Matt Mullins - How Does It Fly? Bomber Plane

Published in the United States of America by Cherry Lake Publishing Ann Arbor, Michigan www.cherrylakepublishing.com Content Adviser: Jacob Zeiger, Production Support Engineer, the Boeing Company Photo Credits: Cover and page 1, Elvele Images Ltd/Alamy; page 5, Mark Beton/England/Alamy; page 7, Peter Brogden/Alamy; page 9, Russell Shively/Shutterstock, Inc.; page 11, Peter Steiner/Alamy; page 13, david pearson/Alamy; page 15, Laurin Rinder/Dreamstime.com; page 17, Peter Baxter/Shutterstock, Inc.; page 19, Dan Lee/Shutterstock, Inc.; page 21, George Bailey/Dreamstime.com. Copyright 2012 by Cherry Lake Publishing All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Mullins, Matt. How does it fly? Bomber plane/by Matt Mullins. cm.(Community connections) Includes bibliographical references and index. cm.(Community connections) Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN-13: 978-1-61080-067-9 (library binding) ISBN-10: 1-61080-067-2 (library binding) 1. BombersJuvenile literature. I. Title. II. III. Title. IV. Series. Series.

UG1242.B6M84 2011 623.74'63dc22 2010051583 Cherry Lake Publishing would like to acknowledge the work of The Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Please visit www.21stcenturyskills.org for more information. Printed in the United States of America Corporate Graphics Inc. July 2011 CLFA09

You do not see bomber planes very often. If you are lucky, you may see one at a military air base. You have probably seen them in pictures, though.

Maybe they were flying. Maybe you saw some in a movie. Visitors flock to take a look at a Vulcan bomber. Bomber planes are often very large. One of the most used bombers is the B-52. Its wingspan stretches more than half the length of a football field.

Other planes, such as fighters , are usually much smaller. An F-16 fighter could fit under a B-52s wing, with room to spare! The B-52 bomber has eight engines, four on each wing. ASK QUESTIONS! Bombers were important during World War II. Many countries developed new ways of using bombers in battle. What were some of the ways they were used? Ask your teacher, librarian, or parent for help in finding the answers.

Why are bombers so big? Because they carry bombs, and bombs are very heavy.

Bombers usually carry more than one bomb at a time. They also carry bombs over long distances. It takes a big plane to carry these bombs. Bombers might carry several smaller bombs. Sometimes they carry a few very large bombs. Planes fly by using thrust from engines and lift from wings.

Engines push the planes forward through the air. Wings keep them up in the air. Bigger, more powerful engines provide more thrust. Larger wings provide more lift. Bombers usually have long wings and several engines. Bombs are kept in the bomb bay. Bombs are kept in the bomb bay.

This room has special doors in the floor. These doors open to drop the bombs. The crew waits until the bomber is over the area to be bombed. Then the crew opens the bay doors and releases the bombs. The bombs explode when they hit the ground. Bomb bay doors are located at the bottom of the bomber.

This planes bomb bay doors are open.

One of the first bombers was a small fighter biplane. Biplanes have two sets of wings. In 1912, a Bulgarian pilot reached out from the seat of his biplane during a battle. He dropped two hand grenades to the ground! Bombs improved quickly. Several countries developed new bombs that planes could drop.

Early bombers often dove low to the ground for better aim. Bombers in World War II were usually not fighter planes. The bombers were bigger than the ones used during World War I. Big bombers were not as quick as fighters. They had guns to protect themselves from other planes. But fighter planes flew alongside bombers to add more protection.

The fighter planes that fly with bombers are called escorts. CREATE! Because bombers are big, they are the best, right? Not so fast! Create a list of what bombers do best. Make another list for fighters. Which abilities are more important in war?

Today, there are many bombers of all sizes. The biggest are called heavy bombers. They travel thousands of miles.

Their size makes them heavy and slow. Medium bombers weigh less. They fly shorter distances. Because they are lighter, they can travel at higher speeds. The B-1 bombers wings can move. Some amazing bombers are stealth bombers. Some amazing bombers are stealth bombers.

They hide from enemy radar . Enemies cannot spot these planes locations. Stealth bombers are made with special materials. Some, such as the B-2, have no tail sections. This makes it harder for radar to spot them. Bombers change as computers and weapons improve.

What will they look like tomorrow? The B-2 bomber is sometimes called the Flying Wing. THINK! Many militaries rely on missiles . Missiles can fly more than 1,000 miles by themselves. Missiles can also be very powerful. How do you think bombers will be affected by technologies such as missiles?