Are attack helicopters usually more well-armored than fighters, but less armored than bombers? How so, and why?
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Bombers are not armored. Airplanes in general are not armored with very few exceptions like the A-10.
Helicopters are armored a bit.
Planes are not armored because they generally fly too high for cannon fire to be effective against them, so the only threat are long range, high altitude missiles. The exceptions being the planes designed for the role of close air support, which fly low and are threatened by low-level small arms and lighter anti-aircraft cannon fire. Basically planes use their altitude and speed as their defence.
Helicopters are always at threat against small arms and cannon fire, so they have important parts with some armor plating. Engines, cockpit, redundant control systems, etc. They may be able to take some hits and survive, but generally speaking, thats just to survive. As soon as an aircraft takes fire, the mission is over, time to go back to base. Not worth the risk of a crash later.
All aircraft are incredibly fragile even if they have some armor. Although there are reports of A-10s and F15s returning missing wings and such…..this is looked at more as a “woah that was lucky, lets never do that again” rather than operating with the intention of trading fire with anti-aircraft weapons.
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