From guncamera footage I have, as well from combat films recorded from German recon planes, or perhaps bombers, flying alongside the B-17 formation I can tell you the allied bomber crews were subjected to a real hurricane of fire.
It is even terrifying to see it.
They launched rockets, heavy cannon and heavy machine gun fire at the bombers.
The video shows rocket armed Bf109G´s (it could be the G5 or G6 Rs), Bf110´s and Fw190´s (not the "Sturmböck) conducting a slaughter.
The effect of the 21 cm rocket of the Bf109G´s was apocalyptic. While no direct hits are scored, the explosion of those within the bomber box immediately brought down several of them heavies, while scattering many others.
Only 2 German fighters are seeing going down while no less than 20 heavies were destroyed.
It would amaze many of you to see the Bf110 in action. While we of course know it had no chance against the late war allied fighters, it was everything but slow and clumsy, as many of the people use to think (I used to think that myself, perhaps the allied story on how badly the Bf110 failed over England in 1940 created the fixed idea of a very bad plane).
It had an excellent turning radius and its diving capabilities were excellent as well. Also its nose carried a fearsome punch. It is seen when one "zerstörer" tails a B-17 an literally torns the complete tail apart with its nose cannons.
As a bomber destroyer, the Bf110 eventually honored its nickname.
The Fw190 was perhaps one the very few fighters of the war getting closer to the notion of perfection. Excellent both as dogfighter and bomber destroyer -either the standard "Butcher bird" or the "Sturmböck"-.
It carried what perhaps constituted the most devastating machine gun-cannon configuration ever fitted to any single engine fighter.
Those German guys were totally nuts. They enter the bomber stream completely! I am sure the German pilots and the bomber crews could even remember each other faces. It has a beautiful sight however, the moment when after strafing and banking off the bombers, the Fw190´s commence a very acrobatic dive to move away from the enemy gunners.
You see it and you know those guys were simply professionals.
It is even stressing for me to think of those guys of the USAAF inside their clumsy massive planes, taking all that fury of fire the Luftwaffe unleashed upon them.
This video, of that specific battle, lasts for nearly 15 minutes. Only 2 German fighters are seeing going down while at least 20 B-17´s are clearly see going down in flames.
I tried to find out to what bomber units those B-17 belong, but I was told it is impossible for the image is not that zoomed in order to see the markings of any of the B-17´s and battles such as that occurred so many many times.
This video also reinforced my view of the extremely wild overclaiming of the USAAF heavy bomber gunners. The imagery is one of insanity as the battle goes on, tracers all over the place from all directions, but curiously very very few German fighters get hit. Perhaos the USAAF gunners were not as efficient as it has been depicted.
I wonder how many German fighters those who made it through claimed when returning to base. Perhaps they claimed a number of kills that surpassed the actual number of German fighters that had intercepted them.
Still all those men, German and of the USA were really brave and their courgae is far beyond question.
Cheers!