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In military aviation, area bombardment or area bombing is a type of aerial bombardment in which bombs are dropped over the general area of a target.^[1] The term "area bombing" came into prominence during World War II.^[2]

Area bombing is a form of strategic bombing.^[2] It can serve several intertwined purposes: to disrupt the production of military materiel, to disrupt lines of communications, to divert the enemy's industrial and military resources from the primary battlefield to air defence and infrastructure repair, and to demoralise the enemy's population (See terror bombing).^[2]

"Carpet bombing",^[3] also known as "saturation bombing", and "obliteration bombing", refers to a type of area bombing that aims to effect complete destruction of the target area by exploding bombs in every part of it.

Area bombing is contrasted with precision bombing. The latter is directed at a selected target – not necessarily a small, and not necessarily a tactical target, as it could be an airfield or a factory – and it does not intend to inflict a widespread damage.

References

^ "area bombing". Dictionary.com. DICTIONARY.COM UNABRIDGED BASED ON THE RANDOM HOUSE UNABRIDGED DICTIONARY, © RANDOM HOUSE, INC. 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Primoratz, Igor, ed. (2010). Terror from the sky : the bombing of German cities in World War II (1. publ. ed.). New York: Berghahn Books. pp. 7, 21–22, 45–53. ISBN 978-1-84545-687-0.
^ An early example of this use of "carpet bombing" is from 1942: Seemann, Berthold, ed. (1942). "The Journal of Botany, British and Foreign". Journal of Botany, British and Foreign. 80. R. Hardwicke: 80.

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[1] "area bombing". Dictionary.com. DICTIONARY.COM UNABRIDGED BASED ON THE RANDOM HOUSE UNABRIDGED DICTIONARY, © RANDOM HOUSE, INC. 2019.

[p-2] Primoratz, Igor, ed. (2010). Terror from the sky : the bombing of German cities in World War II (1. publ. ed.). New York: Berghahn Books. pp. 7, 21–22, 45–53. ISBN 978-1-84545-687-0.

[3] An early example of this use of "carpet bombing" is from 1942: Seemann, Berthold, ed. (1942). "The Journal of Botany, British and Foreign". Journal of Botany, British and Foreign. 80. R. Hardwicke: 80.

