How the evolution of the fighter bomber marked the start of modern aerial warfare. The fearsome Stuka dive bomber, a crucial component of the Germans' Blitzkrieg tactics, carried 4,000lb of explosives and could swoop down at an 80-degree angle. However, the Stuka was ultimately outperformed by the RAF during the Battle of Britain and it was left to later generations of aircraft to combine the bomber's devastating firepower with the manoeuverability of a fighter