295:, which included wings and a rocket motor to allow the bomb to glide some distance away from the launch aircraft. This weapon was designed for use against thinly armored but highly defended targets such as convoy merchantmen or their escorting warships. When launched, a small liquid-fueled rocket fired to speed the weapon up and get it out in front of the releasing aircraft, which was flown to approach the target just off to one side. The bomb then dropped close to the water and glided in parallel to the launch aircraft, with the bomb aimer adjusting the flight left or right. As long as the bomb was dropped at roughly the right range so it did not run out of altitude while gliding in, the system was easy to use, at least against slow-moving targets.
212:. This weapon was designed specifically to pierce the deck armor of heavy cruisers and battleships. The bomb aimer dropped the bomb from high altitude while the aircraft was still approaching the ship, and guided it to impact with the target by sending commands to spoilers attached to its rear. This proved to be difficult to do, because as the bomb dropped toward the target it fell further behind the launch aircraft, eventually becoming difficult to see. This problem was solved by having the launch aircraft slow down and enter a climb to avoid overtaking the bomb as it fell.
143:, a wire-guided flying missile which would essentially have comprised a naval torpedo with an attached airframe. It was not intended to be flown into a target, but rather at a suitable altitude and position, a signal would be transmitted, causing the airframe components to detach from the torpedo which would then enter the water and continue towards its target. Guidance signals were to be transmitted through a thin copper wire, and guide flares were to be carried to help control.
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service in 1943. The basic A-1 model was the only one to be produced in any number, but developments included the B model with a custom armor-piercing warhead, and the C model with a conical warhead which was designed to hit the water short of the ship and then travel a short distance underwater to hit the ship below the waterline. The guidance system for the Hs 293 series was the same as the Fritz-X unpowered munition; it used a
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157:), and had some experience in this area. Flight testing was performed under the supervision of an engineer called Dorner from January 1915 onwards, using airships as carriers and different types of biplane and monoplane glider airframes to which a torpedo was fitted. The last test flight was performed on February 8, 1918.
415:
models. The use was problematic – as the bomb approaches the target, even tiny amounts of control input would cause the target to jump around the TV display, so much of the difficulty was in developing control systems that would become progressively less sensitive as the pilot required. A wire-guided
215:
In addition it proved difficult to properly guide the bomb to impact as the angle of descent changed, and if the bomb was not aimed accurately so as to end up roughly right over the target, there was little that could be done at later stages to fix the problem. Nevertheless, the Fritz X proved useful
384:
against these weapons. While early models proved inadequate, by the time the Allies were preparing for the invasion of France in 1944 more capable systems were deployed, and the success rate of guided weapons declined considerably. Even more important to the defeat of the weapons was Allied command
571:
In the anti-ship role, direct attack from an aircraft even at long range became more dangerous due to the deployment of anti-aircraft missiles on ships. Weapons such as the Bat had ranges too short to keep the attacking aircraft out of range, especially in a force provided with air cover. This was
219:
Design work started as early as 1939, and a version of the guidance package mounted to standard 500 kg bombs was tested in
September 1940. It was found that the bomb was unable to penetrate a ship's armor, so changes were made to fit an armor-piercing warhead before the system finally entered
181:
During World War II, the first operational glide bombs were developed by the
Germans as an anti-shipping weapon. Ships are typically very difficult to attack: a direct hit or an extremely near miss is needed to do any serious damage, and hitting a target as small as a ship was difficult in this
349:
Several defensive measures were implemented right away. Ships capable of maneuvering at high speed were instructed to make tight turns across the weapon's flight path in order to complicate the missile operator's efforts. Attacking aircraft were interdicted with air patrols and heavy-caliber
527:. The longer-range Bat used an active radar seeker and was used in the Pacific on August 13, 1944, but could not distinguish between targets in a cluttered environment and could be easily spoofed by even simple radar countermeasures. Only four examples of an experimental glide bomb, the '
691:
jets to launch glide bombs from within
Russian-held territory beyond the range of Ukrainian air defenses. These glide bombs can carry between 250kg and 3 tonnes of explosives for over 60km and have been cited as one of the primary reasons for the Ukrainian retreat from the town of
216:
with crews trained on its use. In test drops from 8,000 m (26,000 ft), experienced bomb aimers could place half the bombs within a 15 m (49 ft 3 in) radius and 90% within 30 m (98 ft 5 in).
