to carry a large fuel load,
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came to be discouraged. This realisation eventually led to the development of long range escort fighters. A series of unrelated developments had left the US in the position of being able to quickly address this need. Prior to their entry into the war, the USAAF fighter forces were interested in
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In the early stages of the US efforts, bombing runs often took place without escort fighters. German fighter pilots were scrambled to deal with these raids, and soon learned that it was much easier for them to take out formations which were unescorted as opposed to those who were escorted. As a
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as escort fighter-bombers. Although flying from relatively close airfields in France, the Bf 109 was operating at the extreme of its range and unable to remain for long with the bombers if it was to have fuel to return, while the Bf 110, specifically designed for the escort role, had inferior
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Whilst projects for dedicated escort fighters such as the XF-85 Goblin came to nothing, the advancement of technology and the nature of warfare of the wars being fought allowed the role of fighter escort to gradually merge with fighter types, so the term fell out of use. During the
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heavy fighter, which was widely produced. At the time of its introduction, the Bf 110 had been among the fastest production aircraft ever built, but as had occurred with the schnellbomber designs, by the start of the conflict, its performance lead had been seriously eroded.
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result, fighters would attack bomber formations that were on long-range operations, as they would not have escorts with them. They quickly determined the point at which the fighters would be forced to turn around and massed their fighters just beyond that point.
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would rarely engage bombers directly, if ever, and the escorts could do little against missiles. At the same time, the advancement of land and submarine-based ballistic missiles relegated bombers to a lower importance – they became just a single element of the
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that would fend off the enemy with no need for a fighter escort. Some officials claimed that escort fighters were wholly impractical. The service remained convinced of this strategy in spite of continued warnings from the RAF that this would not be the case.
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offensive, the USAAF asked the RAF to consider how to carry out daytime bombing with Spitfire escorts. Fighter Command claimed this was impossible, making several highly questionable calculations to "prove" this. This led to two Spitfires being shipped to
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drew up a specification for a multi-seat escort fighter intended to protect formations of bombers from German fighters. While the specification did not require high speed, a good field of fire for its guns was essential. Prototype aircraft were built –
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was large enough to also have a large fuel capacity. Unlike earlier twin-engine designs like the Bf 110, the Lightning proved to be competitive with the German fighters it faced, permitting it to be easily adapted to the escort role through the use of
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made this position formal, stating "the bombers should be able to look after themselves without the addition of an escort of fighters." Production allocation followed this rule, capping the number of fighters delivered to front-line use with the
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of their twin-engine designs. This was demonstrated with great effect at multiple air races during the early 1930s, where light twins easily outperformed fighters. However, this situation only existed for a short period until more powerful
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high on the political agenda throughout the Cold War, a nuclear exchange became ever less likely, leaving existing fighter designs more than adequate for their protection in the wars being fought. In Vietnam for instance,
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gave it unparalleled range even on internal fuel, and with external tanks, it could cover most of Europe. Although not designed for the escort role, the P-51 remains the canonical example of the class.
92:β€” small aircraft designed to be carried by a specialized bomber β€” were seen as a possible solution to the limited ranges of most traditional escort fighters. First experimented with in 654:
would be protected by air superiority fighters, sometimes flying far afield and ahead of them, engaging distant enemy air units, rather than by direct escorts staying in sight nearby.
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designs that concentrated on solving the problem of long-range navigation at night. During 1932, in the face of increasingly capable bomber aircraft, the British Prime Minister
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Although the photoreconnaissance versions of the Spitfire flew deep over Germany during daylight, the idea of deep escort was never seriously considered by the RAF.
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This state of affairs was considered distasteful and there was some consideration given to methods to allow bombing during the day. Two ideas became popular. The
329:. Fighter Command felt that using their fighters as protection for bombing raids would draw on their own numbers. On 30 November 1936, Director of Staff Duties 317:
In contrast to their German counterparts, the RAF long argued against the development of escorts. A key reason was largely organizational. In 1936 the former
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Lt. Col. Stoll, Hans G. "Luftwaffe Doctrine and Air Superiority throughout WWII: The Luftwaffe Experience." United States Air War College, 1994. p. 1.
