 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Attack aircraft" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(May 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Anattack aircraft,strike aircraft, orattack bomber is a tacticalmilitary aircraft that has a primary role of carrying outairstrikes with greater precision thanbombers, and is prepared to encounter strong low-levelair defenses while pressing the attack.[1] This class of aircraft is designed mostly forclose air support and naval air-to-surface missions, overlapping thetactical bomber mission. Designs dedicated to non-naval roles are often known asground-attack aircraft.[2]
Fighter aircraft often carry out the attack role, although they would not be considered attack aircraftper se;fighter-bomber conversions of those same aircraft would be considered part of the class.Strike fighters, which have effectively replaced the fighter-bomber andlight bomber concepts, also differ little from the broad concept of an attack aircraft.
The dedicated attack aircraft as a separate class existed primarily during and afterWorld War II. The precise implementation varied from country to country, and was handled by a wide variety of designs. In theUnited States andBritain, attack aircraft were generally light bombers ormedium bombers, sometimes carrying heavier forward-firing weapons like theNorth American B-25G Mitchell andde Havilland Mosquito Tsetse. InGermany and theUSSR, where they were known asSchlachtflugzeug ("battle aircraft") orsturmovik ("storm trooper") respectively, this role was carried out by purpose-designed and heavily armored aircraft such as theHenschel Hs 129 andIlyushin Il-2. The Germans and Soviets also used light bombers in this role: cannon-armed versions of theJunkers Ju 87 Stuka greatly outnumbered the Hs 129, while thePetlyakov Pe-2 was used for this role in spite of not being specifically designed for it.
In the latter part of World War II, thefighter-bomber began to take over many attack roles, a transition that continued in the post-war era.Jet-powered examples were relatively rare but not unknown, such as theBlackburn Buccaneer. TheU.S. Navy continued to introduce new aircraft in theirA-series, but these were mostly similar tolight andmedium bombers. The need for a separate attack aircraft category was greatly diminished by the introduction ofprecision-guided munitions which allowed almost any aircraft to carry out this role while remaining safe at high altitude.Attack helicopters also have overtaken many remaining roles that could only be carried out at lower altitudes.
Since the 1960s, only two dedicated attack aircraft designs have been widely introduced, the AmericanFairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II and the Soviet/RussianSukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot.
A variety oflight attack aircraft has also been introduced in the post-World War II era, usually based on adaptedtrainers or other lightfixed-wing aircraft. These have been used incounter-insurgency operations.
_(7911148090).jpg)
U.S. attack aircraft are currently identified by the prefixA-, as in "A-6 Intruder" and "A-10 Thunderbolt II". However, until the end ofWorld War II theA- designation was shared between attack planes andlight bombers[3][4] forUSAAF aircraft (as opposed toB- prefix for medium or heavy bombers). The US Navy used aseparate designation system and at the time preferred to call similar aircraft scout bombers (SB) or torpedo bombers (TB or BT). For example,Douglas SBD Dauntless scout bomber was designated A-24 when used by the USAAF. It was not until 1946, when the US Navy andUS Marine Corps started using the "attack" (A) designation, when it renamedBT2D Skyraider andBTM Mauler to, respectively, AD Skyraider and AM Mauler.[5]
As with many aircraft classifications, the definition ofattack aircraft is somewhat vague and has tended to change over time. Current U.S.military doctrine defines it as an aircraft which most likely performs anattack mission, more than any other kind of mission.Attack mission means, in turn, specifically tactical air-to-ground action—in other words, neither air-to-air action norstrategic bombing is considered anattack mission.[6] InUnited States Navy vocabulary, the alternative designation for the same activity is astrike mission.[6] Attack missions are principally divided into two categories:air interdiction andclose air support.[6] In the last several decades, the rise of the ubiquitousmulti-role fighter has created some confusion about the difference between attack and fighter aircraft. According to the current U.S. designation system, an attack aircraft (A) is designed primarily for air-to-surface (Attack: Aircraft designed to find, attack, and destroy land or sea targets)[7] missions (also known as "attack missions"), while a fighter categoryF incorporates not only aircraft designed primarily forair-to-air combat, but additionally multipurpose aircraft designed also for ground-attack missions.
