Editing Attack aircraft (section)

=== World War II ===
{{More citations needed section|date=May 2021}}
[[File:Junkers Ju 87B dropping bombs.jpg|thumb|right|[[Junkers Ju 87B|Junkers Ju 87B ''Stuka'']] dropping bombs]]

The [[Junkers Ju 87]]s of the German Luftwaffe became virtually synonymous with close air support during the early months of World War II. The British Commonwealth's [[Desert Air Force]], led by Arthur Tedder, became the first Allied tactical formation to emphasize the attack role,{{Citation needed|date=September 2022}} usually in the form of single-engine [[Hawker Hurricane]] and [[Curtiss P-40]] fighter-bombers or specialized "tank-busters", such as the Hurricane Mk IID, armed with two 40&nbsp;mm [[Vickers S gun]]s (notably [[No. 6 Squadron RAF]]).
At around the same time, a massive invasion by Axis forces had forced the Soviet air forces to quickly expand their army support capacity, such as the [[Ilyushin Il-2]] Sturmovik. The women pilots known as the "[[Night Witches]]" utilised an obsolescent, wooden light trainer biplane type, the [[Polikarpov Po-2]] and small anti-personnel bombs in "harassment bombing" attacks that proved difficult to counter.

Wartime experience showed that poorly armored and/or lightly built, pre-war types were unacceptably vulnerable, especially to fighters. Nevertheless, skilled crews could be highly successful in those types, such as the leading ''Stuka'' ace, [[Hans-Ulrich Rudel]], who claimed 500 tanks,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Germany at war : 400 years of military history|others=Zabecki, David T.,, Showalter, Dennis E.|isbn=978-1-59884-981-3|location=Santa Barbara, California|oclc=896872865|date = 2014-10-28}}</ref> a battleship, a cruiser, and two destroyers in 2,300 combat missions.

The [[Bristol Beaufighter]], based on an obsolescent RAF bomber, became a versatile twin-engine attack aircraft and served in almost every [[Theater (warfare)|theatre]] of the war, in the maritime strike and ground attack roles as well as that of night fighter.

Conversely, some mid-war attack types emerged as adaptations of fighters, including several versions of the German [[Focke-Wulf Fw 190]], the British [[Hawker Typhoon]] and the US [[Republic P-47 Thunderbolt]]. The Typhoon, which was disappointing as a fighter, due to poor high altitude performance, was very fast at low altitudes and thus became the RAF's premier ground attack fighter. It was armed with four [[Hispano-Suiza HS.404|20mm cannon]], augmented first with bombs, then rockets. Likewise the P-47 was designed and intended for use as a high altitude bomber escort, but gradually found that role filled by the [[North American P-51 Mustang]] (because of its much longer range and greater maneuverability). The P-47 was also heavier and more robust than the P-51 and regarded therefore, as an "[[Basic fighter maneuvers#Specific energy|energy fighter]]": ideal for high-speed dive-and-climb tactics, including strafing attacks. Its armament of eight [[M2 Browning|0.50 caliber machine guns]] was effective against Axis infantry and light vehicles in both [[European theatre of World War II|Europe]] and the [[Pacific War|Pacific]].

While machine guns and cannon were initially sufficient, the evolution of well-armored tanks required heavier weapons. To augment bombs, [[Missile|high explosive rockets]] were introduced, although these unguided projectiles were still "barely adequate" because of their inaccuracy.<ref>Gooderson [https://books.google.com/books?id=rZmMDolRSrsC&pg=PA74 1998, p. 121.]</ref> For the British [[RP-3|RP3]], one hit per sortie<!-- w h a t --> was considered acceptable.<ref>Mason 1998,  p. 50.</ref> However, even a near miss with rockets could cause damage or injuries to "soft targets," and patrols by Allied rocket-armed aircraft over Normandy disrupted or even completely paralyzed German road traffic. They also affected morale, because even the prospect of a rocket attack was unnerving.<ref>Shores and Thomas 2005, pp. 245–250.</ref>

[[File:Republic P-47N Thunderbolt in flight (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[P-47 Thunderbolt|Republic P-47N]] Thunderbolt, flew combat missions during World War II]]

The ultimate development of the cannon-armed light attack aircraft was the small production run in 1944 of the [[Henschel Hs 129]]B-3, armed with a modified [[7.5 cm Pak 40|PAK 40 75 mm]] anti-tank gun. This weapon, the ''Bordkanone BK 7,5'', was the most powerful forward-firing weapon fitted to a production [[military aircraft]] during World War II. The only other aircraft to be factory-equipped with similar guns were the 1,420 maritime strike variants of the North American [[North American B-25 Mitchell#Variants|B-25 Mitchell]]G/H, which mounted either a [[75 mm Gun M2/M3/M6|M4 cannon]], or light-weight T13E1 or M5 versions of the same gun. These weapons, however, were hand-loaded, had shorter barrels and/or a lower [[muzzle velocity]] than the BK 7,5 and, therefore, poorer armor penetration, accuracy and rate of fire. (Except for versions of the [[Piaggio P.108]] armed with a 102mm anti-ship cannon, The BK 7,5 was unsurpassed as an aircraft-fitted gun until 1971, when the four-engine [[Lockheed AC-130]]E Spectre; equipped with a 105&nbsp;mm [[M102 howitzer]], entered service with the US Air Force.)