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Medium Bomber

 
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A medium bomber is a bomber aircraft designed to operate with medium bombloads over medium distances; primarily to distinguish them from the much larger heavy bomber
Heavy bomber

A heavy bomber is a bomber aircraft of the largest size, and typically longest ranges. The term was used primarily prior to and during World War II, when engine power was so scarce that designs had to be carefully tailored to their missions....
s and smaller light bomber
Light bomber

Light bomber is a relatively small and fast class of military bomber aircraft which was employed mainly before the 1950s. Such aircraft would probably not carry more than one ton of Bomb....
s.






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A medium bomber is a bomber aircraft designed to operate with medium bombloads over medium distances; primarily to distinguish them from the much larger heavy bomber
Heavy bomber

A heavy bomber is a bomber aircraft of the largest size, and typically longest ranges. The term was used primarily prior to and during World War II, when engine power was so scarce that designs had to be carefully tailored to their missions....
s and smaller light bomber
Light bomber

Light bomber is a relatively small and fast class of military bomber aircraft which was employed mainly before the 1950s. Such aircraft would probably not carry more than one ton of Bomb....
s. The term was used primarily prior to and during World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
, when engine power was so scarce that designs had to be carefully tailored to their missions. The medium bomber was generally considered to be any design that delivered about 4,000 lb (1.8 t) over ranges of about 1,500 to 2,000 miles (2,400 to 3,200 km). Heavy bombers were those with a nominal load of 8,000 lb (3.6 t) or more, and light bombers carried 2,000 lb (0.9 t) loads. These distinctions were already disappearing by the middle of WWII, when the average fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft

A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets by dropping bombs....
 could now carry a 2,000 lb (0.9 t) load and ever more powerful engines allowed "light" designs to largely take over the missions formerly filled by mediums.

After the war the term disappeared from use almost instantly. Although a number of aircraft were designed in this performance range, they were now almost universally referred to as tactical bombers instead. Famous examples of post-war mediums include the English Electric Canberra
English Electric Canberra

The English Electric Canberra is a first-generation jet-powered light bomber manufactured in large numbers through the 1950s. It proved to be highly adaptable, serving in such varied roles for tactical bomber, photographic, electronics, and meteorological reconnaissance....
 (and its US counterpart, the Martin B-57) and Ilyushin Il-28
Ilyushin Il-28

The Ilyushin Il-28 is a jet engine bomber aircraft of the immediate post war period that was originally manufactured for the Soviet Air Force. It was the Soviet Union's first such aircraft to enter large-scale production....
 Beagle.

Examples

  • Heinkel He 111
    Heinkel He 111

    The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by G?nter brothers in the early 1930s in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Often described as a "Wolf in sheep's clothing", it masqueraded as a transport aircraft, but its purpose was to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast medium bomber....
    , considered a heavy by the Luftwaffe
    Luftwaffe

    is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1933 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
  • Junkers Ju 88
    Junkers Ju 88

    The Junkers Ju 88 was a Second World War Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft.Designed by Hugo Junkers' Junkers company in the mid 1930s, it became one of the most versatile combat aircraft of the war....
  • B-25 Mitchell
    B-25 Mitchell

    The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allies of World War II air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades....
  • B-26 Marauder
    B-26 Marauder

    The Martin B-26 Marauder was a World War II twin-engine medium bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company.The first US medium bomber used in the Pacific War in early 1942, it was also used in the Mediterranean Theatre of World War II and in Western Front ....
  • Handley Page Hampden
    Handley Page Hampden

    The Handley Page Aircraft Company HP.52 Hampden was a United Kingdom twin-engine medium bomber of the Royal Air Force serving in the World War II....
     - similar bomb load to the Wellington but nearly as fast as a Bristol Blenheim
    Bristol Blenheim

    The Bristol Blenheim was a United Kingdom light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company that was used extensively in the early days of the World War II....
     light bomber
  • Vickers Wellington
    Vickers Wellington

    The Vickers Wellington was a United Kingdom twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R....
  • Bristol Beaufort
    Bristol Beaufort

    The Bristol Type 152 Beaufort was a United Kingdom large twin-engined torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from the earlier Bristol Blenheim light bomber....
     - torpedo bomber, used more often as mine layer.
  • English Electric Canberra
    English Electric Canberra

    The English Electric Canberra is a first-generation jet-powered light bomber manufactured in large numbers through the 1950s. It proved to be highly adaptable, serving in such varied roles for tactical bomber, photographic, electronics, and meteorological reconnaissance....
     - post war jet bomber
  • Martin B-57 - US development of the Canberra
  • Ilyushin Il-28
    Ilyushin Il-28

    The Ilyushin Il-28 is a jet engine bomber aircraft of the immediate post war period that was originally manufactured for the Soviet Air Force. It was the Soviet Union's first such aircraft to enter large-scale production....
  • Savoia-Marchetti SM.79