Hits to down a bomber

[Boomerang]

I dug out Forysth's 'JV 44 The Galland Circus', which devotes most of a page (158) to discussing the ammo for the 30 mm MK 108 cannon. Two basic types of shell:

M-Shell HE round with 85 gram of explosive. Luftwaffe technical personnel at Rechlin determined that five hits from this round were required to destroy either a B17 or B24.

an incendiary shell designed for both blast and incendiary effect. This shell was only ignited when it came into contact with fuel, via a hydrodynamic fuse. Five to ten of these shells were required to burn a B17, but the B24 was slightly less vulnerable to this round, because of the internal location of the main tanks.

The above discussion certainly doesn't support my suggestion about greater vulnerability of the B24 versus the B17, but I have come across lots of statements suggesting this.

Anyway, it's quite a detailed technical discussion. Barrett, feel free to PM me and I can send you a scan of the page.

Hope that helps

Don W