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As the fighters held the upper hand, raids were almost always carried out at night. During the inter-war era, this led to the creation of dedicated
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During the 2010s, the US Air Force was in the early stages of developing a new fighter intended to operate as an escort for the next generation
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would emerge as the last dedicated parasite fighter design and was abandoned in 1949 due to technical issues as well as the advent of practical
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Major Lesher, Lee A. "The Evolution of Long-Range Escort Doctrine in World War II" United States Air Command and Staff College, 1988. p. 6.
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were arriving that mounted heavy defensive armament. This convinced some in Bomber Command that daylight raids would not require escorts.
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German losses were three Bf 109s, with four fighters (Bf 109 and BF 110) severely damaged and further eight lightly damaged.
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campaign against German industries was only possible during the day. At first, this was not seen as an issue; the Forces'
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and at the time this demanded a twin-engine aircraft. Such a design would not be able to maneuver with the single-engine
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Washington, D.C: USAF Historical Division, Research Studies Institute, Air University, 1955. Retrieved: 15 July 2014.
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3 bomber, was intended to be immune to enemy attack due to its speed, North American Aviation briefly proposed the
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role, as well as giving it the ability to carry large fuel tanks. Finally, the extremely high efficiency of the
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on 14 October 1943, in which 26% of the attacking force was either destroyed or written off due to damage.
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by more agile single-engined fighters. As the war progressed, longer-range fighter designs and the use of
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The escort role has been diminished as modern air combat doctrine places a heavy emphasis on the idea of
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Lesnitchenko, Vladimir. "Combat Composites: Soviet Use of 'Mother-Ships' to Carry Fighters, 1931–1941."
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which meant smaller fighters could be equally effective led to the end of development of the designs.
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and their inherent short range made escort fighters very difficult to build. The related concept of a
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The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance: The U-2 and OXCART Programs, 1954–1974.
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emerged briefly in the 1950s and again in the 1960s, but did not result in any production aircraft.
1979: 553: 163:– all three put gunners into nacelles to provide wide fields of fire. The development of effective 769: 80:
allowed single-engined fighters to perform escort duties. In the post-war era the introduction of
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The Battle of the Heligoland Bight, 1939: The Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe's Baptism of Fire
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concluded that final sign-off was given, at which point they saw no need for such conversions.
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The Army Air Forces in World War II: Europe, Torch to Pointblank, August 1942 to December 1943
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mounted a powerful engine that allowed it to carry large loads. This made it suitable in the
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Black Cross – Red Star, Air War over the Eastern Front. Volume 3. Everything for Stalingrad
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was a very fast aircraft that would simply fly right past the slower fighters due to the
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in the US, and largely ignored entirely in the USSR. Furthermore, with the concept of
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and put significant effort into the escort fighter concept before the outbreak of
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The American Way of War: A History of United States Military Strategy and Policy.
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surmised that interception efforts would inevitably not always succeed and that "
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with high fuel capacity were designed for escort duties prior to the outbreak of
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The War in the Air Being the Part played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force
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The Bf 110 was designed as an escort fighter but found more widespread use as a
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and jet, but these failed to meet performance requirements. A new concept, the
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did nothing of significance to reduce them. This culminated in the disastrous
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USAAF bomber losses gradually increased, and experimental "gunships" like the
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Close-up of the array of .50-caliber guns on the Boeing YB-40 Flying Fortress.
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Republic F-84 Thunderjet, Thunderstreak & Thunderflash: A Photo Chronicle
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The Lockheed P-38 Lightning: The Definitive Story of Lockheed's P-38 Fighter
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Anderson, Major Clarence E. "Bud". "Aircraft Wingtip Coupling Experiments."
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and found to be utterly impossible to use operationally. The subsequent
1301:"The Air Force Wants a New Fighter to Accompany Its New Stealth Bomber" 541: 399: 147: 132: 81: 743: 501: 460: 234: 77: 414: 357: 128: 73: 1596:. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Military/Aviation History, 1998. 1340:
Bergstrom, Christer & Dikov, Andrey & Aptipov, Vladislav.
