|
Re: Me-410 vs Mosquito combat
Of course, in considering the effectiveness of gunners in bombers, one must also consider the claims the gunners made versus the real damage they did. For example, on the first USAAF 8th AF raid on Lille in 1942, gunners were credited with 102 Germans shot down. The real answer was 2. But the USAAF and the RAF considered it important to give these credits even though, via ULTRA, the Commanders knew them not to be true. So, was it important for the bomber crews, and the public at large, to feel gunners were being effective? Likely so, and no bomber commander would have considered removing the guns!
Positive propaganda and illusions of success are more important in wartime than the truth.
|