Schnellbomber

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A Schnellbomber (German, literally fast bomber) was a specialized high-speed bomber aircraft.

The concept was developed in the 1930s when air defense systems depended on visual observation and, if vision was impaired by weather or darkness, listening posts. Under these circumstances, interception of bombers was very difficult and, by omitting the weight of defensive armament and the crew members required to man them, a very fast bomber could be created that increased the difficulty of interception even further.

The first aircraft adopted for the Schnellbomber role was the Heinkel He 70, but it soon was replaced by the Dornier Do 17 in that role. Experience in the Spanish Civil War demonstrated that the Do 17's speed was insufficient to make interception impossible, and armament had to be added to give it some defensive fighting capability.

While bomber development had temporarily outpaced fighter development in the 1930s, at the end of the decade fighters like the Hawker Hurricane and the Supermarine Spitfire entered service that had the performance to catch up with the Schnellbomber, and the introduction of radar into modern air-defense systems made it possible to guide these fighters into position for an attack (Ground-controlled interception).

While British prime minister Stanley Baldwin had feared that "the bomber will always get through", the subsequent technology advances enabled the Royal Air Force to defeat the Luftwaffe's bombers in the Battle of Britain.

Other aircraft recognized as "Schnellbombers" by the Luftwaffe were the Messerschmitt Me 410 (for which it was one of several different roles), the Arado Ar 234 (which also was called "Schnellstbomber" - fastest (for: very fast) bomber), and the bomber version of the de Havilland Mosquito.