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and developed a series of cannon-armed aircraft, among which, the
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immediately before the war, new and much larger aircraft like the
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The concept of daytime raids quickly ended after the disastrous
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gradually faded from the scene. Missile technology meant that
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with heavy bombers via a trapeze mechanism or their wingtips.
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Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency, 1992. No ISBN.
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B-17 Flying Fortress Units of the Eighth Air Force, Volume 2
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bombers were the most heavily armed aircraft of the time.
245:. One of the principle outcomes of this attention was the 588:, plans for dedicated escort fighters designed to escort 573:
interceptor for the escort role. In this case, the term "
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Eighth Air Force: The American Bomber Crews in Britain
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The Sky on Fire: The First Battle of Britain 1917–1918
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Messerschmitt Bf 110 ZerstΓΆrer Aces of World War Two
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had far greater range than its early contemporaries.
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to and from their targets. An escort fighter needed
1631:"current escort and call girls situation in mumbai" 1261:, US Air Force Air Command and Staff College, 1986 869: 205:, so attention was given to outright performance. 114: 131:, and later by large bomber aircraft such as the 2081: 1642:Giants in the Sky: History of the Rigid Airship. 1426:. Vol. II. Chicago: University of Chicago. 1280:, National Museum of the United States Air Force 1175:"Aces of the Eighth Air Force in World War Two." 1709:, Aircraft of the Aces No. 25, London: Osprey, 1624:The Bristol Blenheim I (Aircraft in Profile 93) 1529:Johnsen, Frederick (2003). Steve Gansen (ed.). 1226: 883: 881: 369: 266:performance and was easily outperformed by the 1419: 1187: 819: 817: 402:of them were planned, creating a crossfire of 281:In one famous example, a group of seventy-two 1777: 1727:Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1977. 1629:Pedlow, Gregory W. and Donald E. Welzenbach. 139:, these raids were increasingly countered by 1655: 1579:The Strategic Bombing of Germany, 1940–1945. 1388:Development of the Long Range Escort Fighter 890: 878: 29:is one of the best-known escort fighters of 1480:. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1977. 1283: 1064: 1004: 937:Bergstrom, Dikov & Antipov 2006, p. 67. 814: 535:XF-85 suspended from an EB-29 via a trapeze 16:Aircraft designed to protect other aircraft 1784: 1770: 1406:The Air Defence of Great Britain 1914–1918 1271:"Fact Sheet: North American F-108A Rapier" 1155:Museum of Flight. Retrieved: 12 July 2006. 