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Re: A ?? RE: B17s in North Africa/Tunisia;
Hi Nick!
I haven't read much on the Tunisian campaign, but here are some thoughts. Only 4 Groups of B-17s participated in the campaign (2nd, 97th, 99th and 301st) and they operated either in large escorted formations attacking defended targets or small formations attacking undefended ones. It was therefore very difficult for the outnumbered Luftwaffe pilots to attack them, due to a combination of a lack of B-17s and the good protection afforded to those that were in theatre. To add to this, the only unit in Tunisia with any experience of attacking B-17s was II./JG2, which didn't even stay for the entire campaign. The other units, which had participated in the North African or Russian campaigns, rarely attacked large bomber formations at all, so this is likely to have caused significant difficulty. Finally, all Luftwaffe fighters, except those of II./JG2, were Bf 109s, which were less heavily armed that the Fw 190s.
Jack
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