1003:
driven by a battery. ...twelve foot wingspan... almost twelve feet long... The glide ratio of these bombs was an amazing five to one. ...many of the batteries failed to hold charge... The date was May 28, 1944, not the 25th as
432:, worked together on an air-launched gliding torpedo, the "Toraplane", and a gliding bomb, "Doravane". Despite much work and many trials the Toraplane could not be launched with repeatable accuracy and it was abandoned in 1942.
79:
and short flight times. The only effective countermeasure in most cases is to shoot down enemy aircraft before they approach within launching range, making glide bombs very potent weapons where wartime exigencies prevent this.
354:, disrupting either the visual or radio links to the guided weapons. Smoke was used to hide ships at anchor. Allied aircraft also attacked the home bases of the special German units equipped with these weapons, primarily (
54:
path than that of a conventional bomb without such surfaces. This allows it to be released at a distance from the target rather than right over it, allowing a successful attack without exposing the launching aircraft to
444:
started a wide-spanning development program of both glide bombs, known as "GB", and similar systems designed to fall more vertically, as "VG". Several models of both concepts were used in limited numbers during WWII.
593:
Similarly, the need to attack well-defended targets such as airbases and military command posts led to the development of newer generations of glide bombs. European air forces use a glide package with a
551:
After the war, the increasing sophistication of electronics allowed these systems to be developed as practical devices; from the 1960s air forces deployed a number of such systems, including the USAF's
568:
based systems made them unnecessary for all but the most accurate of roles. Various TV-based systems remain in limited service for super-accurate uses, but have otherwise been removed.
467:, but only 42 of 113 bombs released reached anywhere near the target; most "spun in and exploded 15 miles from the target... many of the batteries failed to hold charge").
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Pakistan is fairly open about them having it, see one of their squadron's paintings below clearly depicting Raptor II being launched from one of their
Mirages.
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94:
pioneered the use of remote control systems, allowing the controlling aircraft to direct the bomb to a pinpoint target as a pioneering form of
547:. The AGM-154 JSOW has a range of 12 nmi (22 km) for a low altitude launch, or 70 nmi (130 km) for a high altitude launch.
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reports in his book, "The Forts." This same mistake appears in Polmer and Allen's encyclopedia, "World War II. America at War, 1941–1945."
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ships they were attacking. By 1941, accurate bombing was as difficult as ever, with the added problem of evading anti-aircraft fire.
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guidance. One was created by fitting a control package on the rear of an otherwise standard bomb, starting with their 1400 kg
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were used with some success in this role, but their successes were countered by ever-increasing anti-aircraft defenses on the
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This article is about the use of gliding bombs. For shallow-angle dive bombing, also sometimes termed glide bombing, see
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bombers to drop their payloads far from their targets and thus avoid having to overfly the most concentrated areas of
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against RN and RCN destroyers, sloops and frigates. Its combat debut was made on August 25, 1943, when the sloop
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455:, essentially an autopilot attached to a small glider airframe carrying a bomb. It was intended to allow the
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due to their low cost and reduced vulnerability to
Ukrainian air defenses compared to more sophisticated
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was slightly damaged by a missile which failed to fully detonate, but killed one crewman. Another sloop,
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with longer flight times and more easily detected propulsion systems. Russian forces have been using
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addressed with the introduction of small jet engines that greatly extended the range, producing the
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radio control transmitter with a single two-axis joystick in the deploying bomber, and an FuG 230
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to disrupt the guidance signal. Ultimately nine different jamming systems were deployed in the
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330:. Over one-thousand Allied soldiers died on 25 November 1943 when a Hs 293 sank the troopship
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are glide bombs developed by
Pakistan. The H-4 may be a copy or a Pakistani variant of the
556:. Contrast seekers were also steadily improved, becoming very effective in the widely used
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400:'s advance, but this mission was unsuccessful. A similar mission against bridges on the
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was hit by three Fritz-X, and although casualties were few, the ship had to be towed to
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404:, designed to slow the Soviet advance into Germany, was made in April 1945 but failed.
