DAVIDICUS said:
So no Avengers were lost? It would appear so. If all the Avengers made it back including all but one Wildcat, I am more than just a little impressed especially since the Wildcats apparently didn't bounce the Germans as it was the Germans that initiated the assault.
Now imagine for a moment if all the Avengers were lost. The loss of all the Avengers in addition to one of the Wildcats would make for a different impression.
One could assume that by focusing on the bombers, they were not simultaneously playing offense against the Wildcats and suffered high losses through that trade off. Why the trade off? Perhaps they didn't have enough fuel to beat up the Wildcats first and focus on the bombers later.
In any event, a very interesting story.
Indeed....
It's hard to surmise this scenario. Maybe the 109 pilots were cocky? Pilot skill, tactics? Maybe the RN guys were good and the Luftwaffe guys sucked!?! Its hard to say...
I know we got the thread running with the Wildcat vs, the Hurricane, perhaps this will be discussed there?