Quote:
Originally Posted by ACE-OF-ACES
It is also a bit of a myth that the USAAF allways had a altitude advantage.. The Lw would enter the area at a hight above that of the bombers.. Just ecanse the escorts picked them up prior to the B17s.. They knew the escorts hung out above the bombers..
Granted once the Lw got into position to attack the bombers.. they would dive down to the bombers giving up the alt advantage.. but at the same time trading alt for speed
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Don't forget that the targets for the LW were the bombers. Near the end of the war there wasn't much fuel about so they only took off when the bombers were close enough to intercept directly. They didn't have the luxury of taking off early and climbing to a favourable position.
The allied fighters could be far ahead of the bombers and thus getting to the LW planes whilst they were still climbing. Also later in the war the order was given to actively seek and attack the Luftwaffe and her bases and not just fly escort. So the LW weren't even safe on the ground.
01-14-2012, 06:19 AM
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