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was very slightly damaged by several near misses from Fritz-X bombs. The light cruiser
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of the airspace and the interception of incoming bombers by Allied fighter aircraft.
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wings and a double-boom tail mounted on a two thousand-pound bomb... depended on
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at the southern end of the
Cherbourg peninsula in an attempt to break US general
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fire. It was first used on 28 May 1944 against the
Eifeltor marshalling yard in
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at a fraction of the cost—sometimes by installing flight control kits on simple
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The German solution was the development of a number of glide bombs employing
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missile. Both were standard systems until the 1980s when the development of
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version was also developed, but this Hs 293B variant was never deployed.
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113:" does not refer to the use of glide bombs, but a style of shallow-angle
1131:"Army 2016: Russia to complete trials of cluster bomb | Jane's 360"
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American, British and
Canadian scientists also developed sophisticated
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guidance kit attached, converting the unguided bomb into a glide bomb.
1063:. International Assessment and Strategy Center (IASC). Archived from
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for directional control after release. This consisted of a series of
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are a family of glide bombs under development by German defence firm
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1061:"Report On the International Defense Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS)"
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was also hit and put out of action for thirteen months as a result.
98:. Modern systems are generally self-guided or semi-automated, using
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Twenty Five Milk Runs (and a few others): To Hell's Angels and back
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The Hs 293 was also used in August 1944 to attack bridges over the
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for repairs and was out of action for six months. The cruiser
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kits have been used extensively by
Russian forces in the
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Glide bombs adapted from existing unguided bombs such as
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of Italy in 1943, Germany damaged the Italian battleship
912:
Zeitschrift für Flugwissenschaften und Weltraumforschung
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was already occupied with remote controlled boats (the
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in February 2024 by the Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief
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Photo of Siemens torpedo glider beneath Zeppelin L35
954:. Vol. 2. New York: Random House. p. 457.
855:"Russia's Old Bombs Elude Ukraine's Modern Defenses"
59:
near the target. Glide bombs can accurately deliver
470:More advanced models in the GB series included the
853:Gettleman, Jeffrey; Schmitt, Eric (May 25, 2023).
256:with Fritz-X bombs. Attacks were also made on the
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323:on August 27, 1943; they also seriously damaged
298:The Hs 293 was first used operationally in the
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618:is an American glide bomb introduced in 1998.
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448:The first to be used operationally was the
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16:Aerial weapon with flight control surfaces
952:Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunted 1942–1945
598:warhead for remotely attacking airbases.
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1059:Fisher Jr., Richard (29 October 2004).
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829:(first ed.). Osprey. p. 143.
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1106:"South African missiles/rockets/PGM's"
1044:: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
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576:class that remains widely used today.
291:A more widely employed weapon was the
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887:American Attack Aircraft Since 1926
407:The Germans also experimented with
164:bomber as a carrier craft, but the
139:suggested what became known as the
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86:-era glide bombs like the German
71:—and they are very difficult for
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975:Johnson, Richard Riley (1995).
663:and FAB-1500 using inexpensive
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738:subsidiary of Russian company
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1172:Article on the GB1 glide bomb
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634:Adani Defence & Aerospace
616:AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon
523:and its earlier variant, the
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30:A German 'Fritz X' glide bomb
983:: Trafford. pp. 105–8.
884:E.R. Johnson (14 May 2012).
7:
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669:Russian invasion of Ukraine
493:for anti-ship use, and the
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890:. McFarland. p. 435.
650:A Russian FAB-3000 with a
642:is an American glide bomb.
232:receiver in the munition.
205:, commonly referred to as
160:It was planned to use the
63:in a manner comparable to
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519:glide bombs included the
96:precision-guided munition
827:A Dictionary of Aviation
825:Wragg, David W. (1973).
