The phrases area bombing and carpet bombing refer to the use of very large numbers of unguided gravity bombs to attempt the destruction of a target, either to destroy personnel and materiel or as a means to demoralize the enemy. The phrase probably is intended to invoke the image of bombs completely covering an area, like a carpet.

Subjects to cover:

• The origins of bombing theory with Giulio Douhet
• First use on a civilian target: Bombing of Guernica, April 1937
• First use on a military target Asturias, September 1937
• The bombing of London and other British cities in World War II, also known as the Blitz
• The systematic destruction of German and Japanese population centers during World War II particularly: RAF Bomber Command's Battle of Berlin (air). Firestorms created by RAF Bomber Command in the bombing of Hamburg and the bombing of Dresden and USAAF in the bombing of Tokyo.
• Strategic bombing
• The effectiveness of carpet bombing in the Vietnam War
• The use of B52s to bomb the Iraqi National Guard in the Gulf War (1990–1991)