"F" - Fighter Aircraft were designed to intercept and destroy other aircraft or missiles. This includes multipurpose aircraft also designed for ground support missions such as interdiction and close air support.[8] Just to mention one example amongst many, theF-111 "Aardvark" was designatedF despite having only minimal air-to-air capabilities. Only a single aircraft in the USAF's current inventory bears a simple, unmixed "A" designation: the A-10 Thunderbolt II.
British designations have included FB for fighter-bomber and more recently "G" for "Ground-attack" as inHarrier GR1 (meaning "Ground-attack/Reconnaissance, Mark 1").
Imperial Japanese Navy designation use "B" to designate carrier attack bomber such as theNakajima B5N Type-97 bomber although these aircraft are mostly used for torpedo attack and level bombing. They also use "D" to specifically designate carrier dive bomber like theYokosuka D4YSuisei.[9][10] However by the end of the world war II, the IJN introduced theAichi B7ARyusei which could performed both torpedo bombing and dive bombing rendering the "D" designation redundant.
TheNATO reporting names for Soviet/Russian ground-attack aircraft at first started with "B" categorizing them as bombers, as in case ofIl-10 'Beast'. But later they were usually classified as fighters ("F")—possibly because (sinceSukhoi Su-7) they were similar in size and visual appearance to Soviet fighters, or were simply derivatives of such.
In thePLAAF, ground-attack aircraft are given the designation "Q". So far this has only been given to theNanchang Q-5.
The attack aircraft as a role was defined by its use duringWorld War I, in support of ground forces on battlefields. Battlefield support is generally divided intoclose air support and battlefield air interdiction, the first requiring strict and the latter only general cooperation with friendly surface forces.[11] Such aircraft also attacked targets in rear areas. Such missions required flying where light anti-aircraft fire was expected and operating at low altitudes to precisely identify targets. Other roles, including those oflight bombers,medium bombers,dive bombers,reconnaissance,fighters,fighter-bombers, could and did perform air strikes on battlefields.[12] All these types could significantly damage ground targets from a low level flight, either by bombing, machine guns, or both.
Attack aircraft came to diverge from bombers and fighters. While bombers could be used on a battlefield, their slower speeds made them extremely vulnerable to ground fire, as did the lighter construction of fighters. The survivability of attack aircraft was guaranteed by their speed/power, protection (i.e. armor panels) and strength of construction;[12]
Germany was the first country to produce dedicated ground-attack aircraft (designatedCL-class andJ-class). They were put into use in autumn 1917,[13] during World War I. Most notable was theJunkers J.I, which pioneered the idea of an armored "bathtub", that was both fuselage structure and protection for engine and crew. The British experimented with theSopwith TF series (termed "trench fighters"), although these did not see combat.
The last battles of 1918 on the Western Front demonstrated that ground-attacking aircraft were a valuable component ofall-arms tactics.Close support groundstrafing (machine-gunning) and tactical bombing ofinfantry (especially when moving between trenches and along roads),machine gunposts,artillery, and supply formations was a part of the Allied armies' strength in holding German attacks and supporting Allied counter-attacks and offensives. Admittedly, the cost to the Allies was high, with theRoyal Flying Corps sustaining a loss rate approaching 30% among ground-attack aircraft.
| This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(May 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
After World War I, it was widely believed that using aircraft against tactical targets was of little use other than in harassing and undermining enemy morale; attacking combatants was generally much more dangerous to aircrews than their targets, a problem that was continually becoming more acute with the ongoing refinement ofanti-aircraft weapons. Within the range of types serving attack roles,dive bombers were increasingly being seen[citation needed] as more effective than aircraft designed forstrafing withmachine guns orcannons.
