History of Bombing 3 of 6 Video

Aerial bombing became more widespread in World War I, ranging from attacks against troops to extended campaigns against large cities. Both sides disregarded the then-recently signed Hague Conventions, which prohibited bombing, and attacked military installations such as airship hangars and troop concentrations as soon as the war began in August 1914. In addition to small explosives, aircraft dropped solid-steel arrows called flechettes on enemy troops.

German airships were used as the first strategic bombers during World War I, but suffered heavy losses. They moved slowly and could be easily shot down from the ground. Later bombing campaigns over London featured multiengine airplanes. British and French bombers carried out similar missions over western Germany. The first bombs used in these attacks were converted from grenades and artillery shells, with fins attached for stability. Ultimately, bombs specifically designed for aerial bombardment came into use in all countries. Targeting equipment remained primitive and bombing was haphazard and relatively ineffective.

From 1919 to the beginning of World War II, bomb development led to more streamlined casings, better fusing, and more powerful explosives. The Unites States and especially Germany practiced dive-bombing, where a plane dives on its target and releases the bomb at low altitude. Bombing remained inaccurate, however, despite improvements in bombsights, and often the bombs would fail to explode on impact. In raids against large cities, hundreds of bombers dropped thousands of bombs per raid to blast structures or start fires. Naval dive-bombers saw greater success in their attacks against ships, while some fighter-bombers enjoyed success hitting single targets such as tanks. A few radio-controlled glide bombs, which were controlled by the bombardier, were dropped successfully by Germany starting in 1943; two sank the Italian battleship Roma as it sailed to surrender to the British. At the end of World War II, however, the basic bomb remained an unguided, gravity-driven weapon.

Smart-bomb technology first made a measurable impact during the late stages of the Vietnam War (1959-1975), where a few U.S. laser-guided bombs knocked down bridges that several hundred dumb bombs had missed. Bomb delivery became more deliberate because each bombs target could be chosen individually. In the Persian Gulf War (1991) between Iraq and an international coalition of forces led by the United States, smart bombs made up only 10 percent of the tonnage dropped but were credited with most of the damage. Special deep penetration laser-guided smart bombs were developed for the war to attack reinforced or underground targets. These bombs could find a target and penetrate deep into it before exploding. Dumb bombs were also used in the conflict and continue to be used by military planners in conjunction with smart bombs. B-52 bombers dropped thousands of tons of dumb bombs on Iraqi troop and equipment positions. Cluster bombs shredded defenses and littered the desert with unexploded submunitions, making Iraqi military movement (and postwar cleanup) difficult.

During the U.S. and British invasion of Iraq in 2003, a majority of the bombs used were smart bombs, particularly JDAM-equipped general-purpose bombs. Cluster bombs were also used, as were bunker-busting bombs, devices designed to penetrate underground bunkers housing Iraqi command and control facilities.