1082: 1046: 1037: 470:Further adaptations quickly followed. The 1753:, the main adversary of an escort fighter 860: 289:, escorted by Bf 110s, made an attack on 1420:Craven, Wesley; Cate Lea, James (1949). 1298: 1055: 848:, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1969, p. 722. 530: 432: 413: 373: 308: 217: 20: 1528: 1506:Gunston, Bill. "Parasitic Protectors." 1374:. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2002. 1217: 1091: 338:and sending the rest to UK formations. 213: 2082: 1581:Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 1992. 1549: 1404:Cole, Christopher and Cheesman, E. F. 1184:, June 1999. Retrieved: 7 August 2011. 1135:: 600 (photo caption), 7 December 1944 985: 962: 958: 956: 954: 952: 749: 614:escorted the American bombers such as 524:attempted a similar solution, docking 1765: 1656:Dragan, Savic; Ciglic, Boris (2002), 1395: 761: 237:strategy was based mostly on daytime 1704: 1644:Henley-on-Thames, UK: Foulis, 1973. 1462:. London: Aerospace Publishing Ltd. 1460:The Encyclopedia of Aircraft of WWII 1457: 1443:. London: Aerospace Publishing Ltd. 1438: 1299:Mizokami, Kyle (20 September 2016). 1252:"The Search For An Advanced Fighter" 1213:Society of Experimental Test Pilots. 1101:, New York: Ballantine Books, 1983. 642:, meant that high value assets like 516:strategic bomber, was tested with a 1515:F/A-18 Hornet: A Navy Success Story 1052:Cate & Craven 1983, pp. 704–05. 990:. London: Grub Street. p. 86. 949: 793:. Flight Aircraft Engineer Magazine 740:Cole and Cheesman 1984, pp. 243–46. 61:to defend the bombers, and return. 13: 1865:Airborne early warning and control 1317: 916:"The Luftwaffe's 'Black Thursday'" 648:airborne early warning and control 508:microfighter, planned to act as a 351:air battle of the Heligoland Bight 180:the bomber will always get through 123:campaigns were carried out during 14: 2101: 1678:. 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Initially using 35: 2077: 2076: 2073: 2072: 1930:Close air support 1794:military aircraft 1667:978-1-84176-435-1 1650:978-0-85429-145-8 1617:978-1-84513-221-7 1561:978-1-84342-417-8 1542:978-0-7603-1340-4 1523:978-0-07-134696-2 1469:978-1-904687-83-2 1450:978-1-905704-32-3 1385:Boylan, Bernard. 1355:Bodie, Warren M. 1305:Popular Mechanics 1173:Sherman, Steven. 1099:Fork-tailed Devil 997:978-1-906502-56-0 659:multirole fighter 452:bomber destroyers 388:strategic bombing 276:Hawker Hurricanes 255:Battle of Britain 121:strategic bombing 90:Parasite fighters 2097: 2090:Fighter aircraft 1938: 1855: 1854: 1837: 1786: 1779: 1772: 1763: 1762: 1719: 1670: 1592:McLaren, David. 1577:Levine, Alan J. 1565: 1546: 1473: 1454: 1435: 1401: 1400:, London: Putnam 1328: 1327: 1318:Farley, Robert. 1315: 1309: 1308: 1296: 1290: 1287: 1281: 1268: 1262: 1248: 1242: 1239: 1233: 1230: 1224: 1221: 1215: 1209: 1203: 1200: 1194: 1191: 1185: 1171: 1165: 1162: 1156: 1143: 1137: 1136: 1125: 1119: 1116: 1110: 1097:Caidin, Martin. 