A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that is modified or used primarily as a light bomber in the tactical bombing and ground attack roles. It differs from attack aircraft primarily in its origins; attack aircraft are developed for the attack role first and any fighter capability is entirely secondary, whereas fighter-bombers are designed as fighters and then adapted to other roles.
Although still used, the term fighter-bomber has less significance since the introduction of rockets and guided missiles into aerial warfare. Modern aircraft with similar duties are now typically called multirole combat aircraft or strike fighters.
Prior to World War II, general limitations in available engine and aeronautical technology required that each proposed military aircraft have its design tailored to a specific prescribed role. Engine power grew dramatically during the early period of the war, roughly doubling between 1939 and 1943. The Bristol Blenheim, a typical light bomber of the opening stages of the war, was originally designed in 1934 as a fast civil transport to meet a challenge by Lord Rothermere, owner of the Daily Mail. It had two Bristol Mercury XV radial engines of 920 hp each, a crew of three, and its payload was just 1,200 lbs of bombs. The Blenheim suffered disastrous losses over France in 1939 when it encountered Messerschmitt Bf 109s, and light bombers were quickly withdrawn.
Fighter Bomber (released as Strike Aces in the USA) is a combat flight simulator developed by Vektor Grafix and released in 1989 by Activision UK for several platforms.
In the game, the player participates in the annual Strategic Air Command Bombing and Navigation Competition at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota. Aircrews from around the world come here to compete against each other, undertaking three missions which are monitored and points are awarded. The best aircrew then receives the Curtis E. LeMay Trophy.
The player can choose between six different planes. After having selected the aircraft the player has to select a mission, and then appropriate weaponry for the selected mission from an array of weapons consisting of different types of missiles and bombs.
Computer Gaming World in 1990 approved of the large variety of aircraft and the scenario editor, but criticized the graphics as inferior to that of competitors such as A-10 Tank Killer, and claiming to support sound card audio when only a few portions of music did so. The magazine concluded that "Strike Aces is not a bad product; it simply did not live up to its potential in execution". A 1992 survey in the magazine of wargames with modern settings gave the game two and a half stars out of five.