See this?

We upped 4 or 5 sets of bombers with some escorts last night. Bombers left about 15 or 20 minutes ahead of the escorts on a flightpath optimized for climbing in friendly territory, who picked them up at 23,000ft. We proceeded to climb into a tailwind at about 27,000, eastbound for the Bish city. Halfway to target, in the middle of the water, completely outside of any enemy dar rings, we had a pair of 262s bear DIRECTLY in on the group. Escorts chased them off and regrouped. At the target, we had what seemed like 20 defenders come up, with an apparent force of approximately 75% a mixture of 163s and 262s, with a 109 or 190 here and there. Approximately 50% of the bombers were able to drop on target against those odds due to a defensively oriented bomber formation and appropriately selected escort aircraft for the mission parameters, even with Brother Cybro parked on (honored by the team as) our channel.
Were our HQ down, we still would have run the mission; in fact, the HQ being down may have been advantageous to us. We don't rely on radar. We plan the route beforehand, plan for stiff resistance, have flights broken up into elements with individual responsibilities INCLUDING watching for contacts. We simply use FSO tactics in the MA.
--The last time I saw a Bishop large force bomber raid come into Rook territory, they came in a formation that offered little defense. They brought no little friends. They came in about 22,000 feet, on a direct bearing through the heart of Rook territory making a beeline to the city across multiple bases without dodging radar. This resulted in 15-20 or so 110s, 410s, 190s, 109s, and a Mossy or two meeting them at the target, and knocking down all but a single B17, who we escorted out of Rook territory before somebody went Independence Day up his belly while we were deciding whether or not to let him go.
Fight how you train, train how you fight.