1095: 1089: 1086: 1080: 1077: 1071: 1068: 1062: 1059: 1053: 1050: 1044: 1041: 1035: 1032: 1026: 1023: 1017: 1008: 1002: 1001: 983: 977: 976: 960: 947: 944: 938: 935: 929: 926: 920: 919: 912: 906: 903: 897: 894: 888: 885: 876: 873: 867: 864: 858: 855: 849: 839: 833: 830: 824: 821: 812: 809: 803: 802: 800: 798: 791:flightglobal.com 788: 780: 774: 773: 759: 753: 747: 741: 738: 732: 729: 723: 720: 714: 711: 689: 686: 510:parasite fighter 445:This forced the 400:Close formations 363:Wright-Patterson 239:tactical bombing 198:aircraft engines 157:Sopwith L.R.T.Tr 141:fighter aircraft 119:The first major 102:aerial refueling 43:fighter aircraft 2105: 2104: 2100: 2099: 2098: 2096: 2095: 2094: 2080: 2079: 2078: 2069: 2004: 1980:Maritime patrol 1953:Air superiority 1936: 1846: 1835: 1797: 1796:types and roles 1790: 1742: 1717: 1668: 1562: 1543: 1470: 1451: 1337: 1332: 1331: 1316: 1312: 1297: 1293: 1288: 1284: 1278:Wayback Machine 1269: 1265: 1259:Wayback Machine 1249: 1245: 1240: 1236: 1231: 1227: 1222: 1218: 1210: 1206: 1201: 1197: 1192: 1188: 1172: 1168: 1163: 1159: 1153:Wayback Machine 1144: 1140: 1127: 1126: 1122: 1117: 1113: 1096: 1092: 1087: 1083: 1078: 1074: 1069: 1065: 1060: 1056: 1051: 1047: 1042: 1038: 1033: 1029: 1024: 1020: 1009: 1005: 998: 984: 980: 961: 950: 945: 941: 936: 932: 927: 923: 914: 913: 909: 904: 900: 895: 891: 886: 879: 874: 870: 865: 861: 856: 852: 842:Keith Middlemas 840: 836: 831: 827: 822: 815: 810: 806: 796: 794: 786: 782: 781: 777: 760: 756: 748: 744: 739: 735: 730: 726: 721: 717: 712: 708: 703: 698: 693: 692: 687: 683: 678: 652:attack aircraft 632: 590:nuclear bombers 584:, particularly 582:guided missiles 557:strike fighters 497: 372: 307: 268:Royal Air Force 226:and later as a 216: 211: 176:Stanley Baldwin 117: 109:air superiority 17: 12: 11: 5: 2103: 2093: 2092: 2075: 2074: 2071: 2070: 2068: 2067: 2062: 2057: 2052: 2047: 2046: 2045: 2035: 2034: 2033: 2026:Reconnaissance 2023: 2018: 2012: 2010: 2006: 2005: 2003: 2002: 2000:Strike fighter 1997: 1995:Fighter-bomber 1992: 1987: 1982: 1977: 1976: 1975: 1970: 1965: 1960: 1955: 1945: 1940: 1932: 1927: 1922: 1921: 1920: 1915: 1910: 1905: 1900: 1895: 1885: 1884: 1883: 1878: 1868: 1861: 1859: 1852: 1848: 1847: 1845: 1844: 1839: 1831: 1826: 1821: 1816: 1811: 1805: 1803: 1799: 1798: 1789: 1788: 1781: 1774: 1766: 1760: 1759: 1754: 1748: 1746:Aerial warfare 1741: 1738: 1737: 1736: 1721: 1715: 1702: 1687: 1672: 1666: 1653: 1638: 1627: 1620: 1605: 1590: 1575: 1571:Air Enthusiast 1566: 1560: 1547: 1541: 1526: 1511: 1504: 1489: 1474: 1468: 1455: 1449: 1436: 1417: 1402: 1393: 1383: 1368: 1353: 1336: 1333: 1330: 1329: 1310: 1291: 1282: 1263: 1243: 1234: 1225: 1223:McLaren 1998, 1216: 1204: 1195: 1186: 1166: 1157: 1138: 1120: 1111: 1090: 1081: 1072: 1063: 1054: 1045: 1036: 1027: 1018: 1003: 996: 978: 948: 939: 930: 921: 907: 898: 889: 877: 868: 859: 850: 834: 825: 813: 804: 775: 754: 742: 733: 724: 715: 705: 704: 702: 699: 697: 694: 691: 690: 680: 679: 677: 674: 638:, such as the 631: 628: 610:and sometimes 548:and later the 496: 493: 476:fighter-bomber 371: 368: 331:Sholto Douglas 306: 305:In RAF service 303: 283:Heinkel He 111 215: 212: 210: 207: 161:Vickers F.B.11 116: 113: 66:heavy fighters 39:escort fighter 15: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 2102: 2091: 2088: 2087: 2085: 2066: 2063: 2061: 2058: 2056: 2053: 2051: 2048: 2044: 2041: 2040: 2039: 2036: 2032: 2029: 2028: 2027: 2024: 2022: 