# \[Best\] bomber ever? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 27, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bomber-ever/679869 "2014-01-27T18:03:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bomber-ever/679869/81 "2016-03-10T17:08:45Z")
Bumping. Tu-22M is a pretty devastating bird of prey. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bomber-ever/679869/82 "2016-03-10T17:58:41Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > Bumping. > Tu-22M is a pretty devastating bird of prey. Has it ever actually dropped a bomb or fired a missile in anger? Maybe they used it against Afghanistan or Chechnya? I dunno, but I haven’t heard that it was. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bomber-ever/679869/83 "2016-03-10T18:20:39Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Thanks to **DeptfordX** in the thread [Worst air fighter ever?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=713451) I’m starting a new one, where it can be discussed without confusion. > > According to this guy [here](http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/the-five-best-bombers-all-time-9764), using the following evaluations: > [ul] > [li] Did the bomber serve the strategic purpose envisioned by its developers?[/li] > [li] Was the bomber a sufficiently flexible platform to perform other missions, and to persist in service?[/li] > [li] How did the bomber compare with its contemporaries in terms of price, capability, and effectiveness?[/li][/ul] > > [ol] > [li] Handley Page Type O 40[/li][li] Junkers JU-88[/li][li] De Havilland Mosquito[/li][li] Avro Lancaster[/li][li] Boeing B-52[/li]And "honorable mention to Grumman A-6 Intruder, MQ-1 Predator, Caproni Ca.3, Tupolev Tu-95 “Bear,” Avro Vulcan, Tupolev Tu-22M “Backfire.”[/ol] > > I don’t think it will be as much fun as talking about worsts, but have at it. > > I like starting threads in which I have absolutely nothing to say but which gets Dopers interested and is eminently SD-ish. Should have been a talk-show host. De Havilland did go on to make arguably one of the worst jet airliners ever (the Comet), which tended to fall to earth much like it’s namesake. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bomber-ever/679869/84 "2016-03-10T18:26:42Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > De Havilland did go on to make arguably one of the worst jet airliners ever (the Comet), which tended to fall to earth much like it’s namesake. The Comet wasn’t so bad. Well, after that whole metal fatigue thing was sorted out anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bomber-ever/679869/85 "2016-03-10T18:33:10Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > De Havilland did go on to make arguably one of the worst jet airliners ever (the Comet), which tended to fall to earth much like it’s namesake. It’s worth noting that the Comet was the first jetliner ever, and all its successors benefited from the lessons de Havilland had learned. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bomber-ever/679869/86 "2016-03-10T19:19:17Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > It’s worth noting that the Comet was the first jetliner ever, and all its successors benefited from the lessons de Havilland had learned. If not the surviving members of the families. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bomber-ever/679869/87 "2016-03-10T19:22:29Z")
Well, presumably they were also airline passengers themselves at some point. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Islander\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/839c29/32.png) [@Islander\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Islander_M)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2016, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bomber-ever/679869/88 "2016-03-11T03:53:29Z")
The B-29 is the only bomber that won a war. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2016, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bomber-ever/679869/89 "2016-03-11T04:19:35Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Has it ever actually dropped a bomb or fired a missile in anger? Maybe they used it against Afghanistan or Chechnya? I dunno, but I haven’t heard that it was. Yes. They used it in Afghanistan, Chechneya, Georgia and Syria. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bomber-ever/679869.md?page=4)