Nevertheless, during the 1920s, the US military, in particular, procured specialized "Attack" aircraft and formed dedicated units, that were trained primarily for that role. The US ArmyEngineering Division became involved in designing ground attack aircraft. The 1920Boeing GA-1 was an armored twin-enginetriplane for ground strafing with eightmachine guns and about a ton of armor plate, and the 1922Aeromarine PG-1 was a combined pursuit (fighter) and ground attack design with a 37mm gun. TheUnited States Marine Corps Aviation appliedclose air support tactics in theBanana Wars. While they did not pioneer dive bombing tactics, Marine aviators were the first to include it in their doctrine during theUnited States occupation of Haiti andNicaragua.[14] TheUnited States Army Air Corps was notable for its creation of a separate "A-" designation for attack types, distinct from and alongside "B-" for bomber types and "P-" for pursuit (later replaced by "F-" for fighter) aircraft. The first designated attack type to be operational with the USAAC was theCurtiss A-2 Falcon. Nevertheless, such aircraft, including the A-2's replacement, theCurtiss A-12 Shrike, were unarmored and highly vulnerable to AA fire.
The BritishRoyal Air Force focused primarily on strategic bombing, rather than ground attack. However, like most air arms of the period it did operate attack aircraft, named Army Cooperation in RAF parlance, which included theHawker Hector,Westland Lysander and others.
Aviation played a role in the BrazilianConstitutionalist Revolution of 1932, although both sides had few aircraft. The federal government had approximately 58 aircraft divided between theNavy and theArmy, as theAir Force at this time did not constitute an independent branch. In contrast, the rebels had only twoPotez 25 planes and twoWaco CSO, plus a small number of private aircraft.[15]
During the 1930s,Nazi Germany had begun to field a class ofSchlacht ("battle") aircraft, such as theHenschel Hs 123. Moreover, the experiences of GermanCondor Legion during theSpanish Civil War, against an enemy with few fighter aircraft, changed ideas about ground attack. Though equipped with generally unsuitable designs such as theHenschel Hs 123 andcannon-armed versions of theHeinkel He 112, their armament and pilots proved that aircraft were a very effective weapon, even without bombs. This led to some support within theLuftwaffe for the creation of an aircraft dedicated to this role, resulting in tenders for a new "attack aircraft". This led to the introduction (in 1942) of a unique single-seat, twin-engine attack aircraft, the slow-moving but heavily armored and formidably armedHenschel Hs 129Panzerknacker ("Safecracker" /"Tank Cracker").
In Japan, theImperial Japanese Navy had developed theAichi D3A dive bomber (based on theHeinkel He 70) and theMitsubishi B5M light attack bomber. Both, like their US counterparts, were lightly armored types, and were critically reliant on surprise attacks and the absence of significant fighter or AA opposition.
During theWinter War, theSoviet Air Forces used thePolikarpov R-5SSS, andPolikarpov R-ZSh, as attack aircraft.
Perhaps the most notable attack type to emerge during the late 1930s was theSovietIlyushin Il-2Sturmovik, which became the most-produced military aircraft type in history.
AsWorld War II approached, the concept of an attack aircraft was not well defined, and various air services used many different names for widely differing types, all performing similar roles (sometimes in tandem with non-attack roles of bombers, fighters, reconnaissance and other roles.
The British concept of a light aircraft mixing all the roles that required extensive communication with land forces: reconnaissance, liaison,artillery spotting, aerial supply, and, last but not least, occasional strikes on the battlefield.[16][17][18] The concept was similar to front-line aircraft used in the World War I, which was called theCL class in the German Empire.[19] Eventually the RAF's experience showed types such asWestland Lysander to be unacceptably vulnerable and it was replaced by faster fighter types for photo-reconnaissance, and light aircraft for artillery spotting.