2019: 2017: 2014: 2013: 2011: 2007: 2001: 1998: 1996: 1993: 1991: 1988: 1986: 1983: 1981: 1978: 1974: 1971: 1969: 1966: 1964: 1961: 1959: 1956: 1954: 1951: 1950: 1949: 1946: 1944: 1941: 1939: 1933: 1931: 1928: 1926: 1923: 1919: 1916: 1914: 1911: 1909: 1906: 1904: 1903:Medium bomber 1901: 1899: 1896: 1894: 1891: 1890: 1889: 1886: 1882: 1879: 1877: 1874: 1873: 1872: 1869: 1866: 1863: 1862: 1860: 1856: 1853: 1849: 1843: 1840: 1838: 1832: 1830: 1827: 1825: 1822: 1820: 1817: 1815: 1812: 1810: 1807: 1806: 1804: 1800: 1795: 1787: 1782: 1780: 1775: 1773: 1768: 1767: 1764: 1758: 1755: 1752: 1749: 1747: 1744: 1743: 1734: 1733:0-253-28029-X 1730: 1726: 1722: 1718: 1716:1-85532-753-8 1712: 1708: 1703: 1700: 1699:1-84145-107-X 1696: 1692: 1688: 1685: 1684:0-13-055237-2 1681: 1677: 1674:Spick, Mike. 1673: 1669: 1663: 1659: 1654: 1651: 1647: 1643: 1639: 1636: 1632: 1628: 1625: 1621: 1618: 1614: 1610: 1606: 1603: 1602:0-7643-0444-5 1599: 1595: 1591: 1588: 1587:0-275-94319-4 1584: 1580: 1576: 1573: 1572: 1567: 1563: 1557: 1553: 1548: 1544: 1538: 1534: 1533: 1527: 1524: 1520: 1516: 1512: 1509: 1505: 1502: 1501:0-15-682750-6 1498: 1494: 1490: 1487: 1486:0-684-14872-2 1483: 1479: 1475: 1471: 1465: 1461: 1456: 1452: 1446: 1442: 1437: 1433: 1429: 1425: 1424: 1418: 1415: 1414:0-370-30538-8 1411: 1407: 1403: 1399: 1394: 1391: 1389: 1384: 1381: 1380:1-84176-434-5 1377: 1373: 1369: 1366: 1365:0-9629359-5-6 1362: 1358: 1354: 1351: 1350:0-9761034-4-3 1347: 1343: 1339: 1338: 1325: 1321: 1314: 1306: 1302: 1295: 1286: 1279: 1275: 1272: 1267: 1260: 1256: 1253: 1247: 1238: 1229: 1220: 1214: 1208: 1199: 1190: 1183: 1179: 1176: 1170: 1161: 1154: 1150: 1147: 1142: 1134: 1130: 1124: 1115: 1108: 1107:0-345-31292-9 1104: 1100: 1094: 1085: 1076: 1067: 1058: 1049: 1040: 1031: 1022: 1015: 1012: 1007: 999: 993: 989: 982: 975:(2): 673–702. 974: 970: 966: 959: 957: 955: 953: 943: 934: 925: 917: 911: 902: 893: 884: 882: 872: 863: 854: 847: 843: 838: 829: 820: 818: 808: 792: 785: 779: 771: 767: 766: 758: 751: 746: 737: 728: 719: 710: 706: 685: 681: 673: 671: 666: 664: 660: 655: 653: 649: 645: 641: 637: 627: 625: 621: 617: 613: 609: 604: 600: 599:nuclear triad 595: 591: 587: 583: 578: 576: 572: 568: 565: 562:Although the 560: 558: 555: 551: 547: 543: 533: 529: 527: 523: 522:FICON project 519: 515: 511: 507: 503: 492: 489: 485: 481: 477: 473: 468: 466: 462: 457: 453: 448: 440: 435: 431: 429: 425: 416: 412: 408: 405: 401: 397: 393: 389: 385: 376: 367: 364: 359: 354: 352: 347: 345: 339: 337: 332: 328: 324: 320: 311: 302: 300: 299:night fighter 296: 292: 288: 284: 279: 277: 273: 269: 264: 260: 256: 251: 248: 244: 240: 236: 229: 228:night fighter 225: 220: 206: 204: 199: 194: 190: 189: 188:schnellbomber 183: 181: 177: 173: 168: 166: 162: 158: 154: 149: 144: 142: 138: 134: 130: 126: 122: 112: 110: 105: 103: 99: 95: 91: 87: 83: 79: 75: 74:outmaneuvered 71: 67: 62: 60: 56: 52: 48: 44: 40: 32: 28: 23: 19: 2038:Surveillance 2016:Experimental 1967: 1898:Light bomber 1893:Heavy bomber 1724: 1706: 1690: 1675: 1657: 1641: 1634: 1623: 1608: 1593: 1578: 1569: 1551: 1531: 1514: 1507: 1492: 1477: 1459: 1440: 1422: 1405: 1397: 1387: 1371: 1356: 1341: 1335:Bibliography 1324:The Diplomat 1323: 