Luftwaffe Bomber Formation Discipline
 

In a couple of the biography's I've read by Battle Of Britain pilots, it's mentioned by those fighter pilots that, when attacked, Luftwaffe bomber formations broke up and scattered. Making for easy pickings.

Were Luftwaffe bomber formations so undisciplined? Just doesn't seem right to me.

Can anyone confirm one way or another? Cheers.

Re: Luftwaffe Bomber Formation Discipline
 

I've perhaps seen a couple of such references, relating to the (comparatively) few successful head-on attacks. The (also few) low-level raids would also seem to have split into independent runs for home, although this tends to be linked to after the attack rather than interception before it.

The majority of raid appear to have got through to their targets with the aircraft still grouped, despite the best efforts of 11 Group. Obviously this is not a statistical description, I've never seen one. But neither do I recall accounts of bomber fornmations in a raid completely scattering and the raid being aborted.

Re: Luftwaffe Bomber Formation Discipline
 

The attempted raid against the Parnall aircraft factory at Yate, near Bristol, pm 27th September 1940. The 9 Bf 110s of Erprobungsgruppe 210 aborted the raid after being attacked by 504 Squadron.

Re: Luftwaffe Bomber Formation Discipline
 

I have read that in this period RAF pilots sometimes mistook Bf 110s for Do-17s. Having looked at a early war aircraft ID book it only contained drawings of early Do-17s.