During the inter-war period, the British flew theFairey Battle, a light bomber which originated in a 1932 specification. Designs in 1938 for a replacement were adapted as a target tug. The lastBritish specification issued for a light bomber was B.20/40 described as a "Close Army Support Bomber" capable of dive bombing and photo-reconnaissance. However, the specification was dropped before an aircraft went into production.[20]
In some air services, dive bombers did not equip ground-attack units, but were treated as a separate class. In Nazi Germany, the Luftwaffe distinguished between theStuka (Sturzkampf-, "dive bombing") units, equipped withJunkers Ju 87 fromSchlacht ("battle") units, using strafing/low-level bombing types such as theHenschel Hs 123).
Although not a synonymous class with ground-attack aircraft, fighter-bombers were usually used for the role, and proved to excel at it, even when they were only lightly armored. The Royal Air Force[citation needed] andUnited States Army Air Forces relegated obsolescent fighters to this role, while cutting-edge fighters would serve asinterceptors and establishair superiority.
TheUnited States Navy, in distinction to the USAAF, preferred the older term "Scout-Bomber", under a "SB-" designation, such as theCurtiss SB2C Helldiver.
| This sectionneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.(May 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
TheJunkers Ju 87s of the German Luftwaffe became virtually synonymous with close air support during the early months of World War II. The British Commonwealth'sDesert Air Force, led by Arthur Tedder, became the first Allied tactical formation to emphasize the attack role,[citation needed] usually in the form of single-engineHawker Hurricane andCurtiss P-40 fighter-bombers or specialized "tank-busters", such as the Hurricane Mk IID, armed with two 40 mmVickers S guns (notablyNo. 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 theIlyushin Il-2 Sturmovik. The women pilots known as the "Night Witches" utilised an obsolescent, wooden light trainer biplane type, thePolikarpov 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 leadingStuka ace,Hans-Ulrich Rudel, who claimed 500 tanks,[21] a battleship, a cruiser, and two destroyers in 2,300 combat missions.
TheBristol Beaufighter, based on an obsolescent RAF bomber, became a versatile twin-engine attack aircraft and served in almost everytheatre 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 GermanFocke-Wulf Fw 190, the BritishHawker Typhoon and the USRepublic 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 four20mm 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 theNorth 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 "energy fighter": ideal for high-speed dive-and-climb tactics, including strafing attacks. Its armament of eight0.50 caliber machine guns was effective against Axis infantry and light vehicles in bothEurope and thePacific.
While machine guns and cannon were initially sufficient, the evolution of well-armored tanks required heavier weapons. To augment bombs,high explosive rockets were introduced, although these unguided projectiles were still "barely adequate" because of their inaccuracy.[22] For the BritishRP3, one hit per sortie was considered acceptable.[23] 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.[24]
.jpg)
The ultimate development of the cannon-armed light attack aircraft was the small production run in 1944 of theHenschel Hs 129B-3, armed with a modifiedPAK 40 75 mm anti-tank gun. This weapon, theBordkanone BK 7,5, was the most powerful forward-firing weapon fitted to a productionmilitary 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 AmericanB-25 MitchellG/H, which mounted either aM4 cannon, or light-weight T13E1 or M5 versions of the same gun. These weapons, however, were hand-loaded, had shorter barrels and/or a lowermuzzle velocity than the BK 7,5 and, therefore, poorer armor penetration, accuracy and rate of fire. (Except for versions of thePiaggio 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-engineLockheed AC-130E Spectre; equipped with a 105 mmM102 howitzer, entered service with the US Air Force.)
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(May 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
In the immediate post war era thepiston-engined ground-attack aircraft remained useful since all of the early jets lacked endurance due to the fuel consumption rates of the jet engines. The higher powered piston engine types that had been too late for World War II were still capable of holding their own against the jets as they were able to both out accelerate and out maneuver the jets. TheRoyal NavyHawker Sea Fury fighters and the U.S.Vought F4U Corsair andDouglas A-1 Skyraider were operated during theKorean War while the latter continued to be used throughout theVietnam War.
