The More Telling Facts.
The pro's and cons of the B17 and the Lanc are obvious. When the RAF tried daylight bombing against the Luftwaffe early in the war, they soon gave it up as a bad job, except under special circumstances. The point was underlined by the Luftwaffes inability of even hundreds of fighters to defend a small force of bombers later in the BoB. When the USAAF arrived years later, they ignored the facts, - they insisted that they could defend themselves, and were roundly trounced by even the depleted Jagdwaffe. Only a large fighter force could emeliorate the losses. Later in the war, even when the Luftwaffe was on it's knees, the USAAF daylight losses were severe.
The real issue is none of the above. A Mosquito could carry a B17's load, faster, higher and usually further, for a fraction of the industrial effort. Lastly, the Mossie losses were a fraction of the four-engined heavies. The slaughter of the latter was suppressed not only during the war, but for a long time afterwards. Had the equivalent industrial effort been put into Mossies, as it was into the four-engined heavies, then the German defences would have been overwhelmed, and many aircrew lives saved.
The same entrenched views that tried to stifle the Mosquito clung to the older ideas that ensured heavy-bomber production.
Last edited by GQ2; 27th Apr 2012 at 21:50.