[smudger3]

Ruy,

Great tread even for an ardent researcher of RAF Bomber Command, I note you mention in your recent post

“I'd venture as far as saying that the Jagdwaffe might have sustained a battle of attrition against unescorted US heavies, like they did against the RAF heavies in the night. “

Can I just clarify that you are saying that the Jagdwaffe would not have achieved total dominance over the unescorted B17 & B24’s if no escorts were available? I find this hard to believe given the heavy losses sustained by the US “Heavy” bombers even with limited fighter escort and the difficulties these losses in both a/c and aircrew would have imposed on the effectiveness of the US bombing campaign.

Even the heavy armed B17 & B24 could not have survived over Germany, yes they would have inflicted losses of the Jagdwaffe but I feel this would be more in materialistic terms i.e. aircraft. I would hazard a guess and say that the actual loss of Jagdwaffe pilots would have been significantly lower, a similar situation as the RAF in the Battle of Britain, also I believe the Jagdwaffe would have had time to adapt and experiment with different methods of attacking the tight formations without the treat of escorting fighter interception.