A few quotes from the article "Saga of the Short Snorters" in the April 2006 issue of WW2 Magazine that may answer a few points posed here. The article describes the missions in the early days of three B-17 bombers all named "Short Snorter".
Question 1: Were bombers "sitting ducks" for the fighters?
". . . the skies cleared completely and [Major Paul L.] Fishburne now knew for certain there were no other friendly planes ahead of him. Alarmed, he called his tail gunner, staff sgt. Thomas J. Hansbury, and asked how many planes were still in the formation. Hansbury replied "Sixteen". . . When the 91st was 30 minutes from the target, however, the Germans had recovered their senses . . . Over the next four hours, the group was attacked by 175 enemy fighters. Four bombers were lost in the melee. . ."
Hmm . . . 175 vs 16, and only 4 bombers lost. Sitting ducks.
Different mission -- "Fourteen Messerschmitt Me-109 fighters struck the formation as it headed home. The Luftwaffe pilots approached to within 800 yards of the bombers during their attack . . . Soon afterwards, shrapnel from 88mm anti-aircraft shells broke the window in front of [Lt. William D.] Bloodgood and punctured Short Snorter's No. 1 gas tank. Picking out the damaged bomber, three Focke Wulf FW-190s pressed their owne attack and hit all four of the B-17s propellers and both wings. Additional damage was inflicted by a 20mm cannon shell that penetrated the No. 4 engine cowling and a second shell that exploded in the rear of the fuselage and hit the VHF radio transmitter. Also destroyed were the elevator control and auxiliary cables as well as the oxygen line to the radio combartment. Nevertheless, Bloodgood brought his aircraft and its crew back to base with only two wounded crew members."
3v1, and made it back.
"Short Snorter II [was] . . . part of a strike force made up of 65 B-17s . . . Fifteen to 20 German fighters, including for the first time twin-engined me-110s, hit the 91st when it was about 10 minutes from the target and continued their attacks until the bombers were on their way home and well out over the North Sea. Two bombers in the 91st's 323rd Squadron went down as well as three others from the 1st bomb wing."
Bomber losses heavy, to be sure, but no turkey shoot. Also note the length of time the attack continued. The LW obviously was taking their time setting up the attacks.
Question 2, Luftwaffe tactics.
"While flak was light, enemy fighter opposition was intense. Between 50 and 75 aircraft, Me-109s and Fw-190s, began harassing the bomber stream 35 miles inland from the French coast. The attacks continued up to the target and on the return. German fighters peeled out of their formation four at a time to make a feint at the bombers and then split into two groups that attached the Americans from 11 and 2 o'clock."
Different mission -- "Heavy flak tore into the bombers, and approximately 30 Fw-190A-4s of III Gruppe, Jagdgeschwader 2 (III/JG.2 "Richthofen"), attacked while over Lorient. The German pilots formed in two lines and them peeled off to charge through the American formation. Short Snorter was hit in the No. 3 engine just as it cleared the target. Dropping out of formation and heading down, about five minutes after it had been hit two chutes were seen coming from the plane, but seconds later the bomber exploded in a ball of fire, tiny bits of debris scattering across the water. None of the 10 man crew survived. The bomber's destruction was credited to III/JG.2's commander, Captian Egon Meyer, his 56th of an eventual 102 victories before he himself was killed in action on March 2, 1944."
Another mission -- "Soon after the American bombers crossed over to the Continent, approximately 75 Germans attacked the formation . . . The Germans struck head-on with the intent of breaking up the formation and distupting the bomb run. Four 306th bombers were rapidly brought down . . ."
Last Mission of Short Snorter III -- ". . . the 91st passed over the East Frisian Islands, they started to fly through dense clouds of flak that followed them until they were attacked by German fighters, which repeatedly hit the formation all the way to the target. Between passes by Me-109s and Fw-190s, Me-110s stood out beyond the range of the bombers machine guns and lobbed 20mm and 30mm cannon shells into the densely packed American formation."
Question 3: Effectiveness and range of defensive Guns (bold mine).
