Editing Bomber (section)

===World War II===

With engine power as a major limitation, combined with the desire for accuracy and other operational factors, bomber designs tended to be tailored to specific roles. By the start of the war this included:

* [[dive bomber]] – specially strengthened for vertical diving attacks for greater accuracy
* [[light bomber]], [[medium bomber]] and [[heavy bomber]] – subjective definitions based on size and/or payload capacity
* [[torpedo bomber]] – specialized aircraft armed with torpedoes
* [[ground attack aircraft]] – aircraft used against targets on a battlefield such as troop or tank concentrations
* [[night bomber]] – specially equipped to operate at night when opposing defences are limited
* [[Maritime patrol aircraft|maritime patrol]] – long range bombers that were used against enemy shipping, particularly submarines
* [[fighter-bomber]] – a modified fighter aircraft used as a light bomber

Bombers of this era were not intended to attack other aircraft although most were fitted with defensive weapons. World War II saw the beginning of the widespread use of high speed bombers which began to minimize defensive weaponry in order to attain higher speed. Some smaller designs were used as the basis for [[night fighter]]s. A number of fighters, such as the [[Hawker Hurricane]] were used as ground attack aircraft, replacing earlier conventional light bombers that proved unable to defend themselves while carrying a useful bomb load.