Best Fighter

[Lightning Guy]

True, but that is still an interception. And I've even heard that the speed of the Me-262 caused some problems with overshooting B-17s.

 

[plan_D]

With the 4*30mm on the Me262 one pass can be enough to bring a B-17, you don't want to be hanging around a B-17 formation at slow speeds.

 

[cheddar cheese]

unless you're one of the fighter escorts 8)

 

[Lightning Guy]

But with the speed of the Me-262 it was difficult for them to get off more than one aimed burst in a single pass. And of course head-on attacks were a serious no-no.

 

[cheddar cheese]

unless you were feeling lucky

 

[Lightning Guy]

More like feeling stupid. The closing speed would have been up around 750 mph. Do you wanna try flying through a formation of a few hundred B-17s at that speed?

 

[cheddar cheese]

perhaps if life was getting me down, my family had all been killed by a bombing raid.... then id consider it

 

[Lightning Guy]

Sound more like a Japanese than a German.

 

[cheddar cheese]

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

well you know what the amricans were like, you'd be pretty safe, they would proberly end up shooting each other...............

but on the other hand, if you were in a lancaster..................

 

[Lightning Guy]

I wasn't even talking about getting shot down. I would be more worried about the chance of collision.

 

[cheddar cheese]

collision = instant death 8) if you get shot down you have to sit and wait while you plummet to the ground 8)

 

[cheddar cheese]

and if you collide, at least you're taking out another plane too 8)

 

[Lightning Guy]

Collisions hardly equal instant death and many of the planes that were shot down went down because of dead pilots.

 

[cheddar cheese]

whoops, my mistake

 

[plan_D]

The Germans encouraged the tactic of head on attacks on bomber formations, you have to take risks or you're not going to get anything done.
In a B-17 formation you really don't need perfect aim, those 30mm shells will probably hit something.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

you were more likly to collide in a head on attack than you were to get shot...............

 

[cheddar cheese]

yup, b-17's were big planes 8) and cos they fly in formations, it makes them a huge target 8)

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

i know, it was a bi stupid, they had to stay in formation, even when getting attacked, the RAF let pilots try to loose the fighters if they got jumped................

 

[cheddar cheese]

nothing to do with the planes though...