230 Sqn has an entry in their wartime F540 about one of their Sunderlands being attacked by some Italian fighters in the Med. They certainly shot at least one down, and one was listed as "flew into the sea unable to cope with the Sunderland's evasive manoeuvres" (or words to that effect) so perhaps some merit in the
" The technique that was being developed was to use a Sunderland to entice an enemy fighter onto its tail, dive steeply towards the sea to pull out at the last minute. The fighter, being much less manoeuvrable than the Sunderland, would plunge into the water. At least that was the theory! "
tactic!