1313: 1294: 1285: 1266: 1246: 1237: 1228: 1219: 1212: 1207: 1198: 1189: 1181: 1169: 1160: 1141: 1132: 1123: 1114: 1098: 1093: 1084: 1075: 1066: 1057: 1048: 1039: 1030: 1021: 1013: 1006: 987: 981: 972: 968: 942: 933: 924: 910: 901: 892: 871: 862: 853: 845: 837: 828: 807: 795:. Retrieved 790: 778: 764: 757: 745: 736: 727: 718: 709: 684: 667: 656: 633: 594:interceptors 579: 561: 538: 526:jet fighters 498: 482:wing on the 480:laminar-flow 469: 444: 421: 409: 386:' precision 381: 355: 348: 340: 316: 295:light bomber 280: 252: 243:World War II 233: 224:light bomber 209:World War II 203:day fighters 186: 184: 172:night bomber 169: 145: 118: 106: 98:XF-85 Goblin 70:World War II 63: 38: 36: 31:World War II 18: 1990:Interdictor 1958:Interceptor 1867:(AEW&C) 1757:Wild Weasel 1751:Interceptor 750:Jones 2009a 253:During the 193:extra power 125:World War I 82:jet engines 2009:Non-combat 1985:Multi-role 1918:Pathfinder 1913:Penetrator 1829:Helicopter 1819:Fixed-wing 1432:1068351234 1182:Ace pilots 696:References 661:, such as 630:Modern era 542:Korean War 461:drop tanks 148:War Office 133:Gotha G.IV 78:drop tanks 2065:Transport 1963:Emergency 1908:Strategic 1834:Unmanned 797:12 August 701:Citations 502:turboprop 486:-powered 301:instead. 291:Newcastle 235:Luftwaffe 129:Zeppelins 2084:Category 1943:Intruder 1740:See also 1274:Archived 1255:Archived 1178:Archived 1149:Archived 512:for the 495:Cold War 358:Big Week 285:'s from 2060:Trainer 2055:Testbed 2021:Liaison 1948:Fighter 1925:Carrier 1881:Gunship 1842:Stealth 1814:Balloon 1809:Airship 1792:Modern 1014:Flight, 644:tankers 47:bombers 2050:Tanker 1968:Escort 1888:Bomber 1871:Attack 1858:Combat 1824:Glider 1731:  1713:  1697:  1682:  1664:  1648:  1615:  1600:  1585:  1558:  1539:  1521:  1499:  1484:  1466:  1447:  1430:  1412:  1378:  1363:  1348:  1133:Flight 1105:  994:  544:, the 484:Merlin 297:, and 287:Norway 263:France 55:loiter 2043:Scout 2031:Scout 1973:Night 1851:Roles 1836:(UAV) 1802:Types 787:(PDF) 676:Notes 424:YB-40 59:raid 51:range 1937:(EW) 1729:ISBN 1711:ISBN 1695:ISBN 1680:ISBN 1662:ISBN 1646:ISBN 1613:ISBN 1598:ISBN 1583:ISBN 1556:ISBN 1537:ISBN 1519:ISBN 1497:ISBN 1482:ISBN 1464:ISBN 1445:ISBN 1428:OCLC 1410:ISBN 1376:ISBN 1361:ISBN 1346:ISBN 1103:ISBN 992:ISBN 799:2018 622:and 567:Mach 437:The 394:and 382:The 325:and 274:and 159:and 135:and 37:The 25:The 770:419 270:'s 94:WWI 2086:: 1633:. 1322:. 1303:. 1131:, 973:78 971:. 967:. 951:^ 880:^ 816:^ 789:. 646:, 618:, 559:. 155:, 104:. 1785:e 1778:t 1771:v 1735:. 1720:. 1701:. 1686:. 1671:. 1652:. 1619:. 1604:. 1589:. 1564:. 1545:. 1525:. 1503:. 1488:. 1472:. 1453:. 1416:. 1390:. 1382:. 1367:. 1352:. 1326:. 1307:. 1109:. 1000:. 918:. 801:. 772:. 230:. 33:.

Index


North American P-51 Mustang
World War II
fighter aircraft
bombers
range
loiter
raid
heavy fighters
World War II
outmaneuvered
drop tanks
jet engines
penetration fighter
Parasite fighters
WWI
XF-85 Goblin
aerial refueling
air superiority
strategic bombing
World War I
Zeppelins
Gotha G.IV
Handley Page Type O
fighter aircraft
War Office
Armstrong Whitworth F.K.6
Sopwith L.R.T.Tr
Vickers F.B.11
synchronisation gear

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