Dive Bombers and Heavy Bombers

In September 1940, the German Luftwaffe switched its attention to bombing British cities, beginning the Blitz. The British retaliated by bombing the German capital of Berlin. These offensives were the start of a strategic bombing war.

The Germans did not have a heavy bomber. Lacking a first-class bombsight to help them bomb from high altitudes, German designers had been told to give all bombers a dive-bombing capability so they could dive low over their targets for accuracy.

Dive bombers attacked in a steep dive; the pilot released his bomb above the target and zoomed away to avoid the explosion. Dive bombers were good at attacking ground targets, such as airfields, and enemy ships; the German Ju-87 Stuka was widely used for this.

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This bomber’s weakness was its relative­ly slow speed, which made it vulnerable to fighters.

The British and the Americans were building four-engine heavy bombers, such as the Lancaster, Halifax, B-17, and B-24. From the time the United States joined the war (after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941), these bombers played an important role in Allied offensive strategies.