A plane bomb from the First World War The Grand Slam bomb from 1945
An airplane bomb is an object thrown from an airplane and is intended to explode on or above or below the land or sea surface. Usually a plane bomb consists of a container filled with explosive material designed to work destructively when the bomb goes off. Bombs thrown out of an airplane explode by a height sensor, by radar or by contact with the ground. There are bombs that are "stupid" (simply thrown out of the plane), and "smart" (self-guided or pre-programmed). History
The first bombs that successfully reached their destination were launched from air balloons. These balloons carried one bomb. This was done by the Austrians during their battle with Venice in 1849. The first official air raid was performed by Lieutenant Giulio Gavotti, who drove four grenades on the Ottoman army from his Blériot aircraft on November 1, 1911. Also see
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