.jpg)
Many post-World War II era air forces have been reluctant to adopt fixed-wing jet aircraft developed specifically for ground attack. Although close air support and interdiction remain crucial to the modern battlefield, attack aircraft are less glamorous than fighters, whileair force pilots and military planners have a certain well-cultivated contempt for "mud-movers". More practically, the cost of operating a specialized ground-attack aircraft is harder to justify when compared withmultirole combat aircraft.Jet attack aircraft were designed and employed during the Cold War era, such as thecarrier-based nuclear strikeDouglas A-3 Skywarrior andNorth American A-5 Vigilante, while theGrumman A-6 Intruder,F-105 Thunderchief,F-111,F-117 Nighthawk,LTV A-7 Corsair II,Sukhoi Su-25,A-10 Thunderbolt II,Panavia Tornado,AMX,Dassault Étendard,Super Étendard and others were designed specifically for ground-attack,strike,close support andanti-armor work, with little or noair-to-air capability.
Ground attack has increasingly become a task of converted trainers, like theBAE Systems Hawk orAero L-39 Albatros, and many trainers are built with this task in mind, like theCASA C-101 or theAermacchi MB-339. Suchcounter-insurgency aircraft are popular with air forces which cannot afford to purchase more expensive multirole aircraft, or do not wish to risk the few such aircraft they have on light ground attack missions. A proliferation oflow intensity conflicts in the post-World War II era has also expanded need for these types of aircraft to conductcounter-insurgency and light ground attack operations.
A primary distinction of post-World War IIaviation between theU.S. Army and theU.S. Air Force was that latter had generally been allocated allfixed-wing aircraft, whilehelicopters were under control of the former; this was governed by the 1948Key West Agreement. The Army, wishing to have its own resources to support its troops in combat and faced with a lack of Air Force enthusiasm for the ground-attack role, developed the dedicatedattack helicopter.
On 17 January 1991, Task Force Normandy began its attack on two Iraqi anti-aircraft missile sites. TF Normandy, under the command of LTCRichard A. "Dick" Cody, consisted of nineAH-64 Apaches, oneUH-60 Black Hawk and four Air ForceMH-53J Pave Low helicopters. The purpose of this mission was to create a safe corridor through the Iraqi air defense system. The attack was a huge success and cleared the way for the beginning of the Allied bombing campaign ofOperation Desert Storm.[25]
.jpg)
One concern involving the Apache arose when a unit of these helicopters was very slow to deploy during U.S. military involvement in Kosovo. According to theArmy Times,[26] the Army is shifting its doctrine to favor ground-attack aircraft overattack helicopters for deep strike attack missions because ground-attack helicopters have proved to be highly vulnerable to small-arms fire; the U.S. Marine Corps has noted similar problems.[27]
In the late 1960s theUnited States Air Force requested a dedicatedclose air support (CAS) plane that became theFairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II. The A-10 was originally conceived as ananti-armor weapon (theA-X program requirements specifically called for an aircraft mounting a large rotary cannon to destroy massed Warsaw Pact armored forces) with limited secondary capability in theinterdiction andtactical bombing roles. Today it remains the only dedicated fixed-wing ground-attack aircraft in any U.S. military service. Overall U.S. experience in theGulf War,Kosovo War,Afghanistan War, andIraq War has resulted in renewed interest in such aircraft. The U.S. Air Force is currently researching a replacement for the A-10 and started theOA-X program to procure a light attack aircraft.[28]The Soviets' similarSukhoi Su-25 (Frogfoot) found success in the "flying artillery" role with many air forces.The UK has completely retired theBAE Harrier II in 2011,[29] and thePanavia Tornado dedicated attack-reconnaissance aircraft in 2019. It obtained theF-35 in 2018 and it retains its fleet ofEurofighter Typhoon multirole fighters.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
Media related toAttack aircraft at Wikimedia Commons
