Escort fighter facts for kids
The escort fighter was a concept for a fighter aircraft designed to escort bombers to and from their targets. An escort fighter needed range long enough to reach the target, loiter over it for the duration of the raid to defend the bombers, and return.
A number of twin-engined heavy fighters with high fuel capacity were designed for escort duties prior to the outbreak of World War II. Such heavy fighters largely failed in their intended escort role during the war, as they were commonly outmaneuvered by more agile single-engined fighters. As the war progressed, longer-range fighter designs and the use of drop tanks allowed single-engined fighters to perform escort duties. In the post-war era the introduction of jet engines and their inherent short range made escort fighters very difficult to build. The related concept of a penetration fighter emerged briefly in the 1950s and again in the 1960s, but did not result in any production aircraft.
The escort role has been diminished as modern air combat doctrine places a heavy emphasis on the idea of air superiority, and its importance in the ability of an air force to carry out effective operations. Air superiority is defined as a situation in which an air force dominates an airspace to such a degree as to be able to carry out any operations with no interference from enemy air combatants. Fighting an opponent with air superiority in a given battlespace is much harder, as any offensive or defensive tactics are likely to be overwhelmed.
Modern era
The advent of the air superiority fighter, such as the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, meant that high value assets like tankers, airborne early warning and control, command platforms, bombers and attack aircraft would be protected by air superiority fighters, sometimes flying far afield and ahead of them, engaging distant enemy air units, rather than by direct escorts staying in sight nearby.
The development of the multirole fighter, such as McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, also decreased the need for escorts, as the aircraft on air strike mission became capable of effectively defending themselves.
During the 2010s, the US Air Force was in the early stages of developing a new fighter intended to operate as an escort for the next generation Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider strategic bomber.
Images for kids
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The Bf 110 was designed as an escort fighter but found more widespread use as a light bomber and later as a night fighter.
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Although the photoreconnaissance versions of the Spitfire flew deep over Germany during daylight, the idea of deep escort was never seriously considered by the RAF.
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B-17 bombers in formation
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Close-up of the array of .50-caliber guns on the Boeing YB-40 Flying Fortress.
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The Lockheed P-38 Lightning had far greater range than its early contemporaries.
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XF-85 suspended from an EB-29 via a trapeze
See also
In Spanish: Caza de escolta para niños
- Aerial warfare
- Interceptor, the main adversary of an escort fighter
- Wild Weasel
