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Seven War-Changing Bomber Aircraft

• Public domain/Wikimedia Commons
• Public domain/Wikimedia Commons
• U.S. Air Force
• U.S. Air Force
• AP
• AP
• Boeing

• Name: Caproni Ca.5
  Date Introduced to Military: 1917
  
  Key Tech Improvement: The Italians were the first to use bombers in combat and built the Caproni Ca.5, an advanced bomber at the time, with two tractor engines and a 1190-pound payload.
• Name: Zeppelin Staaken R.VI
  Date Introduced to Military: 1917
  
  Key Tech Improvement: At the time of World War I, German zeppelins were larger-than-life airships -- their wing span was a whopping 138 feet 5.5 inches -- that threatened Britain's primary defenses, the English Channel and the Royal Navy. The payload for the Zeppelin nearly tripled the Caproni's capacity.
• Name: B-17 Flying Fortress
  Date Introduced to Military: 1941
  
  Key Tech Improvement: In comparison to the B-24, which was introduced around the same time as the B-17 and produced in roughly the same number, the Air Force favored the B-17 because of its heavyweight material and survivability.
• Name: B-50A Lucky Lady II
  Date Introduced to Military: 1947
  
  Key Tech Improvement: In 1949, the Lucky Lady II was the first plane to circle the world nonstop -- made possible with a fuel-delivery plane that refueled the bomber four times in the globe-circling flight.
• Name: B-52 Stratofortress
  Date Introduced to Military: 1951
  
  Key Tech Improvement: The B-52's eight jet engines, as opposed to the typical four propeller engines, set it apart from other heavy bombers. The difference in power gave the B-52 more speed, range, altitude and payload than the B-17.
• Name: B-2 Spirit
  Date Introduced to Military: 1993
  
  Key Tech Improvement: In areas where targets are well-hidden and the mission requires heavy bombing, the stealth bomber provides a no-warning attack with detrimental consequences.
• Name: 2018 Bomber
  Date Introduced to Military: TBD (2018, by current estimates)
  
  Key Tech Improvement: The main difference between the new bomber and the older fleet is its UAV characteristics, but the bomber will also be built with more advanced stealth materials.

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