fighter-killing bombers of WW2

[elmilitaro]

hey guys, do ya'll know what type of bomber shot down the most fighters during WW2?

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

in terms of heavy bomber i'd guess B-17.........

 

[Erich]

does it matter as bomber kills over fighters can basically not be at all confirmed. Please understand I know full well that German fighters were shot down by bomber gunners, have interviewed Luftie vets that went through that, but with so many bombers in tight pulk formation a fighter had to go through the gauntlet of a box from rear to front or vice versa earlier in the war with scads of .50's firing at him. who would then claim the kill ? hard to say. in effect US 8th bomb command bomber gunners grossly overestimated their accuracy and demise of their opposition.

v/r E ♫

 

[red admiral]

A modified B17 used in the Pacific had a tail gun enplacement. The tail gunner didn't use tracer in his rounds. The Japanese fighters go for the normal method of attacking from the undefended rear and are met by a hail of invisible bullets. Unfortunately I forget which bomber and how many fighters.

 

[the lancaster kicks ass]

most B-17s had tail gunners, and most gunners decided their own mix of ammo, 100% of one type wasn't uncommon..........

 

[Erich]

ah not really friend. this was the case of the gunner and crew as a whole deciding with their chief ground staffman and then ammo loaders.

 

[cheddar cheese]

B-17's and Lancasters, bombing the hell out of the Focke-Wulf and Messerschmitt factories.

 

[Hellbird]

B-17

 

[Hunter368]

I would have to believe it would of been the B-17 hands down.

 

[Aggie08]

I'd second that

 

[Henk]

the B-17 killed the most fighters and were also one of the best bombers of the war except for the B-29. I love the shape and design of the aircraft and it proved it self in battle.

Henk

 

[schwarzpanzer]

The Short Sunderland "Flying Porcupine" was a beauty. Despite only .303's, one managed to destroy 2 Ju88's, then send another one packing! 8)

 

[elmilitaro]

B-17's!!!!!!

 

[loomaluftwaffe]

B17, B24 and B29 ause they bombed the hell out of Junkers, Messershmitt, Focke Wulf, Mitsubishi, Nakajima, Kawanishi, Kawasaki, Reggiane, Caproni, IMAM, Macchi, Fiat, Dornier, Heinkel, ETC, and they had hundreds of aircraft in them btw

 

[cheddar cheese]

Or maybe 2 or 3 in each Italian Factory

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Here's a list of fighters killed by USN Bombers...

S2BC/SBW - 43
SBD - 138
TBF/TBM - 98
PB4Y - 210
PBY - 13
PB2Y - 5
PBM - 11
PV - 5

Thanks Lenord!

 

[syscom3]

Flyboy, those naval claims havent been vetted against actual Japanese loss's.

 

[delcyros]

My money would be on the B-17, too.
I think another possibility would be a plane with long service time during ww2. How about Ju-88 or He-111? Any numbers of claims published? I suspect they are highly overrated but this is typical for all contenders...

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Flyboy, those naval claims havent been vetted against actual Japanese loss's.

From a previous post..........

This cut and paste is from R Leonard - he has mounds of archives and records as his dad was a WW2 navy ace....

Japanese Major Aircraft Types Losses to Major USN Combat Types in Air-to-Air Action:

F6F - 5163
F4U/FG - 2137
FM - 422
F4F - 905
S2BC/SBW - 43
SBD - 138
TBF/TBM - 98
PB4Y - 210
PBY - 13
PB2Y - 5
PBM - 11
PV - 5
Total - 9150

At the same time the USN Losses and resultant Japanese:USN Ratio: -

F6F – 270; ratio = 19.1 to 1
F4U/FG - 189; ratio = 11.3 to 1
FM - 13; ratio = 32.5 to 1
F4F - 178; ratio = 5.1 to 1
S2BC/SBW - 18; ratio = 2.4 to 1
SBD - 79; ratio = 1.7 to 1
TBF/TBM - 47; ratio = 2.1 to 1
PB4Y - 28; ratio = 7.5 to 1
PBY – 36; ratio = 0.4 to 1
PB2Y - 0; ratio = 8.0 to 1
PBM - 3; ratio = 3.7 to 1
PV - 6; ratio = 0.8 to 1
Total - 867; ratio = 10.6 to 1

Japanese Losses by Type to USN Aircraft -
A6M Series - 3896
Ki-43 - 529
Ki-61 - 477
Ki-44 - 385
Ki-27 - 145
Ki-84 - 144
J2M - 49
N1K - 35
C6N - 55
Unident SE VF/VO - 247
D3A - 801
D4Y - 271
B5N - 203
B6N - 174
Unident S/E VB/VT - 51
A6M2-N - 71
E13A - 128
F1M - 47
Unident S/E Float - 96
G3M - 34
Ki-21 - 88
G4M - 477
Ki-46 - 82
Ki-45 - 77
J1N - 41
P1Y - 149
Ki-48 - 57
Ki-49 - 25
Ki-67 - 10
Unident T/E Combat - 227
Flying Boats - 69
Transports - 80
Trainers - 29
TOTAL - 9249

 

[syscom3]

It might be a shock to you, but Japanese sources say otherwise.

Sometimes the claims were close, sometimes exaggerated.

Same thing goes with the Jpanese claims of allied aircraft.

For example, look at the SBD claims, 138 kills? Those are totals that look more like a fighter group. Look at the PB4Y claims. 210? Thats quite some tally for an airplane that hardly saw any action in the the big air battles in the SW pacific, and CBI.