Glide bomb

A glide bomban aerial bomb thatmodifiedaerodynamic surfacesmodify its flight path frompurely ballistic one, toflatter, gliding, one. This extendsrange betweenlaunch aircraft andtarget. Glide bombsoften fittedcontrol systems, allowingcontrolling aircraftdirectbomb topinpoint target.

The first glide bombs were developed byGermans during World War II as an anti-shipping weapon. Shipstypically very difficultattack:direct hitneededdo any serious damage,hittingtarget as small asship was difficult during WWII. The US feltsolution was massive fleetsbombers droppinghuge numbersbombs, leading todevelopment ofB-17, butGermans instead concentrated on makingbombing itself much more accurate. At firstused dive bomberssome successthis role, but their successes were countered by ever increasing anti-aircraft defenses placed onRoyal Navy shipswere attacking. By 1941 such attacks were still just as difficult as ever, butadded defenses made such attacks almost suicidal as well.

The German solution wasdevelopment ofnumberradio controlled glide bombs. These were constructed by fittingcontrol package onrearan otherwise standard bomb, startingtheir 100kg armor-piercing bombcreateRuhrstahl SD 1400, commonly referredasFritz-X. The bomb aimer droppedbomb whileaircraft was still approachingship,guidedinto an impact withtarget by sending commandsspoilers attached torear ofbomb. This provedbe difficultdo, because asbomb dropped towardtargetfell further behindlaunch aircraft, eventually becoming difficultsee. In additionproved difficultproperly guidebombimpact asangledescent changed,ifbombadier didn't "getright"end up withbomb roughly right overtarget, there was littlecould do at late stagesfixproblem.

NeverthelessFritz X proved useful once crews were trained on its use. In test drops from 8000m, experienced bomb aimers could place halfbombs within15m radius90% within 30m. FollowingcapitulationItaly1943, Germany damagedItalian battleship ItaliasankRomaFritz X bombs. Attacks were also made onUSS Savannah, causing heavy damage,on several transports off Anzio. HMS Warspite was also hit, hadbe towedMaltawas outactionsix months. Fritz X attacks also damagedcruiser USS PhiladelphiasankBritish light cruiser Spartan.

A more useful weapon wasHenschel Hs 293, which fittedsetsmall wings toguidance systemflattentrajectorymakesystem easierguide. On releasesmall liquid fueled rocket firedspeed upweapongetoutfront ofbomber, which was aimedapproachtarget just offone side. The bomb then dropped close towaterglidedparallel tolaunch aircraft, withbomb aimer adjustingflight left or right. Asasbomb was dropped at roughlyright range sodidn't run outaltitude while gliding in,system was easyuse.

Design work started as early as 1939, andversion ofguidance package mountedstandard 500kg bombs was testedSeptember 1940. It was found thatbomb was unablepenetrateships armor, so changes were madefit an armor-piercing warhead beforesystem finally entered service1943. The basic A-1 model wasonly onebe producedany number, but developments includedB model withcustom armor-piercing warhead, andC model withconical warhead that was designedhitwater short ofshipthen travelshort distance underwaterhitship underwaterline.

The Hs 293 was first used operationally inBayBiscay against RN destroyers, sinkingHMS Egret on August 27, 1943. Full scale use started along withFritz X inMediterranean, where its smaller warhead limited itattacks on destroyerstransport ships. No defense was obvious, soBritish instead attackedsystem by capturingradio control systems using commando raidsinstalling radio jammers on their ships. The Hs 293 was also usedAugust 1944attack bridges overRiver SeeRiver Selume atsouthern end ofCherbourg peninsulaan attemptbreakPatton's advance, but this mission was unsuccessful.

The US also developed glide bombssimilar reasons asGermans, butthis caseprimary target was heavily defended German industrial sites. A seriesglider units was constructed,GB-1 by Aeronca beingfirstsee service. UnlikeGerman systemsGB-1 had no guidance system,was released atspecific point so it's glide path would bring itits target. The system was usedonly one major raid, on CologneMay 1944,generally provedbe useless. A numbermore advanced models inGB series includedTV guided GB-4GB-5, GB-12, GB-13 that used contrast-seekersanti-ship use.

The Germans had also experimentstelevision guidance systems onHs 293D models. It might sound like suchsystem would make bombing almost trivial, butfact TV guidancequite difficult. Asbomb approachestarget, even tiny amountscontrol input would causetargetjump aroundTV display, so much ofdifficulty wasdeveloping control systems that would become progressively less sensitive aspilot required.

Afterwarincreasing sophisticationelectronics allowedthese systemsbe developed aspractical device,starting in1960s air forces deployednumbersuch systems, includingUSAF's Walleye bomb. Contrast seekers were also steadily improved, culminating inwidely used Mavrick missile. Both were standard systems until1980s whendevelopmentlaser guidanceGPS based systems made them unessesaryall butmost accurateroles. Various TV based systems remainlimited servicesuper-accruate uses, but have otherwise been removed.

The need"stand off" range betweenlaunch platformground (or ship) based defenses remains just as important today asdidWWII, andair forces ofworld continuedevelop glide bombsthis reason. European air forces useglide package withcluster bomb warheadremotely attacking airbases, andUSinprocessdeploying their own similar system based aroundGPS guidance system. It appears likely thatfalling costsuch systems will eventually leadalmost all bombs including some sortguidance package.