B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber built by Consolidated Aircraft. It was used by many Allied air forces and every U.S. branch of service during WWII.
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The B17, B24, and B29s were the heavy bombers of WWII. The B52 was the heavy bomber of the Vietnam War.
They escorted the bombers to provide them with protection, sought out attacking enemy bomber forces and their escorts, provided ground support, provided fleet protection and attacked targets of opportunity every chance they had.
All US jet fighters such as the F100 Super Sabre, F102 Delta Dagger, F104 Starfighter, F8 Crusader, F4 Phantom were ultimately used as fighter BOMBERS. The F101 Voodoo was used primarily as a reconnaissance jet. The A7 Corsair was designed, built, and deployed in the 1960's directly into combat in Vietnam. The F105 Thunderchief was designed as a fighter/bomber, the largest single engine jet bomber in the US inventory and the only such jet that could carry an atomic weapon completely concealed within it's fuselage. Only 833 F105's were built and nearly 400 of them were lost in the war, consequently the F4 Phantom took over much of the Thud's duties. Traditional US jet bombers used in Vietnam were: B57 Canberra (twin jet engines); the A6 Intruder, US Navy all weather medium bomber; and the B52 Stratofortress heavy bomber (eight jet engines). The US Navy A4 Skyhawk and the USAF F100 Super Sabre saw extensive action in the war which is reflected in their losses: 362 A4's were lost, and 242 Super Sabre's were lost in the war. The propeller driven single engine A1 Skyraider also saw alot of action, 266 were lost in the war. Probably the most un-sung jet fighter (bomber) was the F100 Super Sabre; it fought from 1962 until 1971. Conducting bombing missions in Laos, Cambodia, North Vietnam, and South Vietnam. The F100 has unfortunately been heavily overshadowed by the F4 Phantom...as have been most of the other US jet fighter bombers.
The Gotha G-1V. The British Handley-Page and Russian Sikorsky bombers were actually heavier than the Gotha series of bombers, but I believe that Germany still had the heaviest of the war; a gigantic bomber called the Staaken.