# Coolest Bomber aircraft **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 1, 2009, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-bomber-aircraft/498356 "2009-06-01T14:40:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-bomber-aircraft/498356/61 "2009-06-02T17:12:58Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > For a size comparison of various bombers and other assorted aircraft, check out this [aerial view of Castle Air Museum.](http://www.city-data.com/picfilesc/picc36567.php) Dammit. Somebody needs to post that pic to Flickr and add comments to it. I was able to identify a lot of them but I keep hovering my mouse over some of them thinking that the label would pop up. [Damn you guys are quick!](http://www.flickr.com/photos/matt-bearup/1927131596/) ---
**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:** [June 2, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-bomber-aircraft/498356/62 "2009-06-02T17:20:44Z")
Off the top of my head, I see a B-52, B-36, Vulcan, Tomcat, Lancaster (possibly a Lincoln), Hercules, KC-135, B-47. B-17, B-29, Mirage F2, Starfighter (F-105), Harrier… GR1?, Phantom, and… lots of others. Here’s the Google Maps image: [http://maps.google.com/](http://maps.google.com/) Doesn’t have the bottom level view, though. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-bomber-aircraft/498356/63 "2009-06-02T17:35:32Z")
Well, it never really flew, but I have a soft spot for the [Convair](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convair_X-6) [X-6](http://jpcolliat.free.fr/x6/x6-4.htm). Based on a B-36 airframe…and propelled by _nuclear power!_ BWA-HA-HA-HA! What? Perfect fuel efficiency, and no greenhouse pollution! Oh, and also a [gargantuan](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/B-29_and_B-36.jpg) atomic Sword of Damocles. What’s not to love? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-bomber-aircraft/498356/64 "2009-06-02T18:37:34Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > …And 2nd, der [Ju-87 Stuka](http://dic.academic.ru/pictures/enwiki/74/Ju_87D-1.jpg) > > I’ve always been partial to dive bombers. Oh, yeah! That was one cool-looking warplane (although almost helpless when attacked by fighters): [http://www.ww2daily.com/weapons/images/3stukas.jpg](http://www.ww2daily.com/weapons/images/3stukas.jpg) [http://www.oliversart.co.uk/acatalog/images/jpgs-lrg/Robert\_Taylor\_aviation\_art/0047\_Stuka.jpg](http://www.oliversart.co.uk/acatalog/images/jpgs-lrg/Robert_Taylor_aviation_art/0047_Stuka.jpg) [http://www.wingsoverelburn.com/images/Franklin%20Mint/Armour/B11E183.jpg](http://www.wingsoverelburn.com/images/Franklin%20Mint/Armour/B11E183.jpg) [http://www.expeditionexchange.com/wedco/stuka.jpg](http://www.expeditionexchange.com/wedco/stuka.jpg) [http://www.eaa736.org/Fly-In/07photos/Ju\_87\_Stuka\_Mitch\_Sanders\_2.jpg](http://www.eaa736.org/Fly-In/07photos/Ju_87_Stuka_Mitch_Sanders_2.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-bomber-aircraft/498356/65 "2009-06-02T18:59:16Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Oh, yeah! That was one cool-looking warplane (although almost helpless when attacked by fighters): The IJN’s Val (Aichi D3A)and the USN’s SBD (Dauntless) were both very manueverable without a bomb attached. They were both used in an adhoc CAP role in the carrier battles of '42. (The Val had a weaker gun armament, making it less effective in this role.) ---
**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:** [June 2, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-bomber-aircraft/498356/66 "2009-06-02T19:57:42Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > The IJN’s Val (Aichi D3A)and the USN’s SBD (Dauntless) were both very manueverable without a bomb attached. They were both used in an adhoc CAP role in the carrier battles of '42. (The Val had a weaker gun armament, making it less effective in this role.) One naval pilot, Swede Vejtasa, shot down 3 Zeroes in a single battle flying a Dauntless. He was later transferred to fighters. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-bomber-aircraft/498356/67 "2009-06-03T03:49:52Z")
I don’t have time to tally the votes (perhaps someone else does), but here is a list of contenders for ‘Coolest bomber’ (less a couple that were never built or flew): Arado Ar-234 Avro Lancaster Avro Vulcan B-36 Peacemaker Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress Boeing B-52 Stratofortress Caproni Ca-36 Convair B-58 Hustler de Havilland Mosquito Dornier Do 335A-1 Douglas SBD Dauntless Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor Junkers Ju-87 Stuka Kalinin K-7 Martin B-10 Martin XB-48 Martin XB-51 North American B-25 Mitchell Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing Rockwell B-1B Lancer Tupolev TB-3 Tupolev Tu-160 ‘Blackjack’ Tupolev Tu-95 ‘Bear’ XB-70 Valkyrie Yokosuka MXY-7 Ohka Zeppelins ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-bomber-aircraft/498356/68 "2009-06-03T04:19:03Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > A Pic of the B-36 I took myself at the Air Force Museum in Dayton. > > [http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2481/3588874254\_86a9f66199\_b.jpg](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2481/3588874254_86a9f66199_b.jpg) I have taken almost the exact picture from the missile gallery balcony. Unfortunately, when they moved the B-36 to this hanger they crammed too many planes around it. It was more impressive in the first hanger. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-bomber-aircraft/498356/69 "2009-06-03T04:24:15Z")
I might have to add another vote for the B-58. That’s a fascinating airplane. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-bomber-aircraft/498356/70 "2009-06-03T08:03:38Z")
