Military In The World

It was a warfare of intimidation and a game of fear: and so it bred monstrous planes, pregnant with the load of ominous bombs

For all who lived through Cold War, or have heard the stories and seen the movies, the most recognizable and frightening symbol of this harrowing period in human history were heavy bombers - Strategic Air Command long-range planes capable of delivering inconceivable destruction around the globe. 


(1948 Boeing B-50 strategic bomber; art by Academy Model Co. via)

We are going to highlight some of the most impressive flying machines of this sort, in a series of articles inside our Airplanes category. Let's start with a bomber that made its name during World War Two - the 1942 Douglas A-20 'Havoc'.


"The Bombsight That Crushed Nazi Germany"

The Douglas A-20/DB-7 Havoc was an outstanding "light bomber" and night fighter aircraft of World War II, also known as "Boston" among British pilots - more info.


(image via)

You will notive that this bomber's nose is covered by a yellow life raft - to conceal a secret bombsight device. This was Norden Bombsight, a groundbreaking piece of World War II technology, and "one of the most precious objects of its era" according to Malcolm Gladwell (watch his TED talk video here)


(image via)

Norden said that "with the Mark 15 Norden bombsight, he could drop a bomb into a pickle barrel at 20,000 feet." Such precision was unheard of at the time, and much needed beacuse it allowed to bomb only the targets you absolutely need to bomb and spare civilian lives - more info. Half as much money was spent on its development and implementation than was spent on the Manhattan Project itself!

"This is the bombsight that crushed Nazi Germany. The Norden bombsight was the most sophisticated device of its kind during WWII. The standing orders were that if the plane crash-landed you were to destroy the sight at ALL costs."


(image credit: Norden Bombsight)

True to the inventor's original claims, it delivered great precision in bombing, but alas, only under perfect