681:unmanned aerial vehicles
411:guidance systems on the
162:Siemens-Schuckert R.VIII
461:anti-aircraft artillery
73:surface-to-air missiles
48:flight control surfaces
742:is developing a glide
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590:
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535:Post-WWII developments
345:Allied countermeasures
147:Siemens-Schuckertwerke
141:Siemens torpedo glider
57:anti-aircraft defenses
50:to give it a flatter,
31:
1167:at Wikimedia Commons
722:Raptor II glide bomb.
649:
640:GBU-44/B Viper Strike
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574:anti-shipping missile
543:An F-16C releases an
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352:anti-aircraft weapons
168:stopped the project.
106:to hit their target.
29:
1137:on September 7, 2017
950:Blair, Clay (1998).
632:and manufactured by
604:GPS guidance systems
800:Small Diameter Bomb
677:hypersonic missiles
610:Notable glide bombs
337:from Mediterranean
199:armor-piercing bomb
137:Wilhelm von Siemens
918:: 135–36. 1957–58.
859:The New York Times
656:
591:
549:
531:', were produced.
508:', as well as the
430:Nevil Shute Norway
32:
1163:Media related to
997:inertial guidance
990:978-1-4120-2501-0
961:978-0-679-45742-8
931:Missing or empty
897:978-0-7864-5189-0
624:are developed by
472:television guided
442:US Army Air Force
426:Dennistoun Burney
203:Ruhrstahl SD 1400
182:period. At first
135:In October 1914,
104:laser designators
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1133:. Archived from
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1094:on 17 July 2011.
1090:. Archived from
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1141:September 6,
1139:. Retrieved
1135:the original
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1110:. Retrieved
1100:
1092:the original
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1069:. Retrieved
1065:the original
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1029:. Retrieved
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979:. Victoria,
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770:Bigeye bomb
177:Development
131:World War I
1186:Categories
1112:3 December
1031:2024-04-23
1001:gyroscopes
812:References
736:NPO Bazalt
726:HOPE/HOSBO
606:are used.
584:HOPE/HOSBO
436:US designs
420:UK program
409:television
402:river Oder
327:Athabaskan
188:Royal Navy
109:The term "
36:glide bomb
775:Blue Boar
588:Luftwaffe
525:'Pelican'
332:HMT
313:Landguard
276:USS
258:USS
230:Straßburg
222:Funkgerät
166:Armistice
1040:cite web
1025:Archived
863:Archived
765:Al-Tariq
754:See also
740:Techmash
716:GIDS REK
694:Avdiivka
362:100 and
306:Bideford
267:Warspite
260:Savannah
224:FuG 203
151:FL-boats
61:warheads
1071:26 June
869:July 3,
795:Paveway
785:H-4 SOW
708:H-4 SOW
704:H-2 SOW
661:FAB-500
586:of the
517:US Navy
513:'Felix'
465:Cologne
450:Aeronca
413:Hs 293D
356:Gruppen
88:Fritz X
987:
958:
894:
833:
806:Takbir
712:Takbir
679:, and
485:, and
398:Patton
394:Sélune
366:II of
364:Gruppe
285:Uganda
247:Italia
1192:Bombs
802:(SDB)
720:Denel
689:Su-35
685:Su-34
626:India
600:Laser
521:'Bat'
506:Razon
487:GB-13
483:GB-12
334:Rohna
325:HMCS
320:Egret
272:Malta
208:Fritz
46:with
42:is a
1143:2017
1114:2019
1073:2009
1046:link
985:ISBN
956:ISBN
937:help
892:ISBN
871:2023
831:ISBN
790:JDAM
714:and
687:and
665:UMPK
652:UMPK
630:DRDO
602:and
564:and
504:', '
502:Azon
498:GB-8
479:GB-5
475:GB-4
453:GB-1
440:The
428:and
392:and
318:HMS
311:HMS
304:HMS
283:HMS
265:HMS
253:Roma
226:Kehl
90:and
916:5–6
566:GPS
500:, '
390:Sée
373:).
153:or
102:or
100:GPS
38:or
1188::
1116:.
1042:}}
1038:{{
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981:CA
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926:}}
922:{{
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861:.
857:.
845:^
710:,
706:,
675:,
515:.
481:,
477:,
371:40
341:.
210:-X
117:.
34:A
1145:.
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1048:)
1034:.
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939:)
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