"Just east of Heligoland at least 60 enemy aircraft began the day's attacks. More than half were Fw-190s, with Me-109s, Me-110s and Ju-88s also taking their turns to harass the bombers.
Three minutes before reaching the target, an Me-109 came in on No. 337 (Short Snorter III) from 2 o'clock high, approaching to within 250 yards before breaking away at 5 o'clock. The left waist gunner, Staff Sgt. Alvin T. Shippang, began firing short bursts at the diving enemy aircraft while it was 1000 yards out and continued to do so as it broke away. The Me-109 spun sdownward, burst into flames and explodes at about 10,000 feet. Six minutes after bombs away, an Fw-190 dove on Short Snorter III from 2 o'clock high. This time it was top turret gunner Tech. Sgt. Sebastian Scavello who shot back, firing 50 rounds at the aircraft when it was 800 yards away. The fighter dove past the right wing of the bomber and continued straight down into the ground. Three minutes after Scavello's victory, another Fw-190 passed at 1:30 o'clock level. Ball turret gunner Staff Sgt. Joseph A. Rekas sighted his twin .50 calibers and fired 50 rounds at the fighter as it closed. He then whirled the ball turret around and got off two more bursts as the Fw-190 tried to escape. Hit again by Scavello, the German fighter dove downward; parts flew off the fuselage at about 20,000 feet, and the plane continued down and burrowed into the ground. Having fought off attacks for over an hour and a half, Short Snorter III returned home safely.
The April 4 mission to the Renault works near Paris was another test of the gunnery skills of the 91st's crews. In addition to moderately heavy flak, on the way back from bombing the factory, the Americans were jumped by at least 60 enemy aircraft. During the hit-and-run attacks, which persisted all the way to the French coast, Short Snorter III was hit by an Fw-190 coming in from 6 o'clock high. The tail gunner, Staff Sgt. Anthony J. Roy, let the German come within 600 yards before opening fire. His aim was accurate, and he saw his foe's right wing cowling fly off, followed by part of the wing itself.
As the German hurtled to earth, two more Fw-190s appeared. Sgt. Roy immediately switched his focus to those two who, for reasons unknown, decided not to press their own attack. Eight minutes later yet another Fw-190 dived at Short Snorter III, from 6 o'clock high. The radio operator, Tech. Sgt. Lawrence J. Brandenburg, engaged it with the radio compartment gun and set the German on fire. The Fw-190 went into a dive and exploded a few hundred yards below the bomber."
I am not sure I have a basic point beyond the fact that bombers flying in formation were by no means easy prey. A single fighter in the MA attacking 3 bombers flying in formation should not expect 3 easy kills, which seems to be what many "fighter jocks" want. Looking at this article and many others like it, it occurs to me that the LW approached the bomber formations almost gingerly, tap-dancing around the perimeter until an advantage could be seen. Usually this was when flak or (as was the case of Short Snorter II) mechanical failure caused a single bomber to fall out of formation. They certainly did not simply wade into the formation and shoot down planes at will.
That being said, I do not agree with the statement that this particular idea "nerfs" the bombers. Quite the contrary -- as I already stated, I hate having to waste the ammo of 18 guns on a single target when there are multiple fighters trying to catch the bomber formation. This idea would stretch out the ammo supply and make defense over a longer period of time a possibility. It would also avoid the whining that would come from an overheat model (what do you mean all 18 guns overheated at the same time??!!??!?!?!).
BTW -- I related the death of Short Snorter I above. Although credit was given to one of the LW pilots, the fact that the hit came so close to the target makes me wonder if the engine had really been hit by flak. Short Snorter II had a mechanical problem and dropped out of formation. Tail gunners saw the bomber get jumped by five Ju-88s, but it was fighting them off as they left sight. Its exact fate is unknown, but can be guessed at. Short Snorter III was hit in the cockpit by AA fire, killing both pilots. The plane took several more direct hits, and ultimately only two of the crew successfully bailed out and survived. Between the three aircraft, only 17 missions were flown.