I’m also going to have to agree with the Lancaster (now there’s a surprise ;)). There’s one in the Australian War Memorial (_G-George_), and when you’re looking at it, you realise the Lancaster manages to combine both the “Boy’s Own” sense of “_I say, Old Chap, let’s take the old kite for a jaunt over Berlin and give Hitler a jolly good thrashing- six of the best, trousers down!_” along with an ominous undertone of ability to Seriously Fuck Your Shit Up. It’s the aerial version of the HMS _Dreadnought_, basically… “_Sign this trade agreement and let the missionaries go, or we’ll send a Lancaster over to bomb you even further back into the stone age than you already are. You’d be back in the… Rock Age or something. Well, OK, that wasn’t very good, but you get our point._” 😃 They were still being used operationally as recently as the Malayan Emergency, FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-bomber-aircraft/498356/71 "2009-06-03T17:57:09Z")
Another vote for the B-58 Hustler. OTOH, I’m getting a ride in a B-17G (_Thunder Bird_ of the Lone Star Flight Museum) this coming Saturday, so that will definitely be the coolest (and only) bomber I’ve actually flown in. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-bomber-aircraft/498356/72 "2009-06-03T18:51:22Z")
OK, dammit, I’ll say it. The B-2 Spirit is the coolest bomber ever, for a variety of reasons. The stealth technology. The operating range (hell, they flew sorties to bomb targets in Kosovo from Missouri). The design. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-bomber-aircraft/498356/73 "2009-06-03T19:21:17Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > [This one! ZEPPELINS RULE, BABY!](http://www.firstworldwar.com/photos/graphics/ww_zeppelin_harbour_01.jpg)😃 A lead Zeppelin, eh? Could just be your Stairway to Heaven, professor! ---
**Author:** ![Kiber](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiber/32/317_2.png) [@Kiber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiber)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-bomber-aircraft/498356/74 "2009-06-03T19:34:00Z")
If we stretch the definition just a tad, I’d also like to nominate the [Martin Mars](http://www.aviationtrivia.info/Martin-Mars-Water-Bombers.php). Truly a cool bomber. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-bomber-aircraft/498356/75 "2009-06-04T20:42:20Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Plus, not many bombers get to be in a movie with a stage name. The Vulcan appeared in\* Thunderball\* as the “Vindicator” (which was a pretty awesome V-bomber name, IMHO) The silliest V-bomber name went to the coolest looking one of the lot, the [Handley Page Victor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handley_Page_Victor). It looks far and away more sinister and outlandish than the simple triangle that was the Vulcan. Ditto the aforementioned [Tupolev Tu-95](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-95). Everything the Russians made during the Cold War just seemed to look cooler the grimier and more worn it got. I guess they had a kind of a grungy military 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-bomber-aircraft/498356/76 "2009-06-04T20:58:38Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I’m also going to have to agree with the Lancaster (now there’s a surprise ;)). > > There’s one in the Australian War Memorial (_G-George_), and when you’re looking at it, you realise the Lancaster manages to combine both the “Boy’s Own” sense of “_I say, Old Chap, let’s take the old kite for a jaunt over Berlin and give Hitler a jolly good thrashing- six of the best, trousers down!_” along with an ominous undertone of ability to Seriously Fuck Your Shit Up. [This](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Slam_bomb) being one means of seriously fucking someone’s shit up. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-bomber-aircraft/498356/77 "2009-06-05T01:54:02Z")
Re: the YB-49…when I was at the Castle Air Museum, I saw this [framed photo with several bits of the ill-fated bomber](http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/yQQL05ZmbIc1kOEXQA4ELQ?feat=directlink). ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-bomber-aircraft/498356/78 "2009-06-05T03:21:14Z")
The B-2 bomber is probably the coolest aircraft ever made. It’s a flying technological marvel, it looks bad ass, and it can ruin the shit of anyone on Earth within 24 hours, no matter how well defended. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-bomber-aircraft/498356/79 "2009-06-05T03:26:36Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > The B-2 bomber is probably the coolest aircraft ever made. It’s a flying technological marvel, it looks bad ass, and it can ruin the shit of anyone on Earth within 24 hours, no matter how well defended. I remember when Mathias Rust landed in Red Square, having evaded the Soviet Union’s defenses. The joke was, ‘Why do we need a $2 billion airplane to do what a German kid can do in a $17,000 Cessna?’ 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2009, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-bomber-aircraft/498356/80 "2009-06-05T03:58:43Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I remember when Mathias Rust landed in Red Square, having evaded the Soviet Union’s defenses. The joke was, ‘Why do we need a $2 billion airplane to do what a German kid can do in a $17,000 Cessna?’ Because a Cessna 172 has enough payload capacity to deliver a small crate of ping pong balls, if the crate doesn’t weight too much. There is, however, the question of what a $2B per unit aircraft could do that a fleet of cruise missiles, IRBMs, ICBMs, and SLBMs couldn’t do. Other than a precision sneak attack–which was never part of the US SIOP–the bomber wing of the triad existed primarily to assure that, from a deterrence perspective, the USAF still had planes to fly rather than just missiles to guard. Generals have expensive egos to stroke. Stranger [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-bomber-aircraft/498356.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coolest-bomber-aircraft/498356.md?page=5)