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+{{Short description|Military aviation tactic}}
-[[Image:Tokyo 1945-3-10-1.jpg|thumb|right|This Tokyo residential section was virtually destroyed after a massive [[firebombing]] raid by the [[U.S. Army Air Forces]] [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress|B-29s]] on March 9–10, 1945, the single most destructive raid in military aviation history. The [[bombing of Tokyo in World War II]] cut the city's industrial productivity in half.]]
+[[Image:Tokyo 1945-3-10-1.jpg|thumb|right|This Tokyo residential section was virtually destroyed after a massive [[firebombing]] raid by the [[U.S. Army Air Forces]] [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress|B-29s]] on [[Operation Meetinghouse|March 9–10, 1945]], the single most destructive raid in military aviation history. The [[bombing of Tokyo in World War II]] cut the city's industrial productivity in half.]]
-[[File:Lancaster area bombing load IWM CH 18371.jpg|thumb|right|<center>"Usual" British area bombing load of a [[Blockbuster bomb|4000 pound blast bomb]] and 12 SBCs containing 2,832 4 lb incendiary bombs, seen in an [[Avro Lancaster]], World War II</center>]]
+[[File:Lancaster area bombing load IWM CH 18371.jpg|thumb|right|<div style="text-align: center;">"Usual" British area bombing load of a [[Blockbuster bomb|4000 pound blast bomb]] and 12 SBCs containing 2,832 4 lb incendiary bombs, seen in an [[Avro Lancaster]], World War II</div>]]
-In [[military aviation]], '''area bombardment''' (or '''area bombing''') is a type of aerial bombardment that targeted indiscriminately at a large area, such as a city block or an entire city.{{r|p}} The term "area bombing" came into prominence during [[World War II]].{{r|p}}
+In [[military aviation]], '''area bombardment''' or '''area bombing''' is a type of [[aerial bombardment]] in which bombs are dropped over the general area of a target.<ref>{{cite web |title=area bombing |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/area-bombing |website=Dictionary.com |publisher=DICTIONARY.COM UNABRIDGED BASED ON THE RANDOM HOUSE UNABRIDGED DICTIONARY, © RANDOM HOUSE, INC. 2019}}</ref> The term "area bombing" came into prominence during [[World War II]].{{r|p}}
-Area bombing is a form of [[strategic bombing]].{{r|p}} It can serve several intertwined purposes: to disrupt the production of military [[materiel]], to disrupt [[lines of communication]]s, to divert the enemy's industrial and military resources from the primary battlefield to [[air defence]], and to [[demoralization (warfare)|demoralise]] the enemy's population (See [[terror bombing]]).{{r|p}}
+Area bombing is a form of [[strategic bombing]].{{r|p}} It can serve several intertwined purposes: to disrupt the production of military [[materiel]], to disrupt [[lines of communication]]s, to divert the enemy's industrial and military resources from the primary battlefield to [[air defence]] and infrastructure repair, and to [[demoralization (warfare)|demoralise]] the enemy's population (See [[terror bombing]]).{{r|p}}
-Other terms for area bombing are  "[[carpet bombing]]",<ref>An early example of this use of "carpet bombing" is from 1942: {{cite journal|journal=The Journal of botany, British and foreign|year=1942|volume=80|url=http://books.google.com/?id=M_xCAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Carpet+bombing%22&dq=%22Carpet+bombing%22|editor1-first=Berthold|editor1-last=Seemann|page=80|publisher=R. Hardwicke|title=The Journal of botany, British and foreign}}</ref> "saturation bombing", and  "obliteration bombing". At the time, area bombing was contrasted with [[precision bombing]]. The latter was directed at a selected target – not necessarily a small, and not necessarily a tactical target, as it could be an airfield or a factory - and it did not intend to inflict a widespread damage (at least by appearance).
+"[[Carpet bombing]]",<ref>An early example of this use of "carpet bombing" is from 1942: {{cite journal|journal= Journal of Botany, British and Foreign|year=1942|volume=80|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M_xCAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Carpet+bombing%22|editor1-first=Berthold|editor1-last=Seemann|page=80|publisher=R. Hardwicke|title=The Journal of Botany, British and Foreign}}</ref> also known as "saturation bombing", and "obliteration bombing", refers to a type of area bombing that aims to effect complete destruction of the target area by exploding bombs in every part of it.
+Area bombing is contrasted with [[precision bombing]]. The latter is directed at a selected target – not necessarily a small, and not necessarily a tactical target, as it could be an airfield or a factory – and it does not intend to inflict a widespread damage.
-==See also==
+== See also ==
 * [[Aerial bombardment and international law]]
 * [[Aerial bombing of cities]]
+* [[Carpet bombing]]
 * [[Civilian casualties of strategic bombing]]
 * [[Firestorm]]
@@ Line 16: / Line 20: @@
 * [[Tactical bombing]]
-==References==
+== References ==
 {{Reflist|
-<ref name=p>{{cite book|last=Primoratz|first=edited by Igor|title=Terror from the sky : the bombing of German cities in World War II|year=2010|publisher=Berghahn Books|location=New York|isbn=1-84545-687-4|pages=7, 21–22, 45–53|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=m_rUckiR62kC&lpg=PA53&dq=Obliteration%20bombing&pg=PA53#v=onepage&q&f=false|edition=1. publ.}}</ref>
+<ref name=p>{{cite book|editor-last=Primoratz|editor-first=Igor|title=Terror from the sky : the bombing of German cities in World War II|year=2010|publisher=Berghahn Books|location=New York|isbn=978-1-84545-687-0|pages=7, 21–22, 45–53|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m_rUckiR62kC&q=Obliteration%20bombing&pg=PA53|edition=1. publ.}}</ref>
 }}
 [[Category:Aerial bombing]]
+{{war-stub}}