Russians bomb Berlin 13 September 1942

[Graham Boak]

Be a bit careful. The usually quoted service ceiling is not the same thing as a realistic operational altitude when fully loaded. It is quoted for an value of climb rate that is considered so low that simply isn't worth trying to get any higher. Nowadays that could be 250 ft/min or higher (sorry, it's been a few years since I did this): for WW2 aircraft it is likely to be lower, perhaps 100 ft/min or less. It will normally be calculated for a range of weights/configurations/conditions, but the one quoted will not be the one at maximum load/maximum drag/hottest day. Unless, of course, it actually states so, but that doesn't make good publicity and doesn't reflect the genuine capability of an aircraft.

A Lancaster will have a quoted service ceiling above its (normal, varied) operational ceiling: though Putnam's The British Bomber only quotes 24,500ft unloaded. The Pe8 will have an operational ceiling (as said above) below the quoted 9,300m, but that needn't imply no Pe8 ever got up there.

There are separate arguments about reliability, build and training standards, and how average aircraft in average service conditions with average crews will never match predictions or even test results.