B-17vsLancaster

[Lightning Guy]

I suppose it would have. I know it's performane was top-notch and that it was reasonably maneuverable. I didn't know it had the range, but checking some stats it appears to have had a maximum range of 1500 miles or so. Anyone know what it's range on internal fuel was?

 

[cheddar cheese]

i think that was its range dont quote me on that though

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

that is on inetrnal tanks, but what's the pint in bombing at day with a small payload and get it accurate, when you can bomb at night with more than twice the payload, and when you carpet bomb, you don't have to be accurate...................

 

[Lightning Guy]

The point is being sure you hit the target rather that the cow pasture next to it.

 

[cheddar cheese]

yup, and its pointless escorting just one plane, so there would be formations which drop a heavier amount of bombs than just one lancaster 8) you know it makes sense lanc...

 

[plan_D]

What's the point in Lancaster bombing during the day if the B-17s were doing it?

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

and a lancaster would do more damage at night tan a B-17 would during the day............

 

[plan_D]

Yes, they would.

 

[Lightning Guy]

They definitely did more damage, the question was what were they doing damage to? It would be late in the war before Bomber Command could even begin to approach the levels of accuracy that the 8th and 15th AF were achieving.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

that was for two reasons, 1) the americans the norden 2) we were bombing at night, it's hard to bomb accuratly when you can't see the target, and remeber, you didn't aim for a cirtain building, you just bombed............

 

[Lightning Guy]

And the Lancaster bombed at night because 1) it didn't have the defensive armament to bomb at day and 2) the RAF had nothing (until the Tempest) that could have escorted them. Even if the Lancaster had bombed by day, it's Mk. VII (?) sight was not up to par with the Norden. The Americans, bombing by day, were able to bomb a particular building (or at least complex of buildings).

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

not true, when carpet bombing you didn't aim for a cirtain place, you were lucky to get to the city, let alone a cirtain building...........

 

[plan_D]

Yes, a particular building is a bit far fetched unless it was in the middle of nowhere with no other building around.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

you had no chance of finding a building in the middle of nowhere, and to hit it you had to be at low level...............

 

[plan_D]

I mean hitting a building without hitting any others it would have to be in the middle of nowhere.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

ah, but that wasn't the aim of carpet bombing..............

 

[plan_D]

But that's what I'm saying.

 

[Lightning Guy]

But the Americans didn't carpet bomb (except for a few circumstances like Operation COBRA). For accurately dropping bombs, the Lanc (or any other British bomber) couldn't compete with the B-17 or B-24. That is why the Lancaster's load usually included a large percentage of incendiaries.

 

[plan_D]

The Americans did quite a lot of carpet bombing although they did claim otherwise.

 

[Lightning Guy]

There may have been some, but the US didn't set out to destroy cities until the B-29s started doing it over Japan and that was primarily because the Jet Stream prevented the kind of high altitude bombing they had been doing over Europe.