Interceptor aircraft

An interceptor aircraft (or simply interceptor) is a type of fighter aircraft designed specifically to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft, particularly bombers, usually relying on great speed. A number of such aircraft were built in the period starting just prior to World War II and ending in the late 1960s, when they became less important due to the shifting of the strategic bombing role to ICBMs.

Design

There are two types of interceptors, emphasizing different aspects of performance. Both types of aircraft sacrifice performance in the air superiority fighter role (ie fighting enemy fighter aircraft). The result is that interceptors often looked very impressive on paper, typically outrunning, outclimbing and outgunning less dedicated escort fighter designs, yet they tend to fare poorly in combat against those same "less capable" designs. In the 1970s, the utility of interceptors waned as the role became blurred into the roles of the heavy air superiority fighters dominant in military thinking at the time.

Point defense

Point defense interceptors, usually of European origin, are designed to defend specific targets. They are designed to take off and climb to altitude as quickly as possible, destroy the incoming bombers, and then land. A particularly extreme example of a point defense interceptor is the rocket-powered Bachem Ba 349.

At the start of the Second World War, most fighters designed in Europe were short-legged, with limited internal fuel capacity. These were not designed specifically as interceptors, but the long-range bomber escort role had not been envisaged. This proved to be a critical problem for German single-engined fighters (essentially, only one design at that time, the Bf/Me 109,) during the Battle of Britain, which could escort bombers across the channel, but only had sufficient fuel for a few minutes of combat if they were also to return to their airfields in France. At this stage, the similar limitation of British single-engined fighters was less of a problem for the Royal Air Force. When it began its own bombing campaign over Germany, most of its missions were flown at night, unescorted, or escorted by larger, longer-ranged and twin-engined night fighters. As the war progressed, however, RAF Bomber Command flew increasing numbers of daylight missions. The Spitfire, designed several years before the war, was adapted to other roles - older machines were re-assigned to fighter-bomber squadrons, based nearer the front, while newer marks developed into more highly-focussed interceptors. These later, Griffon-engined Spitfires were primarily retained in Britain to defend against V1 flying bombs and bombing raids by single, high-speed or high-altitude, German bombers. Newer designs, like the Tempest, and American fighters bought under lend-lease, would fill the conventional and long-range fighter gap. The Germans, quickly losing their ability to project their airpower over enemy territory, no longer had much requirement for a long-range escort fighter. They were obliged to keep using the Me109 throughout the war (although, unlike the Spitfire, its newer marks did not keep it at the forward edge of fighter performance), although it and newer designs were developed as fighter bombers, the Luftwaffe's most critical requirement was for interceptors as the Commonwealth and American air forces pounded German targets day and night.

Examples of point defense interceptors:

The F-16 Fighting Falcon was designed originally as a lightweight point defense interceptor but grew into a robust, capable and versatile multirole air superiority fighter.

Area defense

Area defense interceptors usually of North American or Soviet origin, are designed to defend a large area of territory from attack. The design emphasis is on range, missile carrying capacity and radar quality rather than on acceleration and climb rate. They usually carry long-range or medium-range air-to-air missiles, and often had no bomb carrying capability.

In the Soviet Union during the Cold War, an entire military service, not just an arm of the pre-existing air force, was designated for their use. The planes of the PVO-Strany differed from those of the Red Air Force in that they couldn't take off from grass, only concrete runways; they couldn't be towed for hundreds of kilometres from airfield to airfield by tractor across open fields; they couldn't be disassembled and shipped back to a maintenance center in a boxcar; and they were by no means small as necessary and rudely simple, but huge and refined with large, powerful radars. Similarly, they were not given the same training in combat maneuvers, but were directed to their targets by radio.

Examples of area defense interceptors:

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Design

Point defense

Area defense

See also