Norden Bombsight

The Norden Bombsight was used during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War by the US Military to directly measure an aircraft’s ground speed and direction. Other bombsights required lengthy manual procedures and produced only rough estimates. The Norden used an analog computer to continuously and precisely recalculate the bomb’s impact point based on changing flight conditions.

This precision of the Norden Bombsight enabled direct attacks on ships, factories, and other point targets. Both the Navy and the USAAF used it to perform successful high-altitude bombing. Radar-based targeting eventually replaced the Norden after World War II, but its accurate daytime attacks kept it in service through the Korean War. The last combat application happened on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in 1967 by the U.S. Navy VO-67 squadron. The Norden is still one of the best-known bombsights.