A bomber destroyer is a former type of fighter aircraft dedicated to destroying enemy bomber aircraft. It is similar in purpose to the interceptor, but differs primarily in form – while interceptors tend to be small, fast-climbing planes, bomber destroyers are typically built on much larger slow-climbing twin-engine designs provided with massive firepower. They also differ from night fighters, although often based on the same airframe, as they lack radar and are intended only for day use.

A number of nations developed such aircraft prior to WWII, all in order to provide an aircraft with enough warload, given the limited engine power of the era, to quickly destroy a bomber. Primary among these pre-war designs were several French and German multi-role aircraft. The United States later created designs like the Bell YFM-1 Airacuda and the interceptor Lockheed P-38 Lightning, both of which were designed explicitly to mount 37 mm cannon armament for this mission.

Developments in armament, notably the introduction of the 20 mm cannon, generally led to the disappearance of the bomber destroyer from most air forces. Even small fighters, like the Supermarine Spitfire, were able to carry enough firepower to effectively deal with German and Japanese bombers.

The same was not true for the Luftwaffe, who were facing larger, four-engined long-range bombers that proved to be extremely difficult to shoot down. Starting in about 1943 the Luftwaffe started fielding an increasing number of bomber destroyers, known as Zerstörer in German, mostly based on the Messerschmitt Bf 110. These planes proved to be very effective against US bomber raids in 1943, notably when firing rockets from long range. However, while they were effective weapons platforms against bombers lacking a fighter escort, they lacked the performance to deal with single-engined fighters. When the P-51 Mustang appeared in early 1944, the Bf 110 proved to be a deathtrap.

Later German designs concentrated on dedicated high-speed planes for this role, notably the Dornier Do 335 Pfeil. Its speed would allow it to remain out of danger from the Mustangs, while still carrying a massive gunload. The Messerschmitt Me 262 also saw widespread use in the destroyer role, where its huge load of four 30 mm cannons proved to be more than capable. But in general, few new designs of any sort saw action due to the rapidly deteriorating war conditions.

After the war the destroyer classification disappeared almost instantly. This was due to the introduction of improved high-speed rotary cannons, notably the British ADEN, French DEFA and American M39 - all of which were based on the German Mauser MG 213 developed at the end of WW2. These guns could fire 30 mm rounds at rates similar to two 20 mm cannons of the typical WWII aircraft, the larger rounds giving them considerably more explosive power. A single one of these cannon provided any aircraft with enough firepower to be a reasonable destroyer, even light interceptors.

The Soviet MiG-15 may be the last design dedicated to the destroyer role, mounting a 37 mm cannon along with two 23 mm guns. This proved to be effective both against other fighters as well as against the massive B-29 Superfortresses over Korea, where the MiGs caused high losses among the bombers and forced the USAF bomber force to cancel daylight bomber operations.

The era of the destroyer was finally killed outright with the introduction of the anti-aircraft rocket, and then guided missile. These weapons could do considerably more damage than a cannon, were lighter, and kept the fighters out of the range of the defensive guns on the bombers. The Germans had experimented with missiles and rockets during the war for all of these reasons, but most failed to enter service. Unguided rockets built from converted mortars were used on some destroyer designs, and many fighters could mount the late-war R4M rocket, which proved highly effective against bombers, setting the trend for post-WW2 anti-bomber developments. Canadian designs moved to all-rocket armament by the early 1950s, folllowed closely by US designs such as the F-89 Scorpion. The introduction of the missile in the 1950s replaced all weapons in these roles by the 1960s.

See also:

interceptor

night fighter