Fighta-Bommer

GeeDubs needs a complete staff reform when an Ork flyer looks much more practical and aerodynamic than half of the entire collection of FLYING METHUL BAWKSES of the SPEHSS MAHREENS. *Facepalm*

The Basics

The Fighta-Bommer is an Ork multirole aircraft that is the more badass cousin of the Dakkajet, and also the beefy older brother of the smaller Fighta. They were, at least in the older fluff, the most common Ork flyer. Boss Zagstruk has his own personal one, Da Vulcha, for which he named his famous unit of Stormboyz. Hell, even the entire Deff Skwadron consisted of Fighta-Bommas.

It's basically a ramshackle World War Two German fighter jet that some jackass made in his garage... and by some grace of Mork it stays in the air.

On the Tabletop

...that being said, in previous editions when it actually had rules, it didn't stay in the air for long. With front AV11 (...yay?), AV10 on the rest, and 3HP, it'll end up shot out of the air before you can go "WOT DA ZOG?"

At least it'll definitely do some nice damage before it goes. At 170 points (in 7th Edition) it's not horribly expensive. It gets 6 Rokkits (S8 AP3) as standard, and these can be exchanged for Grot Bomms at 15 points a pop or regular Bomms for free (both S6 AP4, just difference in blast size). But it shines through its four Twin-Linked Big Shootas with another mounted on a turret. Holy hell, not many other flyers outside of Apocalypse can put out this much dakka for so cheap. Granted you won't be taking down tanks with them, but you can tear through light infantry and maybe put some holes in small vehicles. With Deep Strike you can drop in, lay a Grot Bomm pieplate down, and pepper what you can with Big Shoota shots. With access to Fighter Ace and Flyboss, you'll be even more likely to put some damage on those gits with a higher BS. Even a +1 to Front Armor from Shiny Armor is kinda helpful, making you Front Armor 12. Keyword kinda.

You even get some fancy gear for Apocalypse games. For 25 points you can exchange Rokkits for either Apocalyspe Bomms or Burna Bomms. Don't be fooled by the name, these Burna Bomms get Hellstorm range compared to their younger kin. And Apocalyspe Bomms are pretty damn nasty. Strength 6, AP 4 Apocalyptic Barrage. To add that sweet, sweet icing on the cake, we have Grot Guided (this rule comes with the Fighta-Bommer, but it's only applicable to the Apocalypse Bomm). This sweet little rule allows you to re-roll where the barrage lands. If there's a mob of Termagaunts or Guardsmen you want dead, dey fockin' ded.

Sadly, the Forge World-produced Fighta Bommer has been superseded by the the newer plastic Ork fighter kits.

Dawn of War: Soulstorm

Because of the silly Soulstorm engine treating all flyers as vehicles that ignore terrain and melee attacks, Da Bomma turned into a helicopter. It is also one of the more unique flyers, having a piddly shoota attack, but every 15 seconds or so, spitting out a Grot-Bomb that will never miss the target! It also has stupidly long range and causes more disruption than Basilisks due to its accuracy, making an excellent weapon for sending lots of puny gits flying, or bashing a base to bits from the fog of WAAAAGH!