Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => Aircraft and Vehicles => Topic started by: udet on June 20, 2003, 08:46:20 PM

Title: who commands a bomber?
Post by: udet on June 20, 2003, 08:46:20 PM

I've found mentions that in some air forces, like the Luftwaffe and perhaps the French Air Force,  bombers were commanded not by their pilots, but by another crewmember (bomb aimer maybe), that was the highest ranking officer on board (or the only officer,as the Luftwaffe had many enlisted pilots), and was trained to fly the plane, navigate it, and basically do the job of each crew member.
Do you guys know anything of this? Any websites dealing with the matter?

Title: who commands a bomber?
Post by: Hawklore on June 20, 2003, 09:11:14 PM

I do not know but the "Bomb aimer" your talking about is called a Bombadier; as I have been told.

Title: who commands a bomber?
Post by: udet on June 20, 2003, 09:21:45 PM

thanks, I knew that hawklore :) I've think both terms are/were used.

Title: who commands a bomber?
Post by: Hawklore on June 20, 2003, 09:43:09 PM

Gotta meet my post quota some how...;)

Title: who commands a bomber?
Post by: Karnak on June 21, 2003, 12:15:14 AM

British and American bombers were commanded by the pilot.

Title: who commands a bomber?
Post by: SELECTOR on June 21, 2003, 08:04:43 AM

it is true that LW planes were not commaded by the pilot, but by the bomb aimer, the pilot still had charge over safty matters and the buck stopped with him weather to drop, rtb, etc