You are obviously not familiar with the tactic proposed for a Shackleton, when attacked by a jet fighter. Apart from some of the early Shacks, which had a mid upper turret, our only guns were forwards firing. The trick was to let the fighter get on your tail, then jettison fuel. This would over-fuel his engine, causing him to accelerate past you. As he did so, he was easy meat for the front turret.
Another time, I'll tell you about the green paint anti- submarine ploy.